Please describe your proposed solution

We aim at building the Auction solution that allows for decentralized, contention-less layer 1 auctions, with fast layer 2 throughput on demand by combining two protocols we developed before - Hydra-based auctions and Grabbit L1 auctions. Two things hindered building such a combined auction protocol:

• The absence (or immaturity) of incremental operations in Hydra.
• The fact that Grabbit protocol was not fully open sourced.

Now when both impediments are behind (or in the process of resolving, but we have no reasons to think this won’t be done very soon) it’s the proper time to start moving towards the unified auctions. Our plan is as follows:

• We will begin with research into the feasibility of using Hydra-based L2s such as Hydrazoa or Gummiworm.
• Then, we will implement full-backed bids within Hydra-based auctions.
• Next we'll support parallelized L1 auction protocol by finding a proper way to move such auctions between L1 and L2.
• Finally we will combine two protocols by adopting Grabbit scripts and providing auction state layer switching that can be used in case the auctioneer needs it.

We'll preserve the existing Hydra-auction flow as well, so the end user can choose whatever version suits their needs better.

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Hydra has added many new features which can enable better UX to be developed in Cardano applications. However, dApps still need to adapt to use these features before users can see them in action.

By combining two existing applications, we’ll put these features in users' hands as fast as possible, and help other apps to do the same by providing a robust, open source example to learn from.

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

This project will be completed by the teams behind Hydra-Auction and Grabbit Marketplace - Ikigai Technologies and associated contractors. We have successfully created both auction protocols and SDK for building Hydra-based applications.

Ikigai has built and deployed Grabbit — an L1-based auction with a rich user experience and a sophisticated smart contract model that does not require any privileged third parties to process bids and determine the winner (i.e. no batchers).

Together two companies worked on the Hydra-Action Catalyst project in Catalyst Fund10. This work includes a server to be run by Hydra delegates that controls Hydra nodes. As trailblazers in this area we collaborate with the Hydra’s team by providing the feedback and identifying the missing bits (e.g. commit transaction blueprint issue <https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/issues/1350>).

This experience makes Ikigai ideally positioned to continue this work in order to bring fruitful results to the Cardano community.

What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Milestone 1: Combined Auction Protocol Specification

Outputs

• Research documents comparing production-readiness of current Hydra-based L2 solutions
• Auction combined protocol specification, which explains clearly the way full-backed L2 bids and granular commit/decommit bidders’ operations will be implemented as well as how parallelized L1 auctions protocol will be integrated with L2

Milestone 2: Granular Commit/Decommit for Bidders

Outputs

• The latest Hydra version is supported within the delegate server.
• Endpoints to allow bidders to move their funds to/from L2 are implemented and tested.

Milestone 3: Fully-backed Bids Auction Flow

Outputs

New auction workflow based on non-parallel L1 approach and full-backed bids:

• Support for multiple auction workflows are added.
• A set of adopted and tested on-chain scripts from Hydra-auction protocol.
• Needed off-chain API endpoints are implemented and tested
• Happy-path test-suite demonstrates the flow, including the use of bidders’ granular operations

Milestone 4: L1 Parallel Auctions Interoperability

Outputs

The third auction workflow, based on parallel contention-free L1 approach and full-backed bids:

• Scripts from Grabbit protocol are adopted.

• Necessary modifications are done in Hydra-Auctions’ on-chain scripts are done.

• New endpoints are implemented.

Milestone 5: Update UI SDK

Outputs

• The existing Hydra-Auctions UI SDK gets modified:
• Commit/decommit operations for bidders.
• Support for new combined protocol’s auction flow.

Final Milestone: Documentation, launching, and open-sourcing best practices

Outputs

• Updated Hydra-Auction platform is launched on testnet.
• Hydra-Auctions docs updates.
• Close-out video on the combined auction protocol.
• An article is published.
• An announcement is made on social media.

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

Ikigai Technologies is a technology company that specializes in creating innovative solutions leveraging Cardano. The team is composed of experienced professionals in the fields of technology, business, and design. Considered a quiet builder, Ikigai has been developing solutions for marketplaces, data solutions, and game development with Grabbit, Logosphere, and GENUN Games.

Core team

• Sam Delaney [email protected] - Design &amp; Frontend
• Cliff Garvis - [email protected] - Backend Developer
• Dzmitry Shuiski [email protected] - Blockchain Developer
• Ilia Rodinov [email protected] - Project Lead

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Budget/cost breakdown:

• Milestone 1- Combined Auction Protocol Specification
• 32h - Revise and clarify the specification for Fully Backed Bids on L2 form Fund 10 Hydra Auction project, taking into account the way Hydra’s incremental commit / decommit features are implemented.
• 49h -Identify and research alternative L2s &amp; the ways multi-bids parallelized L1 auctions protocols can be used within Hydra-Auctions protocol.
• 73h - Prepare the next version of the protocol specification, which will include full-backed L2 bids, parallelized L1 auctions interoperability and UX approaches for combined auctions.
• Milestone 2 - Granular Commit/Decommit for Bidders
• 16h - Bump Hydra dependency in the delegate server.
• 162h - Add support for incremental API operations, implement new operations endpoints and tests within the delegate server.
• Milestone 3 - Fully-backed Bids Auction Flow
• 41h - Support for multiple auction workflows.
• 41h - L1 non-parallel full-backed compatibility.
• 81h - L2 full-backed bids implementation.
• 20h - Full-backed flow as a whole - debugging and testing.
• Milestone 4 - L1 Parallel Auctions Interoperability
• 57h - Incorporate Grabbit's on-chain scripts &amp; adjust them to fit.
• 170h - Moving parallelized L1 auctions to L2.
• Milestone 5 - Update UI SDK
• 130h - Support for granular operations for bidders within UI SDK.
• 20h - Full-backed bidding changes within the flow.
• Final milestone - Documentation, launching, and open-sourcing best practices
• 16h - Update Hydra auctions docs.
• 32h - Close-out video on the combined auction protocol.
• 20h - Promoting on social media.
• 41h - Preparing and publishing an article.
• 61h - Launching on testnet.

Subtotal: 1110 hours @110 USD/hour = 122,067 USD

Total (122,067 USD USD@ rate $0.296 USD / ADA): 420,921 ADA

We will be contracting members from the previous team to continue working with us on this project.

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

Hydra has long been promised as one of the pillars of scalability for the Cardano ecosystem. We are well positioned to bring the first actual user-experience improvement from Hydra to the Cardano community. With our proposal, Cardano will have a fast, decentralized use case that could not be done without Hydra to kick off 2025 with.