Please describe your proposed solution.

About NFTCDN

NFTCDN is Cardano’s dedicated NFT Content Delivery Network, enabling products and services to display NFT media content easily, efficiently and at high-speed to their worldwide user base through our global CDN. Our capabilities include NFT Image Display delivery and Metadata Information provisioning, and we seek to introduce an API to enable products and services on Cardano to utilise the files component of an NFT, expanding the application of NFTs in the Cardano ecosystem, resulting in expansive growth in a variety of industries.

Problem Statement

Over 8.45 million NFTs have been minted on Cardano to date, and while the vast majority of these comprise of images in the form of digital art (using the “image” component of the NFT metadata), an emerging area is the application of the “files” component, wherein most notable use cases (henceforth referred to as “use-types”) have been for songs (audio files), movies, clips or exclusive footage (video files), books, documents, records or reports (pdf files) and bespoke projects (HTML and other file-types). This emerging area has seen an increase in utilisation of an NFT’s files component to hold assets by companies from the music, film, book and gaming industry - with ever evolving use cases. The challenge for products and services is the implementation of “fetching” and “display” capabilities of these files.

Building an end-to-end capability to query and parse metadata across various NFT standards to secure NFT file information, fetch the file(s) from the respective storage areas (IPFS, Arweave, on-chain, HTTP, etc) and deliver the files (termed the “fetching” process) in a fast, efficient, reliable and seamless manner would cost c. $90,000 to develop and $10,000 per month to run - notwithstanding costs for CI/CD.

The additional burden of building the capability to be able to display, without error, each of the file-types (audio, video, pdf, HTML, etc) in a manner that can be easily integrated within a product’s or service’s platform to fully realise the benefits for each use-type is not a sustainable endeavour for any new or existing project to undertake.

This necessitates the creation of a capability such that products and services can seamlessly integrate NFT files with their platforms, enabling them and content creators to realise and utilise this core component of a Cardano NFT to its fullest potential.

Solution Design

The proposal aims to deliver a fetching (i.e. delivery of media content within the NFT files component of the NFT metadata), optimising (i.e. transcoding/rescaling to lower bandwidth needs and increase end user client-compatibility) and display (i.e. regardless of the file format, the ability to load said files within a browser) capability though a “Universal NFT File Viewer API endpoint”, which can be seamlessly integrated within a product’s or service’s platform through iframes.

In simple terms, by simply plugging in an NFT’s fingerprint ID within the Universal API endpoint, the end recipient will be able to view (i.e. open) NFT files contained within an NFT, irrespective of its use-type. NFTCDN will design, develop, test and deploy this capability as an outcome of this proposal.

Solution Scope & Limitations

At present, the following known MIME types exist for the most notable use-types within an NFT:

• Images (image/png, image/gif, image/webp, image/jpeg)
• HTML (text/html)
• 3D Models (model/gltf and model/glb)
• Documents (application/pdf and text/plain)
• Audio Files (audio/wav, audio/mpeg and audio/x-flac)
• Video Files (video/mp4)

As part of this proposal, NFTCDN will build a Universal NFT File Viewer API endpoint that will be compatible with the aforementioned MIME types.

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

Performance Measure & Output Results From Proposal

Our ultimate objective is the successful delivery of the Universal NFT File Viewer API endpoint. As per our milestones, we will develop the capability to be able to fetch and display NFT files for each of the use-types (Image, HTML, 3D Models, Documents, Audio Files and Video Files).

We will measure our performance against the 100% successful delivery of our developed solution’s capability to fetch and display the 6 use-type categories listed. The results output from our testing will be in the form of a viewer being able to display NFTs minted with the respective MIME types per use-type. We will share these outputs as part of our milestone reporting, including showcasing the results on the NFTCDN website.

Once ready for deployment on mainnet (i.e. the roll-up of all 6 use-type categories into a single universal API endpoint), our close-out report/video will additionally feature a working example of this feature within.

In addition to the above, the proposal will maintain regular monthly reporting on our progress, highlighting our progress over the course of our endeavour.

Benefit to Cardano

• By delivering this capability, we will empower content creators, products and services on Cardano to expand their offerings from simply digital art NFTs to broader real-world use cases by virtue of the availability and compatibility for use of a diverse range of file-types. This opens up NFTs within the Cardano ecosystem to new innovations, catalysing the growth of new product and service developments by those seeking a blockchain with versatility within its native asset capability, consequently growing the Cardano user base.
• Cardano will have a ready-to-use capability, allowing both new products and services to jump start their business, and existing ones to quickly adopt an efficient and seamless system without having to spend 12 months and the associated costs towards developing such a capability.
• The Universal NFT File Viewer API will be a holistic end-to-end media content display endpoint, able to be seamlessly and easily integrated within a product’s or service’s platform with minimal development effort, enriching their end-user’s viewing and engagement experience.
• Once delivered, this capability will be powered by NFTCDN - a trusted name in the Cardano ecosystem, with a reputation for quality, reliability and performance.

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?

NFTCDN - The Company

NFTCDN, a UK limited company, was created to deliver value to its users and their end-users by providing a service responsible for the end-to-end delivery of NFT media content, with performance at the heart of everything we build and abstraction of all the intricacies and complexities involved in displaying NFTs, streamlining the process of displaying NFT media content and allowing developers to focus on the success of their core products.

We deliver on these objectives through our two core capabilities already available in the market today for testnet (free of charge) & mainnet (pay-as-you-use service); NFT Image API Endpoint and NFT metadata API endpoint. Since our launch in December-2022, these endpoints are being used by our customers and we serve on average over 1,700,000 NFT images per day and have served a total of 429,245,650 requests as of the 30th of November 2023. Our services are being used by well known names in the Cardano ecosystem, including Eternl wallet, VESPR wallet, Hazel.net, buffy bot, Ape Society, Plutus Art, pool.pm and many more.

Our capabilities are all-encompassing in the ability to display NFT images. Our infrastructure is built and run on industrial-grade setups to serve high volumes of NFT media content at high speeds worldwide through our Content Delivery Network (CDN). Furthermore, our services are backed with multiple redundancies at every point in the value chain to ensure continuity of service and we have an uptime of 100% since launch.

NFTCDN - The Team

The team comprises Smaug and Rocky - two individuals with decades of experience in their respective domains of technical development and management with a proven track record of successfully delivering on complex large-scale cross-functional projects that seek to deliver value to the end user and community as a whole.

NFTCDN - Proposal Delivery Capability

NFTCDN was created as a result of Catalyst funding in Fund 8, wherein we were granted a budget of $76,886 and as per our F8 proposal milestones, the team had delivered a working product on time, to cost and at the scope we had defined and is presently being used by NFT marketplaces, wallets and bespoke projects without issue underscoring the effectiveness and success of our proposal delivery history, product service provision and the dedication of our team members to bring value to the Cardano ecosystem.

Additionally, the proposal delivered in Fund 8 has a number of commonalities (fetching, optimising, and content delivery) in the solution architecture required to deliver a Universal NFT File Viewer API endpoint. This experience and the lessons learned thereof will assure the delivery of a reliable and quality-focused solution for the Cardano ecosystem.

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

Milestone #1: NFT File Fetching Capability & Image Capability Implementation

- Duration: 2 months

- Total Budget: 16.66% of total

- Outcomes:

• (i) NFT File fetching capability developed
• (ii) image/png, image/gif, image/webp and image/jpeg viewing integration within viewer endpoint

- Acceptance Criteria:

• (i) NFT Files can be retrieved from the blockchain
• (ii) Image files are able to be displayed within the viewer

- Evidence: Video of working example of this capability in practice.

>Milestone #2: HTML file Capability Implementation

- Duration: 2 months

- Total Budget: 16.66% of total

- Outcomes:

• (i) text/html file viewing integration within viewer endpoint

- Acceptance Criteria:

• (i) HTML files are able to be displayed within the viewer

- Evidence: Video of working example of this capability in practice.

>Milestone #3: 3D Model file Capability Implementation

- Duration: 2 months

- Total Budget: 16.66% of total

- Outcomes:

• (i) model/gltf and model/glb file viewing integration within viewer endpoint

- Acceptance Criteria:

• (i) 3D model files are able to be displayed within the viewer

- Evidence: Video of working example of this capability in practice.

>Milestone #4: Document file Capability Implementation

- Duration: 2 months

- Total Budget: 16.66% of total

- Outcomes:

• (i) application/PDF and text/plain file viewing integration within viewer endpoint

- Acceptance Criteria:

• (i) Document files are able to be displayed within the viewer

- Evidence: Video of working example of this capability in practice.

>Milestone #5: Audio file Capability Implementation

- Duration: 2 months

- Total Budget: 16.66% of total

- Outcomes:

• (i) audio/wav, audio/mpeg, audio/x-flac file viewing integration within viewer endpoint

- Acceptance Criteria:

• (i) Audio files are able to be displayed within the viewer

- Evidence: Video of working example of this capability in practice.

>Milestone #6: Video file Capability Implementation & Wrap-Up

- Duration: 2 months

- Total Budget: 16.66% of total

- Outcomes:

• (i) video/mp4 file viewing integration within viewer endpoint
• (ii) Deployment of viewer endpoint within NFTCDN (incl. open-access testnet endpoints)
• (iii) Close-out report & video

- Acceptance Criteria:

• (i) Video files are able to be displayed within the viewer
• (ii) Working endpoint deployed for NFTCDN, incl. Open-access testnet endpoints for use case testing
• (iii) Submission of close-out report & video

- Evidence: Final close-out report and video, including a video of a working example of this capability in practice, with an open-access testnet endpoint for use case testing.

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

Smaug

Founder of NFTCDN

Owner & creator of pool.pm

Blockchain Dev, Full Stack Dev and System, Network & Security Engineer

19+ years Tech Lead experience

Proposal Role: Technical Development, Support, Marketing

Rocky

Founder of NFTCDN

Owner & creator of BlockchainArt.Works

Strategy development, execution & operational delivery

14+ years Project Management experience

Proposal Role: Project Management, Support, Marketing

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

• Labour (Development, Management, Marketing) = $91,200
• Development, testing & deployment of Universal NFT File Viewer API endpoint for Image, HTML, 3D Model, Document, Audio & Video files
• End-to-end proposal delivery management
• All reporting & communications as per Catalyst requirements
• Infrastructure (Hosting) = $14,400
• Hosted servers for increased size and large processing requirements
• Total = $105,600 (ADA 299,999 @ ~$0.352)

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

• Labour Costs: Rates used to calculate labour costs are substantially lower than their respective national freelance averages. Both the proposer and co-proposers hold experience in the domain of development and project management, along with the previous Catalyst Fund experience of building and delivering the NFT retrieval and display capability, being able to confidently and efficiently deliver the proposal within the 12 month period, thereby reducing the total number of hours required.
• Proposal Funding: By funding this proposal, Cardano introduces a much needed capability within the ecosystem that would enable and attract a diverse range of content creators and audiences, across industries such as gaming and entertainment, to innovatively transform the way NFTs are used in the world today, promoting the growth and adoption of Cardano - making Cardano the blockchain of choice for NFTs.