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Polkadot Fast-Grants Bounty

2 years ago
Cancelled

Hey Everyone!

We’re honoured to propose the Polkadot Fast-Grants Bounty.

The purpose of this bounty is to fund the fast-grants programme for early-stage builders on Polkadot. This will be modelled on Solana’s fast-grants model with a similar goal, but for Polkadot: anyone who wants to build on Polkadot can get initial funding to do so.

The problem (summarised)

This bounty is a response to the following problems in the Polkadot builder funnel:

  1. Polkadot doesn’t have clear funding opportunities for very early-stage builders; and
  2. There is no fast way for developers inspired about Polkadot to get funding to build.

These are both holding back the Polkadot ecosystem, and other blockchains that have solved this are rapidly growing their developer base.

The solution (summarised)

The good news is that the answer to the above problems is simple:

  1. A clear programme for early-stage builders to get funding (up to $10,000 each); and
  2. Approvals made as fast as within 72 hours

Curators

The curators have deep, sector-specific experience across the Polkadot and builder ecosystems, and are strongly positioned to steward this bounty. The multisig will be a 3 out of 5:

  1. Otar Shakarishvili (Project Advisor and Governance Specialist at JUST Open Source, ex-Parity Project Manager)
  2. Sacha Lansky (Developer Relations at WebZero, ex-Parity Engineering)
  3. Flavio Bianchi (Polimec Foundation Council Member, Polimec Marketing and BD)
  4. Phil Kwok (Co-Founder of EasyA and the EasyA x Polkadot University)
  5. Dom Kwok (Co-Founder of EasyA and the EasyA x Polkadot University)

Community feedback

Thank you to everyone who helped shape this bounty, from the discussions we had on our previous post, to those who gave feedback live when we presented on AAG for that earlier discussion post (the recording for which is available here).

We’ve reviewed it all in detail as curators, and are delighted to have updated our proposal taking into account your feedback.

The main points/questions from the community were:

  1. How will success be measured
  2. How many projects will be funded (and for how much)
  3. What expertise the curators have to manage the bounty

In summary, we have:

  1. Reduced the bounty size by half (to demonstrate success first)
  2. Clarified the definition of what success looks like
  3. Made clear that this is not an EasyA bounty, but an ecosystem-wide one which will benefit the whole community and has a broad base of support (EasyA is just one of the proponents)
  4. Confirmed the types of projects which will be funded

Executive summary

Summarised in 5 points, this bounty is:

  1. Fast: Because we don’t want people to dismiss Polkadot for other ecosystems
  2. Retroactive: So builders can’t leave with the funds without delivering
  3. Milestone-based: So we can ensure developers are building what we want to see on Polkadot
  4. Low-risk: If there aren’t enough satisfactory projects to fund, the bounty will simply be returned
  5. First point of contact: Designed to open opportunities and a way into Polkadot (not designed to be the last point of contact).

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Full proposal

As curators, we’ve brainstormed together and refined our approach to maximise the success of the bounty. This is now reflected in our updated full proposal here.

This includes more detail on the differences between this Bounty and the others that already exist, how it will work with those ecosystems, success metrics, budget, the Bounty manifesto, and other important information.

This bounty will benefit the whole Polkadot ecosystem, including programmes further downstream, producing top talent for bounties like the Dot Play and Open Source Developer Grants Bounty, with whom we are collaborating closely. Importantly, this bounty is synergistic with, and different from, the other active bounties.

We will be presenting on the upcoming AAGs to share more about our vision for the Fast-Grants Bounty as well as answer any questions the community have, and we would also be delighted to have your feedback here.

We’re looking forward to attracting the best talent to Polkadot with these fast-grants! Especially with smart contracts coming to Asset Hub, JAM on the horizon and so much more coming for builders on Polkadot, the time is now!

Comments (3)

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Pray4Love
a year ago

Hey everyone,

We are proud to submit this proposal to the Polkadot Fast-Grants Bounty for consideration.

The Purpose of This Proposal
KinKey exists to deliver a critical missing component in Polkadot’s ecosystem infrastructure... a sovereign-first wallet and cryptographic key management system aligned explicitly with the founding values of decentralization, user sovereignty, and cryptographic trustlessness. This submission is designed to advance Polkadot’s mission by ensuring these primitives are not just theoretical but actionable, available, and open-source for any parachain, DAO, or user who wishes to operate without compromise.

The Problem (Summarized)
While Polkadot’s vision for decentralized systems is clear, the ecosystem today suffers from the absence of native, user-sovereign key management tools that empower users to operate independently of centralized custody or trusted third parties.
Specifically:

  • There is no dedicated wallet infrastructure explicitly designed for ephemeral, user-owned, sovereign keys... a gap that limits true decentralization.
  • There is a lack of clear, trustless tooling for identity attestation, proof generation, and sovereign participation in governance, staking, and decentralized systems.
  • Other ecosystems (Solana, Ethereum L2s) have started addressing these with targeted funding and rapid MVPs, leaving Polkadot’s user-layer sovereignty underdeveloped.

Without solving these gaps, Polkadot risks replicating the mistakes of Web3: centralization creep, compromised sovereignty, and fragmented user experiences reliant on custodial abstractions.

The Solution (Summarized)
KinKey delivers a focused, actionable solution within the scope of this Fast-Grants bounty.

  • A minimal, operational MVP wallet focused on sovereign key management, governance participation, staking interaction, and ephemeral proof-generation — all designed to align with Polkadot’s architecture and ethos.
  • A reference implementation for developers and parachains wishing to adopt sovereign-first user identity and key management tools.
  • Open-source, permissively licensed, and immediately usable across the ecosystem.
  • Delivered fast, in alignment with the purpose of this bounty.

Why This Fits the Fast-Grants Bounty
This proposal aligns perfectly with the goals of the Fast-Grants bounty:

  • Small, focused, impactful.
  • Delivery within 60 days.
  • Directly benefits Polkadot’s infrastructure and user experience layer.
  • Fills a foundational gap to ensure the future success of larger ecosystem grants.

Curators and Community Alignment
I recognize and respect the work of the appointed curators and appreciate their focus on fast, meaningful results. My team brings prior experience building cryptographic tools, decentralized systems, and Web3 infrastructure, ensuring this work will meet both the technical and community expectations for quality, delivery, and relevance.

Deliverables (60 Days)

  1. KinKey Sovereign Wallet MVP
  • Operational wallet with Polkadot ecosystem support (DOT, parachains)
  • Local, ephemeral, sovereign-controlled key generation
  • Proof-of-possession flows for governance, staking, identity
  • Fully offline-compatible
  • Zero-custody architecture
  1. Sovereign Identity Module
  • Ephemeral cryptographic proofs (EIP-712 aligned where relevant)
  • Optional mood and entropy-based attestations (experimental)
  • First step toward decentralized identity on Polkadot
  1. Documentation and Education
  • Technical architecture docs
  • Usage guides for users and developers
  • Clear guidelines for governance integration
  • Open-source repository under permissive license
  1. Demonstration Suite
  • CLI tooling, fully offline-capable
  • Demonstrations for key management, proof generation, transaction flows

Success Metrics

  • A public GitHub repository with working code, demos, and documentation.
  • At least 1 demonstration of governance participation (testnet or live) using KinKey’s proof flow.
  • Positive community feedback from at least one parachain or DAO expressing intent to explore KinKey’s primitives for further integration.

Ecosystem Impact
KinKey provides tangible value to Polkadot’s long-term ecosystem goals:

  • Strengthens Polkadot’s claim to true decentralization through user-owned infrastructure.
  • Lays groundwork for further grants (Open Source Bounty, Treasury) by providing a real, working MVP.
  • Enables DAOs, parachains, and individual users to interact with governance in a trustless, sovereign manner.
  • Helps differentiate Polkadot from ecosystems where custody and centralization dominate.

Beneficiaries include:

  • Developers needing sovereign key management infrastructure.
  • Governance participants seeking cryptographic independence.
  • Researchers and protocol architects exploring decentralized identity.
  • DAOs looking for non-custodial participation primitives.

Executive Summary
Summarized in 5 points:

  • Fast: Delivered in 60 days.
  • Foundational: Establishes critical infrastructure Polkadot is missing today.
  • Practical: Directly usable by developers, parachains, DAOs, and users.
  • Open-source: Available to all, extensible by the ecosystem.
  • Aligned: Advances Polkadot’s sovereignty and decentralization goals.

Closing Statement
Polkadot is at a pivotal moment where its future depends on more than just consensus protocols and parachain scalability. The user layer... sovereignty, trustless identity, and cryptographic integrity... must be strengthened. KinKey provides this. It is not just a wallet. It is the first cryptographic cornerstone for a truly sovereign future on Polkadot.

I believe this aligns fully with the intent of the Fast-Grants program and respectfully ask for your support to deliver it.

Thank you for your consideration. I welcome any feedback and will be happy to answer questions or clarify details as needed.

Funding Requested: 10,000 DOT
Delivery Timeline: 60 Days

a year ago

@Pray4Love Thanks for sharing your idea! To be considered for a Polkadot Fast-Grant, please submit it via the official GitHub application: https://github.com/Polkadot-Fast-Grants/apply

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