Minswap Catalyst Engagement Contest

Introduction

Minswap has established a Catalyst Selection Committee that reviews thousands of catalyst proposals each funding cycle, narrowing them down to the top 50 based on specific criteria. To further decentralize this process and enhance community involvement, we introduced a new proposal starting with Fund 12. This proposal allows any individual within the ecosystem, regardless of their activity, to be listed on the final voting list, provided their proposals meet the required standards or receive community support.

Recently, Minswap organized an engagement contest to identify the top 15 proposals, granting them entry to the final voting round by MIN holders. This contest aimed to encourage the Cardano community to engage with and support innovative projects that did not make the list through volunteer selections. Participants had the opportunity to have their proposals showcased and voted on by the broader community. For more details about the contest, please refer to the official Minswap contest tweet.

The proposal was a significant success, attracting over 100 projects and individuals from across the ecosystem. The community engagement was substantial, with over 5,200 likes, 2,300 retweets, and 500+ comments. The formula for determining the winners also considered the cumulative volume and total value locked (TVL) of a project’s token (if applicable) on Minswap. We are pleased to present the winners, the top proposals that have made it to the final list.

1.SNEKbot: A Telegram Trading Bot to Onboard 900M Monthly Active Users to Cardano

• Proposer: SNEK
• Score: 16.441665
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Most Cardano tokens are only tradable on DEXes and require considerable blockchain knowledge. Onboarding retail users is a long and not trivial process which slows the ecosystem adoption and growth.
• Solution: SNEK will enhance SNEKbots capabilities to enable a seamless trading experience directly through Telegram and Discord, providing the easiest and fastest onboarding process to the Cardano ecosystem.

2. Snekx: Cardano’s Best Platform to Kickstart and Promote New Communities and Digital Assets

• Proposer: SNEK
• Score: 15.752823
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Cardano lacks efficient user-friendly tools for token creators. Creators require market and blockchain knowledge. Difficulties to launch projects and reach large audiences slow the ecosystem growth.
• Solution: SNEK will create a platform that supports token creators by centralizing tools and visibility, promoting their ideas without requiring market, blockchain or coding knowledge.

3. Iagon Network Explorer V1

• Proposer: Iagon
• Score: 12.995377
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Iagon exhibits some centralized aspects, needing to add on-chain proof of data availability. Logging transactions and proofs on Cardano would lead to high volume, significant fees and chain congestion.
• Solution: Iagon will develop a node network on Substrate-parachain technology harnessing IOG’s partnerchain framework to interface with Cardano and other chains while managing Iagon’s compute intensive operations.

4. Cardano powered i-commerce

• Proposer: Clay Nation
• Score: 5.70361
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: The challenge of making Cardano commercially viable in the growing interactive-commerce (i-commerce) market.
• Solution: Establish capabilities of interactive digital commerce through an innovative, customisable web-based framework, built for Cardano integration.

5. Onboarding via physicals: Bringing first-timers to Cardano — Danketsu

• Proposer: @DanketsuNFT
• Score: 4.20027
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: It has been challenging to onboard new people onto Cardano from outside of Web 3. Without additional marketing & onboarding mechanisms towards non-crypto users, this is unlikely to change.
• Solution: By partnering with the IRC (1 of the largest global humanitarian aid organizations), [they] will improve & simplify onboarding to Cardano via phygitals & access to IRC’s vast social & financial networks.

6. Bitcoin Runes on Cardano via Rosen Bridge

• Proposer: @RosenBridge_erg
• Score: 3.582
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Cardano is well-positioned to act as the smart layer for BTC and BTC Rune holders who are looking for opportunities to leverage leading UTXO-based DeFi protocols.
• Solution: Rosen Bridge can enable BTC and BTC Runes transfers over to Cardano, enabling increased use of DeFi protocols, increased liquidity for Cardano and interoperability for the ecosystem.

7. Orcfax Explorer: Improving “Trust But Verify”

• Proposer: Orcfax
• Score: 3.228
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Users that rely on external oracle data to trigger their DeFi financial transactions need assurances that it can be trusted, but this information is difficult for a human to trace and read.
• Solution: The Orcfax Explorer allows users to “trust but verify” the oracle data that their Cardano dApps use. We will enhance it with visualizations, audit log downloads, real-time stats and incident reports.

8. Orcfax architecture audit

• Proposer: Orcfax
• Score: 3.0096
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Cardano dApps use Orcfax oracle data to trigger transactions with significant financial outcomes. Their users need assurance from a qualified auditor that Orcfax delivers authentic and accurate data.
• Solution: Orcfax will procure auditing services for its on-chain and off-chain architecture, perform fixes and enhancements as per auditor recommendations and report on the audit status and outcomes.

9. Boosting Cardano’s Share in Web3 Gaming.

• Proposer: @ChainsofWarGame
• Score: 2.7124
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: In 2023, gaming dominated blockchain activity with 34% of dapp usage and 1.1M daily users. Yet, Cardano holds almost no market share.
• Solution: This initiative aims to elevate Cardano as a key player in blockchain gaming, significantly boosting its market cap and active user wallets.

10. Anvil x Nuvola: Collateralization Hub

• Proposer: Nuvola Digital
• Score: 2.5426
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: Blockchain is currently lacking a way to collateralize rewards while they accrue. Through the use of staking and other reward distribution methods, participants are constantly in search of liquidity.
• Solution: Create a Collateralization hub, that would allow users to collateralize future rewards into on-chain proof, creating an asset that is able to unlock liquidity for the participant.

11. BIG x NMKR x yellow house: Decentralized Transfer Marketplace for Esports Players

• Proposer: NMKR
• Score: 2.4034
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: The existing infrastructure for managing player transfers and contracts in esports is fragmented and lacks transparency.
• Solution: Create a Proof-of-Concept decentralized transfer marketplace for esports players, focusing on efficient and transparent player transfers in partnership with BIG — professional Esports team.

12. Tokenization of Real World Assets (RWA) — Nairobi Securities Exchange / Empowa

• Proposer: @empowa_io
• Score: 1.6173
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: The Nairobi Securities Exchange seeks to assess the viability of blockchain technology for the creation of financial instruments to address the $2.5bn annual affordable housing finance requirement.
• Solution: The creation of RWA tokens for affordable housing, enabling capital raising, tracking cashflows, ownership and returns — expanding on the existing payments application built by Empowa on Cardano.

13. OgmiosDotnet: An Open Source .NET Client for Cardano Node Communication

• Proposer: @ItsDave_ADA
• Score: 1.2845
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: The OgmiosDotnet Client enables .NET integration with Cardano blockchain data, addressing tooling shortages and unlocking innovation. It enhances blockchain adoption across .NET-reliant industries.
• Solution: The OgmiosDotnet Client provides an easy-to-use .NET integration with Cardano, addressing tool shortages, contributing to boosting Cardano blockchain adoption and innovation in .NET industries.

14. Anastasia Labs — Midgard: Cardano Layer

• Proposer: @AnastasiaLabs
• Score: 1.2179
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: L1 congestion during project launches leads to delays, slow responsiveness, and concurrency issues, hindering DeFi strategies. Fast finalization is crucial.
• Solution: Proposing a high-throughput Cardano L2 with fast finality and relaxed SC execution constraints. Enhances scalability, speed, cost-efficiency, enables high-volume transactions without congesting the L1

15. Mercury: Financials & TB Export

• Proposer: @sheephurder2
• Score: 1.2178
• Tweet: Link
• Problem Statement: We lack enterprise-grade financial solutions in the ecosystem to allow projects and their accountants to develop and publish accurate and reliable financial statements and tokenomics reports.
• Solution: Design a tool that helps collect and process data available on the blockchain ledger into an organized structure that is compatible with ERP software and make necessary financial reports (BS and P&L).

Conclusion

We extend our congratulations to all participants of the Minswap Catalyst Fund 12 Engagement Contest and express our gratitude for their invaluable contributions. Each proposal exemplifies the innovative spirit and potential within the Cardano community. As we progress into the final voting round, we encourage everyone to explore these projects and support those that resonate with you. Best of luck to all the finalists in the upcoming voting process!

For those interested in viewing the detailed scores and understanding how the winners were calculated, you can access the contest results here and the snapshots here.