Please describe your proposed solution

The wallet will hold all personal information of the users, including their DID, VC (verifiable credentials), personal asset regulatory documents and all the financial transaction information related to the security tokens that may be issued on the platform, including yields generated etc.

Insurance and Recourse:

A regulated wallet could offer insurance or dispute resolution mechanisms that non-regulated wallets lack.

Bridging Traditional Finance and Crypto

A regulated wallet provides a trusted bridge between traditional financial systems and the Cardano ecosystem, enabling users to convert fiat to ADA more easily and securely.

Regulatory Alignment

A wallet that complies with KYC/AML regulations allows Cardano to enter markets with stricter financial regulations.

Innovation Precedent

A regulated wallet sets a precedent for future development in terms of security, compliance, and user experience.

Scalability:

As Cardano scales, having a regulated wallet ensures that the network is well-prepared to handle larger user bases, more transactions, and more complex use cases.

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

A regulated wallet in the Cardano ecosystem could provide several key benefits, particularly in enhancing trust, security, and adoption. Here are some of the ways it could be beneficial:

1. Increased Trust and Credibility

• Regulatory Compliance: A wallet that complies with regulatory standards (e.g., KYC/AML requirements) provides users and institutions with a higher degree of confidence. This can lead to greater institutional participation and user adoption, as the wallet would align with traditional financial rules.
• Security and Oversight: Being regulated implies higher standards for security audits, data protection, and operational integrity. This could reduce the risk of hacks or fraudulent activities, which can plague the DeFi space.

2. Broader Adoption

• Institutional Interest: Regulatory oversight can make the ecosystem more appealing to banks, hedge funds, and other large financial players who require compliance with local laws. Cardano’s aim to onboard governments and enterprises would be boosted with regulated solutions.
• Retail User Confidence: Everyday users who are unfamiliar with crypto may be more willing to engage with Cardano if they know their wallet is backed by some form of regulation and offers recourse in case of issues.

3. Interoperability with Traditional Finance

• Bridge to Fiat & Legacy Systems: A regulated wallet could act as a seamless bridge between traditional financial systems (fiat) and the Cardano ecosystem, facilitating smoother transfers, crypto-fiat conversions, and integration with payment systems.
• Cross-Border Transactions: Governments and businesses looking to use blockchain for remittances or cross-border payments might prefer regulated solutions that comply with financial jurisdictions, reducing legal complications.

4. Improved Ecosystem Integrity

• Fraud Prevention: Regulations often include mechanisms to monitor and prevent fraudulent activities, ensuring that illicit transactions (e.g., money laundering, terrorism financing) are flagged or prevented.
• Network Stability: A more secure and trusted network leads to greater participation and stability in the ecosystem, supporting Cardano’s long-term growth and credibility as a blockchain platform.

5. Support for DeFi Growth

• Enhanced Liquidity: By fostering a more secure and compliant environment, regulated wallets could attract more liquidity providers and investors to Cardano-based DeFi projects, boosting liquidity pools and increasing capital inflows.
• Insurance for Users: A regulated wallet could potentially offer insurance mechanisms or guarantees for user funds, something traditional financial products offer but is still nascent in decentralized finance.

6. Regulatory Framework for Innovation

• RegTech Integration: A regulated wallet could help set the stage for regulatory technology (RegTech) solutions to be built directly into the Cardano network, creating smart contracts or protocols that can automatically ensure compliance with different jurisdictions.
• User-Friendly Innovation: As more users seek compliant platforms, innovation in the wallet space (e.g., offering more user-friendly, safe, and compliant financial services) could drive higher rates of adoption.

In sum, a regulated wallet can provide the Cardano ecosystem with the framework needed to bridge decentralized and traditional finance, boost adoption by both retail and institutional users, and enhance the overall security and trustworthiness of the platform.

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?

Reitcircles has achieved the following milestones already:

• A working portal with wallet based login
• An onboarding module with document upload and review
• Payment module for taking NFT payments and minting the same.
• House NFT creation based on documents and smart contract based verification.
• Portal based chat communication between members of the platform.
• Role NFT based access to the platform.
• Smart contract based REIT token issuance replicating BTC (with halving every 4 years)
• Multiple reviewer based validations of the asset data before tokenization
• Ability to add multiple reviewer per project/asset.
• Fractionalization module

Our team brings in more than 40+ yrs of software development experience.

• Antonio Hernandez-Garduno: Platform lead in Smart contract development who is a PhD graduate from Caltech, leading security solutions.
• Tony Mönicke: Computer science graduate based in Berlin and working in cardano ecosystem for last 2+ years.
• Nilay Saha: Worked in leading multinational companies such as ASML, AUDI, Hilti and extensive experience in banking. Has 25+ years of development, solutions architecture and technical leadership experience in large/mid size industry.
• An Sy, Vinh tuan: Developers working on the platform (frontend and backend)
• Giang Nguyen: UI/UX lead

We will be delivering using open source code, where commits can be monitored. And to give a proof of concept / working version, we will integrate the same into our verification platform that is already live on mainnet.

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

Milestone 1: Planning & Requirements Gathering

Define Business Scope and Objectives

• Project charter outlining goals, target audience, and project scope.
• Use case documentation.

Legal and Regulatory Assessment

• Compliance report detailing legal requirements for real estate tokenization and how DIDs can be used for the KYC/AML requirements.
• Regulatory and legal checklist for tokenization of real estate on chain.
• Engagement of legal counsel (if necessary).

Timeline:

• Duration: 2 weeks
• FTE: 1 + 1 (LEGAL)

Milestone costs

• 6.4K USD

Milestone 2: System Architecture and Technology Stack Finalization

• System architecture diagram including blockchain and Hyperledger Identus.
• Technology stack document specifying Hyperledger Identus, frontend, and backend tools.
• Integration plan with third-party services (e.g., payment gateways, KYC/AML providers).
• Functional specification document
• Detailed description of how the Identity wallet can be used to hold DIDs and VCs
• Mobile first strategy

Timeline:

• Duration: 8 weeks
• FTE: 1

Milestone costs

• 12.8K USD

Milestone 3: Platform Design

UI/UX Design for integrating wallet in†o Tokenization Portal and creating mobile app as wallet

• Wireframes for integrating the Identity wallet with the platform.
• User experience flowcharts for generating user DID and VCs.
• High-fidelity mockups for key screens.

Timeline:

• Duration: 6 weeks
• 1 FTE

Milestone costs

• 10K USD

Milestone 4: Development & unit testing

Frontend implementation

• Implement the wallet as a plugin
• Integrate the wallet into the Reitcircles portal.

Backend Development for generating the services driving the wallet

• Fully functional wallet engine (test environment), supporting DID generation, VC generation (depending on the real world role of the user, such as investor, verifier)
• API documentation for the services created.

Timeline:

• Duration: 12 weeks
• FTE: 4

Milestone costs

77K USD

Milestone 5: Security, Testing, and Compliance

Security Audit and Compliance Review

• Security audit reports for smart contracts (conducted by third-party audit firm).
• Penetration test results for the DID wallet.
• Compliance certificates for legal/regulatory requirements (as needed).

Integration and System Testing

• Comprehensive testing documentation for unit, integration, and system tests.
• Test results and bug-fix documentation for the platform.

Timeline:

• Duration: 8 weeks
• FTE: 2

Milestone costs

• 20K USD

Final Milestone: Deployment and Go-Live

User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

• UAT test plan and scenarios based on real-world use cases.
• Feedback reports from stakeholders and test users.
• List of final bug fixes and optimizations before go-live.

Platform Deployment

• Deployment plan for the DID wallet
• Cloud or hosting setup with performance scaling configurations.
• Backup, monitoring, and failover strategy documentation.

Milestone 6: Documentation

• Marketing materials and educational content (tutorials, how-to guides for auctions and tokenization).
• Public announcement strategy for platform launch (PR, email campaigns, etc.).
• User onboarding guide and support documentation.

Timeline:

• Duration: 6 weeks
• FTE: 2

Milestone costs

• 15K USD

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

Reitcircles

• Antonio Hernandez-Garduno: Platform lead in Smart contract development who is a PhD graduate from Caltech, leading security solutions.
• Nilay Saha: Worked in leading multinational companies such as ASML, AUDI, Hilti and extensive experience in banking. Has 25+ years of development, solutions architecture and technical leadership experience in large/mid size industry. Also a stake pool operator in Cardano running LKBH pool since the start of Shelley.
• Huy, Vinh, AnSy: Developers working on the platform (frontend and backend)
• Giang: UI/UX lead
• Mauricio Prieto : CSO of Reitcircles Extensive experience beyond blockchain technology and LATAM Cardano DRep .
• Malay Saha: Head of marketing and CEO of Reitcircles. He has been country lead of automotive operations for Isuzu, Hyundai, Carrier Transicold, and has more than 27+ years of marketing experience and leadership.
• Advisors:
• Andrew Westberg: An active member of the Cardano community and has provided key technical advice since the beginning of the project.
• Ekemini: Documentation writer

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Total: 142K USD ~ 420K ADA @ 0.344$/ADA.

Duration: 44 weeks = 11 months

Hyperledger identus is the core of DID and VC issuance. Hence this is one of the dependency for the Reitcircles wallet.

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

A regulated wallet development cost can represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem by providing key benefits that significantly outweigh the initial investment. Here’s a breakdown of how this could happen:

1. Trust and Compliance

• Regulatory Alignment: A wallet that complies with KYC/AML regulations allows Cardano to enter markets with stricter financial regulations. This could lead to a significant increase in user adoption, especially among institutions and governments that require compliance with these rules. This opens up broader markets without the risk of legal issues.
• Institutional Confidence: Financial institutions are more likely to adopt blockchain solutions that have regulatory backing. By providing a compliant wallet, Cardano can attract institutional investors, increase capital inflows, and expand the range of use cases in sectors like finance, remittances, and supply chain.
• Return on Investment: While $160K may seem like a substantial upfront cost, the potential returns from institutional adoption and regulatory approval in new markets can lead to a significantly higher value over time. Increased institutional use of ADA for various purposes can lead to price appreciation and liquidity growth within the ecosystem.

2. Increased Adoption and User Base

• Bridging Traditional Finance and Crypto: A regulated wallet provides a trusted bridge between traditional financial systems and the Cardano ecosystem, enabling users to convert fiat to ADA more easily and securely. This encourages greater adoption by retail investors who may be hesitant to engage with decentralized wallets that lack regulatory assurances.
• Global Market Access: By providing a wallet that meets global regulatory standards, Cardano can attract users from regions where stringent financial regulations are in place (e.g., Europe, North America). This not only increases the user base but also drives greater transaction volumes, benefiting the entire ecosystem by increasing demand for ADA and boosting liquidity.

3. Security and Risk Mitigation

• High Security Standards: A regulated wallet would likely have stringent security protocols, reducing the likelihood of hacks, fraud, or theft. Security breaches can cause enormous reputational and financial damage, so the cost would be a worthwhile investment to ensure wallet integrity, protecting users and the network.
• Insurance and Recourse: A regulated wallet could offer insurance or dispute resolution mechanisms that non-regulated wallets lack. This increases user confidence and may lead to higher engagement with the wallet, driving adoption and increasing transaction volumes on the network. The availability of such protections for users could easily justify the cost of development.

4. Catalyst for DeFi Growth

• Onboarding for DeFi Users: A compliant and regulated wallet is a stepping stone for users who may want to engage with DeFi platforms on Cardano but need a secure and compliant entry point. This means that the wallet could facilitate higher participation in Cardano-based DeFi projects, leading to increased liquidity in decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending platforms, and other financial services.
• Increased Transaction Volume: More users engaging in DeFi means higher transaction volumes on the Cardano blockchain, which could drive up the demand for ADA tokens. This, in turn, would lead to higher network activity and possibly increased staking, both of which would enhance the overall value of the Cardano ecosystem.

5. Boosting Developer Ecosystem

• Integration with dApps: A regulated wallet could integrate smoothly with decentralized applications (dApps) built on Cardano, fostering further ecosystem development. Developers would be more inclined to build and deploy dApps on Cardano, knowing that they could seamlessly interact with a compliant and secure wallet. This provides greater utility to the Cardano ecosystem, driving innovation and attracting more developers.
• Cross-Ecosystem Interoperability: Such a wallet can support the creation of cross-chain or interoperable solutions, connecting Cardano to other blockchains or even legacy systems. By fostering easier interoperability, developers and enterprises will view Cardano as a more versatile platform, thus increasing developer interest and network effects.

6. Economic and Community Benefits

• Support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): A regulated wallet could open the door to SME adoption of Cardano as a trusted payment method. Small businesses and startups could leverage blockchain technology for payments, contracts, or supply chain solutions, giving the Cardano network more real-world utility.
• Catalyst for Local Economies: Governments or regions adopting Cardano (as seen in Ethiopia) would be more likely to use regulated wallets for transparency, security, and compliance. This could stimulate local economic growth, driving more adoption and transaction volume through Cardano, and thereby improving the economic value returned on the initial investment.

7. Setting a Precedent for Future Development

• Innovation Precedent: A regulated wallet sets a precedent for future development in terms of security, compliance, and user experience. As more users and developers see the value and potential of compliant tools, Cardano becomes a more attractive platform for investment and project development. This paves the way for larger and more complex projects that can drive even greater growth in the ecosystem.
• Scalability: As Cardano scales, having a regulated wallet ensures that the network is well-prepared to handle larger user bases, more transactions, and more complex use cases. The initial $160K investment would be a small price to pay for a wallet that can scale with the entire ecosystem.

Conclusion

The cost for developing a regulated wallet represents significant value for money within the Cardano ecosystem by enhancing user trust, security, and adoption. It opens up opportunities for institutional and retail users, boosts DeFi participation, supports dApp development, and helps Cardano achieve regulatory compliance, all of which lead to long-term value growth. The potential return on this investment, in terms of ecosystem growth, ADA value appreciation, and network utility, far exceeds the development cost.