Please describe your proposed solution.

Introduction:

What is Web5?

Web5 is a decentralized platform that aims to provide a new identity layer for the web, enabling decentralized apps and protocols. In the current web model, users do not have ownership or control over their data and identities, as they are given accounts by companies and their data is held in app silos. Web5's main pillars include Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), which are self-owned identifiers for decentralized identity authentication and routing; Verifiable Credentials, which allow trustless interactions and verification of claims about a DID subject; and Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs), which enable users to host their data independently and decouple it from applications. DWNs can store both public and encrypted data, and they are associated with DIDs listed in a DID document.

Why care?

Web5 also introduces the concept of Identity Wallets, which provide a simplified interface for users to manage their decentralized web nodes, identities, verifiable credentials, and authorizations.

Web5 allows developers to build decentralized web applications (DWAs) on top of the platform. DWAs leverage the decentralized web node SDK and service workers to access data stored in local cache and DWNs, eliminating the need for centralized servers. With Web5, users can seamlessly share data across multiple applications and benefit from improved user experiences. Examples of applications built on Web5 include music apps that allow users to access their playlists on different platforms and travel apps that unify and coordinate reservations and preferences across various providers. Web5 is an open-source initiative funded by TBD a subsidiary of Block.

Our Goal

Our primary objective is to make Cardano one of the chief blockchains used in this groundbreaking application type. By leveraging Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) anchored on the Cardano blockchain, we aim to facilitate a smooth and effortless onboarding process for application developers. Notably, this approach will give developers instant access to the vast and rapidly growing user base of Cardano. Furthermore, we intend to exploit the inherent properties of Cardano, such as its security, scalability, and interoperability, to provide superior services and ensure an enhanced user experience in the Web5 environment.

Our Solution

To achieve our goal, we propose the implementation of the "DID Prism" method, a robust, efficient, and highly customizable solution to be fully supported by the Web5 SDK. This method can be easily configured in any Decentralized Web Application (DWA) built on top of the Web5 platform. With the DID Prism method, DIDs can be generated and managed with high flexibility and ease, allowing developers to define their own identity models and schemes.

Moreover, by incorporating the DID Prism method into the Web5 SDK, we can seamlessly integrate Cardano blockchain's functionalities into the decentralized web, taking advantage of its secure and decentralized consensus mechanism. This ensures that the decentralized identities provided by the Cardano blockchain can be smoothly transitioned into the Web5 ecosystem, thus facilitating interoperability and data exchange among different DWAs. This solution not only streamlines the onboarding process for developers but also paves the way for a more connected, secure, and user-friendly decentralized web.

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

The Cardano ecosystem is growing rapidly, and there is a growing demand for decentralized identity (DID) solutions. Web5 is a new web standard that is designed to decouple identity from centralized entities, and Cardano is a well-suited platform for implementing DIDs.

My proposed solution is to implement the Cardano DID method into a Web5 npm package. This would make it easy for developers to build Web5 apps that use Cardano as part of their infrastructure.

This project would have a number of benefits for the Cardano ecosystem, including:

• Increased adoption of Cardano for DIDs.
• Increased developer interest in Cardano.
• Enhanced security and privacy for users of Cardano-based apps.
• Improved interoperability between Cardano and other blockchains.

I am confident that this project would be a valuable addition to the Cardano ecosystem. Currently, the web5 sdk has around 3000 daily npm installs.

Here are some additional details about the impact of this project:

• The project would make it easier for developers to build Web5 apps that use Cardano. This would lead to increased adoption of Cardano for DIDs, as well as increased developer interest in Cardano.
• The project would enhance security and privacy for users of Cardano-based apps. This is because DIDs are decentralized, which means that they cannot be controlled by a single entity.
• The project would improve interoperability between Cardano and other blockchains. This is because DIDs are a standard format, which means that they can be used by any blockchain.

I believe that this project would have a significant impact on the Cardano ecosystem. I am confident that it would be a valuable addition to the community.

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

Success will be measured by the number of applications that adopt did prism has a method in their solution.

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

Milestone 1:

• Implement did prism resolver in dwn-js
• Implement did prism class in web-js

Milestone 2:

• Demo application and Video
• Documentation and Promotion.

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

The RootsID team has been delivering Open Source building blocks for the Self-Sovereign Identity ecosystem in Cardano. We have been funded in several Catalyst projects since Fund 6. Our funded proposal are listed in our web page and also in lidonation, where you can find that we have delivered successfully and on time 18 out of 19 funded proposals. Proposal links, reports, and final videos can be found in those links.

The team is constantly engaged in all Self Sovereign Identity Cardano activities such as Atala Prism Astros, Atala Prism Pioneer Program, Prism+SSI After Town Hall break rooms, and meeting periodically with partners or related Catalyst projects with the aim of collaboration and help adoption and growth of Cardano in the Identity world.

Additionally, the team participates actively in the worldwide SSI community by attending and collaborating to several working groups in the Decentralized Identity Foundation, the Hyperledger foundation, the Trust over IP foundation, and the KERI community.

We’ve been providing technical services and consultancy on Decentralized Identity to several companies and organizations including:

• IOG
• Cardano Foundation
• GLEIF

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

Our main goals are to integrate Atala PRISM DID method into popular SSI SDKs and to promote its adoption. We will work closely with the TBD team to integrate the functionality inside the sdk. We want our packages to be compatible with @tbd54566975/dwn-sdk-js. We also want to show a demo application working with did prism and the web5 sdk.

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 - 2 months:

• Implement Create, Read, Update, Deactivate methods for DID Prism on Web5 (4 weeks @ 30 hrs/wk )
• Test the Did Method CRUD operations (4 weeks @ 30 hrs/wk )

Milestone 2 - 1 month:

• Integrate and document did method in a Web5 sample app (4 weeks @ 30 hrs/wk )
• Promote new DID method in the community calls and support first testers. (12 weeks @ 5 hrs/wk )

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

Milestone 1:

• An npm package that is compatible with @tbd54566975/dwn-sdk-js.
• An npm package that is compatible with @tbd54566975/web5-js

Milestone 2:

• A video of a sample web5 application working with the did prism
• A sample application that is open source.

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

Budget is mostly composed of development hours at a ratio of $100/hr (aprox ₳400/hr) , plus the hosting costs. Based on the activities defined above the requested breakdown budget is:

Milestone 1:

Design and Development (8 weeks x 30 hrs/week x ₳400/hr) = ₳96,000 ~ $24,000

Promotion and Community envolvment (8 weeks x 5 hrs/week x ₳400/hr)= ₳16,000 ~ $4,000

Milestone 2:

Integration and Testing (4 weeks x 40 hrs/week x ₳400/hr) = ₳64,000 ~ $13,500

Promotion and Community envolvment (4 weeks x 5 hrs/week x ₳400/hr)= ₳8,000 ~ $2,000

Total cost:

Development , Testing and Integration (₳109,500): This includes the implementation of PRISM DID method into the web5 sdks. This also includes building a sample application that shows a decentralized web app using did prism as part of its infrastructure.

Documentation and Promotion: (₳24,000):

This covers the costs associated with promoting our solution within the Web5 community. It also includes the cost to write the documentation for sample apps that can be shown during the community calls.

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

This project will be delivered by:

Rodolfo Miranda is a co-founder of RootsID and contributor on several of our projects, including RootsWallet.

His background includes a MS EE degree at Stanford University and more than 25 years of successful work experience in both large multinational companies and owned startup projects. His main activities involve architecting, developing, and implementing large scale software solutions for the Telecommunication Industry. Lately, he was engaged in blockchain technologies and became an enthusiast of Self Sovereign Identity. He’s an active contributor in the Aries, DIDComm, KERI and Anoncreds Working Groups.

He’s also involved in the Cardano Community, participating as a veteran Proposal Advisor, member of the LATAM Cardano Community, and the Cardano Community SSI Alliance.

LinkedIn

Lance Byrd is a co-founder of RootsID, a group of decentralized identity specialists building open source software for digital identity. Several of their projects have been funded by Catalyst. He is primarly focused on RootsWallet, the end-user identity wallet.

His background includes a BS in Computer Science (UMBC) and MS in Information Assurance (Capitol College) and more than 22 years of software development as a consultant. He has developed massive scale data analytics and visualizations, machine learning analysis pipelines, and worked with University researchers to bring their work to market. He has also built and taught technical certification courses for several different topics in data analysis, big data, and compliance.

He completed the first cohort of the Atala Prism Pioneer program and is now part of the Atala Prism Astros program.

Linkedin

Alex Andrei is an experienced open source developer who has a passion for architecting decentralized data solutions. With vast knowledge and expertise in data, Alex is able to create, secure, and scale systems that have the most demanding needs . He’s currently working on the open source identity wallet, RootsWallet. He’s actively participating on standards at Hyperledger, DIF and IETF.

Linkedin

Alex will be leading the project counting with Rodolfo and Lace as supporting developers of KERI technology. We are also including two extra developers currently working for RootsID that will help with the efforts of UI design and DecOps.

Since we are participating in 8 proposals, we carefully planned time allocation for each of us. We defined our individual commitment per week as if all of the proposals are funded including extra activities. Based on that, we defined the allocation per proposal for each of us needed to deliver the proposal in time.

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

The cost of the project is justified by the significant benefits it will bring to the Cardano ecosystem. By making it easier for developers to use did prism into a web5 app the number of cardano based dids will increase thus increasing the amount of transaction on the blockchain.