Enable fiat access on PolkadotHub to make Polkadot the easiest place to launch and scale web3 products.
We believe, it is time moving forward to the next stage from the previously posted discussion phase.
Summary
We want to let users buy or cash out any new project token and DOT straight from wallets & dApps – no central-exchange detour, no costly listing fees for early-stage projects.
A milestone-based treasury request (~50,000 DOT) would fund:
- Self-custodial fiat ramp covering EU (SEPA Instant ↔ EURe) and Brazil (PIX ↔ BRLA) using DEX liquidity and securely abstracting the UX to 1 click for the user.
- Specialised FX-DEX deployment on Polkadot Hub**** that includes an on-chain fiat price oracle servicing the whole ecosystem.
- DEX routing from fiat → DOT or stablecoin → project token including established DEXes like Hydration for swapping at the best available rate for users
Target: ≥10 dApp integrations and ≥60 % ramp success rate within 6 months of launch.
Problem
Today a builder must first list a fresh token on a CEX (and pay the setup fee) before any fiat ramp will even look at it. End-users meanwhile juggle KYC loops, bridges, and slippage just to touch Polkadot assets. This “double paywall” slows down adoption and burns runway.
Objective
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For builders: Remove the CEX prerequisite: ramp reads on-chain liquidity (e.g. Hydration, Vortex DEX), so projects can offer fiat access from day one.
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For users: One-step conversion fiat → DOT or stablecoin → project token
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For the ecosystem: Lower user acquisition costs + faster onboarding → more builders choose Polkadot
Keep the flow fully non-custodial – users signing their transactions (aggregated); funds never sit with Vortex.
Implementation (overview)
Today, Vortex is already live and serving various EVM Chains (Base, Arbitrum Ethereum etc.) as well as supporting offramps from USDC (AssetHub) in Brazil and Europe, all being routed through the Vortex DEX on Pendulum.
We propose adding the onramp feature to AssetHub Assets, upgrading to the most effective fiat routes using EURC, EURe and BRLA (via XCM, Snowbridge, Hyperbridge or Squidrouter) and adding support for DOT, USDT, Hollar and other DEX-listed Polkadot-Assets, building up a USP to the Polkadot Ecosystem.
All new functionalities shall be available through the Vortex Widget and API, all code written will be open source. Each milestone budget includes an allocation for audits.
| Milestone | Deliverable | When | DOT |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | PIX + BRLa integration (Avenia PSP) via API for AssetHub | Oct 2025 | 8 k |
| M2 | EURe bridging (with Monerium EMI) + Instant SEPA onramping | Nov 2025 | 20 k |
| M3 | Integration with new Polkadot Hub including price-oracle pushed onchain (pending separate gas sponsoring proposal) | Jan 2026 | 7 k |
| M4 | Oracle-based DEX rollout for bootstrapping initial EURe and BRLA liquidity | Feb 2026 | 5 k |
| M5 | Add DEX routing through Hydration | Feb 2026 | 10k |
Total: 50 000 DOT
Partners: Monerium (EU EMI licence, EURe issuer), Avenia (Brazil BRLA issuer), Ramp aggregators (e.g. meld.io) .
Compliance: full KYC/AML handled by partners; Vortex provides the self-custodial UX and chain abstraction
How It Works
Vortex aggregates and bundles the fiat ramp flow together with DEX swaps into a single user transaction. By connecting directly to stablecoin issuers’ infrastructure, Vortex eliminates unnecessary intermediaries, cuts costs, and mitigates risk — all while utilizing DeFi infrastructure including DEXs, bridges, and abstraction of cross-chain complexity.
Simplified Flow for Europe
1. Minting/redeeming EURe for fiat EUR on Polygon/Gnosis → Bridge Monerium-issued EURe into/from Polkadot (Hyperbridge)
2. Swapping to target token
- Best DEX route chosen between Hydration, Stellaswap, or Vortex DEX (powered by Nabla.fi, that shall be**** deployed on Polkadot Hub, which is expected to roll out by end of 2025 and is fully EVM-compatible)
- Ensures we can deliver instant swaps from fiat → EUR-e → DOT or USD stablecoin → project token
- Treasury-funded integration ensures routing flexibility between DEXes (Hydration, Stellaswap, Vortex DEX)
3. Vortex → Handles fiat settlement starting with Instant-SEPA (Europe) & PIX (Brazil) and swapping/bridging via API + widget
4. Builders → Integrate the Vortex widget/API → users can directly ramp fiat into tokens on their dApp, once it has DEX liquidity. Focus maintained by avoiding premature CEX listings.
Team
Core contributors: SatoshiPay team (Marcel Ebert, Gianfranco Tasteri, Kacper Szarkiewicz, Prayag Desale, Florian Beba, Tansel Inanc, Alexander Wilke)
Beneficiary Multisig is controlled by SatoshiPay team members.
Comments (3)
These on-off ramps and integrations are usually good for liquidity which is king in all DeFi things. Unfortunately we've had already 2 unfruitful integrations on Polkadot. Some which targeted the wrong markets, wrong liquidity (wrong tokens), etc. How is this integration avoid the past pitfalls and help+market this on-off ramp integration into the proposed markets successfully. What are metrics we are looking to be delivered, if you were to project success metrics after the execution of these, what will they be?
Moreover, what would be the future cost of maintenance of this project in the future.
If other Polkadot members from those regions weighed in would be of value for our future decision. For instance, we know Pix is huge in Brazil but is the price and partners worth it, same for other regions, etc.
Hi @saxemberg thanks for the thoughtful questions – let me show how we’ll keep liquidity troubles out this time.
1. Picking the right markets
2. Avoiding the “wrong-token” trap
3. Concrete success metrics
Metric
Target 6 months post-launch
Why it matters
Ramp success rate
≥ 60 %
Shows we’re actually delivering fiat→token, not errors
Integrated dApps / widgets
≥ 10
Ecosystem reach
Unique ramp users
≥ 1 000
Real adoption
Total fiat volume
≥ 5 M USD-eq.
Liquidity health
4. Long-term maintenance
Vortex is a commercial product – the treasury co-funds the jump-start, not a lifetime subscription. Ongoing ops are covered by ramp fee.
SatoshiPay also just closed another €250 k seed round for the development and marketing of Vortex (announcement upcoming). So after the POC milestones the project stays alive on its own dime; no follow-up grants planned (except potential gas sponsoring for on-chain oracle).
We are very positive on the PolkadotHub, which's EVM compatibility removes a big obstacle for builders to join Polkadot, that we ourselves experienced. We believe it would make sense to add a new-project-token fiat ramp setup as a business USP for builders to the pot.
Hope that clarifies how we’ll turn “unfruitful” into “juicy”. I will also be available at one of the upcoming Gov shows on youtube to answer more questions.
I just made a try:
-> Isn't supposed to already work for EUR?
Additional question: as you seem to be already integrated:
-> Did you benefit from the DeFi bounty for this prior integration?
If yes, why don't you keep going with the DeFi bounty?
If No, did you ask in 1st place to the DeFi bounty which is the best actor for this in the eco?
Thx in advance.