Please describe your proposed solution.

The current state of financial disclosure in the Cardano ecosystem is fragmented and inconsistent. This makes it difficult for community members to "Do Your Own Research" (DYOR) and verify the information that is reported. It also makes it difficult for marketplace aggregator services to integrate Cardano token projects into their services.

FUDS is a proposal for a standard format for financial disclosure that is designed to increase transparency and trust in the Cardano ecosystem. FUDS would utilize on-chain published information, which means that the information that is disclosed would be stored on the Cardano blockchain and can be verified by anyone. FUDS would also provide a set of open source software (OSS) tooling that would make it easy for third-party services to integrate Cardano token projects into their services.

FUDS would provide a number of benefits for the Cardano ecosystem, including:

• Increased transparency: By having a standard format for financial disclosure, it would be easier for investors to understand how token projects are managing their finances. This would make it easier for the community to make informed decisions.
• Increased trust: By utilizing on-chain published information, FUDS would provide a secure and transparent way for token projects to disclose their financial information. This would help to build trust between token projects and the community.
• Improved integration with marketplace aggregator services: The OSS tooling that would be developed as part of FUDS would make it easy for marketplace aggregator services to integrate Cardano token projects into their services. This would make it easier for investors to find and research Cardano token projects.

This proposal will allow our team to complete the following work:

1. Refine the CIP
2. Build an Aggregator and Validator Open Source tool
3. Create a Publicly accessible API for easy access to the aggregator and validator.

How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

The challenge is addressed in several ways. By creating technical standards, as well as technical documentation we help improve financial transparency in this space. In addition the tooling of an aggregator/validator will provide critical infrastructure to the Cardano community.

Projects can benefit by having a template to follow for well-rounded financial disclosure and the community and third-party services can benefit by easily being able to consume, analyze, and report findings based on publicly published information.

How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Success for this project will mean the CIP moving forward through the process, the creation of a GitHub repository for the open source aggregator and validator, and the creation of the public API.

Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

This work will be output in GitHub, and explainer videos and documentation will be produced.

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

The community members involved in this project are longstanding and publicly available. Projects delivered previously by these community members include: Buffy Bot, cNFTcon (NFTxLV), GateKeeper, and more. We are well placed to continue developing for the Cardano community.

What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goal is to move this draft CIP to an Active CIP status, and to create the open source software tooling that will make it easy to conform with this CIP. Based upon early discussion, this proposal is desired by the community and the technical considerations are not beyond the scope of capabilities of the team.

Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

Milestone 1: Further refine the FUDS specification. This would involve finalizing the scope of the specification, defining the data elements that will be included, and developing a schema for the data. This milestone could be completed within 3 months.

Milestone 2: Develop the OSS tooling for projects to publish and aggregators to consume. This would involve building a web application that allows projects to create and publish FUDS documents, as well as a library of code that aggregators can use to consume FUDS documents. This milestone could be completed within 6 months.

Milestone 3: Complete documentation and explainer videos. This would involve creating and distributing educational materials about FUDS to the Cardano community. This milestone could be completed within 9 months.

Milestone 4: Reach out to big market aggregators for onboarding. This would involve contacting the owners and operators of major market aggregators to discuss the benefits of integrating FUDS into their services. This milestone could be completed within 12 months.

Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 1: CIP in Proposed Status

Milestone 2: GitHub Repository with OSS code for aggregator/validator

Milestone 3: Documentation published in GitHub. Explainer Videos hosted on YouTube.

Milestone 4: 2 or More Market Aggregators using the specification.

Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

This project makes use of our media team, engineering resources, and management resources.

Milestone 1:

Lead Developer: 20000 ADA

Management: 2000 ADA

Milestone 2:

Lead Developer: 30000 ADA

Management: 2000 ADA

Milestone 3:

Lead Developer: 10000 ADA

Media Team: 4000 ADA

Testing Team: 2000 ADA

Management: 2000 ADA

Final Milestone:

Lead Developer: 20000 ADA

Management: 2000 ADA

Administrative Overhead for Catalyst Fund Reporting Administration: 17500

Total Budget: 111500

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Adam Dean: Lead Developer

Anthony McDonough: Finance

Lloyd & Melannie Duhon: Catalyst Administration and Media Team

How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The Cardano Financial Updates & Disclosure Specification (FUDS) project will bring value for money by:

• Increased transparency: By having a standard format for financial disclosure, it would be easier for investors to understand how token projects are managing their finances. This would make it easier for investors to make informed investment decisions.
• Increased trust: By utilizing on-chain published information, FUDS would provide a secure and transparent way for token projects to disclose their financial information. This would help to build trust between token projects and investors.
• Improved integration with marketplace aggregator services: The OSS tooling that would be developed as part of FUDS would make it easy for marketplace aggregator services to integrate Cardano token projects into their services. This would make it easier for investors to find and research Cardano token projects.
• Increased adoption of Cardano: By making it easier for investors to research and invest in Cardano token projects, FUDS would help to increase the adoption of Cardano. This would benefit the Cardano ecosystem as a whole.
• The specific value that FUDS would bring for money will depend on the number of token projects that adopt the specification and the number of investors who use it to make investment decisions. However, the potential benefits of FUDS are significant and the project is well worth the investment.

Here are some specific examples of how FUDS could bring value for money:

• A token project that adopts FUDS could save money by not having to develop its own financial disclosure system.
• An investor who uses FUDS could save time by not having to research multiple sources of information to get a complete picture of a token project's finances.
• A marketplace aggregator service that integrates FUDS could attract more users by providing them with a more comprehensive and reliable source of information about Cardano token projects.
• The Cardano ecosystem as a whole could benefit from increased adoption of FUDS, which would lead to more investment in Cardano projects and a stronger overall community.

Overall, the Cardano Financial Updates & Disclosure Specification (FUDS) project has the potential to bring significant value for money to the Cardano ecosystem. The project is well worth the investment and the potential benefits are clear.