Staking Rewards - Research Methodology Development - Milestone 1

[Romao08]

Project Abstract

This proposal aims to enhance Polkadot’s ecosystem by delivering advanced staking tools, starting with the development of a data-driven framework to rank validators, and amplifying visibility through targeted marketing efforts. By leveraging Staking Rewards’ platform with over 150,000 monthly users, we seek to boost staking adoption and engagement within Polkadot’s community, beginning with the first milestone to develop a comprehensive validator ranking methodology.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (project_name.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[Noc2]

Thanks for the application. Could you improve the formatting of the PR? See the application template at https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/application-template.md. Or, better yet, use the research template at https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/application-template-research.md. Let us know if you have any questions.

[Romao08]

Format of the document is improved.
Please let me know if there is something needed to be done.

Thanks

[Noc2]

Thanks for updating the proposal. It looks much better now, but it would be highly appreciated if you could simply use the formatting of one of your default templates above. All of our internal logic (e.g. github actions) and review process is optimised for this. The total amount of the grant should also be 15k and not 100k.

[Romao08]

Format of the document is updated from Template.
Please let me know if everything is ok.

Thanks

[Noc2]

Thanks again for the update. One last comment regarding the formatting: Could you integrate the deliverables and the milestone in the Development Roadmap section similar to the template, https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/application-template.md#milestone-1-example--basic-functionality A table would be pretty useful.

[Romao08]

Please Let me know if the Table format looks good to you

[Noc2]

I just went ahead and created a PR to your repo to fix it. I have one additional question: Would you be willing to be paid in USDC on Assethub. This might make things easier for us.

[Romao08]

Thanks for helping! Yes, can do usdc payments.

[Romao08]

Done! Thanks

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @Romao08 are you also willing to accept 50% of payment in vested DOT? The DOT is vested linearly on-chain for two years, see here for details. If this works for you please mark 50% DOT under Total Costs, as is shown in the template. Thanks!

[Romao08]

Yes, it works for us. Just added to the proposal that 50% of payment can be vested in dot isntead 100% FIAT.
Please let me know if everything is correct

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @Romao08 much appreciated. I'm personally willing to support it.

[Romao08]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[Romao08]

recheck

[Romao08]

The file is updated. Please let me know if everything looks correct now.
Thanks!

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @Romao08 could you also please complete KYB verification for Finrate AG? Alternatively, if you don't have a legal registered entity, we would ask that the rest of the team perform a KYC check as well. Thanks.

[semuelle]

The file is updated. Please let me know if everything looks correct now.

Hey @Romao08, I hope you don't mind, I moved the deliverables table back to the roadmap section. However, it still contains both an article with an incomplete spec and an article without any license, as I suggested above. Could you update again?

[Romao08]

I just updated the file.

The spec on the article is basically saying that we will send an article after that explains what was achieved as part of the grant, as the template shows. If that's not enough please clarify better what is intended here please.

[Romao08]

Ok, perfect then! thanks!

[semuelle]

Let's do this.

[keeganquigley]

LGTM

[github-actions]

Congratulations and welcome to the Web3 Foundation Grants Program! Please refer to our Milestone Delivery repository for instructions on how to submit milestones and invoices, our FAQ for frequently asked questions and the support section on our website for more ways to find answers to your questions.

Before you start, take a moment to read through our announcement guidelines for all communications related to the grant or make them known to the right person in your organisation. In particular, please don't announce the grant publicly before at least the first milestone of your project has been approved. At that point or shortly before, you can get in touch with us at grantsPR@web3.foundation and we'll be happy to collaborate on an announcement about the work you’re doing.

Also, if you haven't yet, consider signing up for the Polkadot Alpha Program. The program offers plenty of resources for people building on Polkadot. Lastly, please remember to let us know in case you run into any delays or deviate from the deliverables in your application. You can either leave a comment here or directly request to amend your application via PR. We wish you luck with your project! 🚀

[keeganquigley]

Hi @Romao08 how is M1 progressing? Can you provide a brief update?

[keeganquigley]

Hi team, please note that if we don't hear from you or receive a delivery in two weeks we will go ahead and cancel the grant due to inactivity.