Please describe your proposed solution.

1. NFT project owners need a way to demonstrate to NFT collectors that they’ve created the project and the works they intend to sell. And conversely, collectors need a way to easily verify whether the assets they’re buying, and the artists and teams behind them, are legitimate.
2. In the current market, legitimate NFT artists and teams typically demonstrate their investment in a project through building community on social networking platforms like Twitter, through the launch of a website, and/or ownership of other accounts that speak to their professional reputation.
3. Using DIDs, proof of ownership of various accounts - whether they be an email account, or an account on Twitter, Artstation, etc. - can be included in an encrypted identifier that proves the same individual or entity that owns these accounts, also registered a collection of images on IPFS (in preparation to mint them as NFTs), or registered said collection with an NFT minting platform (again, in preparation for minting).
4. In addition to proving ownership of various accounts evidencing one’s creative legitimacy, artists and project owners can attach a verifiable credential to this identifier proving that they scanned their collection on Argus and that Argus found it to likely be an “original” (i.e. not likely a counterfeit) collection.
5. By simply querying a DID on a verification interface (like one we'll build as part of a PoC on argusnft.com) NFT collectors can quickly and easily access all the above proofs in a human readable format.
6. By having personal DIDs and holding NFT ownership verifiable credentials, owners may perform B2C verifiable interactions while onboarding to a marketplace, receive reputation credentials, and more.

You can view a detailed schematic of the workflow for this PoC here:

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOpvimLc=/

In summary though, with this PoC the following will be possible:

1. With a ProofSpace App a user can obtain the Verifiable Credentials for their social and email accounts …
2. Onboard with that Verifiable Credentials to argusnft.com using ProofSpace App and QR/Deep linking depending on the platform(desktop/mobile) browser. Receive ArgusNFT Account verifiable credential …
3. Provide and verify with Argus a link to a created collection which the user wants to verify that they own …
4. Receive a verifiable Collection Ownership Credential after Argus verifies the collection's minting history …
5. Confirm NFT minting (on a partnering minting platform) with ArgusNFT Account and Collection Ownership credentials to be used to generate a NFT collection DID and issue public Author of Collection credential …
6. And onboard to a partnering Marketplace with Collection Ownership and Author of Collection credentials - to be listed in the Marketplace with minimal manual collection verification on the part of the marketplace team.

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

If credentials like these are created and included in the metadata of NFTs when they’re minted, it will dramatically reduce the ability of art thieves and scammers to exploit NFT markets. And with AI projects currently in development which quantitatively assess the legitimacy of social accounts, we’ll soon be able to add one more powerful identifier to these credentials to optimize their power and utility.

Additionally, ArgusNFT is actively building cross-chain counterfeit identification capability, which will be critical going forward, because no NFT marketplace team can reliably, manually review the originality of tens of millions of NFTs across many blockchains prior to marking an NFT collection as "verified."

In their “final form," these credentials should finally allow NFT marketplaces to fairly afford visibility to creators of all kinds, and scale apace with creativity and innovation, without wasting time and resources trying to filter out thieves and copycat collections.

Given the power of this solution, we’re confident that NFTs + DIDs + key credentials like Argus verification of minting history will become an industry standard, and mark a key step in the maturation of the NFT space. And we’re committed to helping Cardano projects pioneer this step in the evolution of NFT markets in a decentralized manner that's affordable even for emerging artists. Proposals like this one - https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/107710 - and public statements by prominent creators indicate that large IP owners want more assurances that NFT ecosystems care about authenticity and legitimacy before they spend their social capital to promote an NFT project. And we believe the best way to give Cardano the competitive edge in the trust department, is to move towards a standard that accomplishes NFT collection verification in a self sovereign and decentralized way.

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

• The Successful development of a functioning and usable PoC
• Social impressions and reactions to the advent of this NFT ID solution
• The number of NFT minting platforms that integrate capability to include verifiable credentials in NFT metadata
• The number of NFT projects/collections that come to include this solution into their NFTs
• The number of NFT marketplaces that integrate the capability for users to check verifiable credentials
• Getting feedback from platforms that choose to integrate the solution on their (and their users') opinions about the solution

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

We plan to share the outputs and results of our project in various ways, such as:

• Monthly progress reports to Project Catalyst
• Participating in relevant events, webinars, podcasts, and interviews upon completion of PoC.
• Creation of integration support documentation
• Creation of Demo Video and Sales Deck
• Final Report to Project Catalyst upon completion of project

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

Our team has the capability to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability, because:

• We have a strong background and experience in NFTs, blockchain, web development, and SaaS (ArgusNFT).
• ProofSpace has a proven track record both as a SaaS decentralized ID platform and no further R&D (other than a small piece of work on public credentials) is required to deliver the project - it is pure implementation.
• We have successfully completed several Project Catalyst proposals in Fund8 and Fund9, both on-time and on-schedule (ArgusNFT and Proofspace)
• ProofSpace and Argus have worked together for over a year, are motivated to continue doing so and will have a legal agreement in place to cover Argus' use of the ProofSpace platform
• Both our teams have established successful partnerships and collaborations with other projects in the Cardano ecosystem.
• We have a clear vision, mission, and roadmap for our project, as well as a detailed budget breakdown and a risk management plan.
• We have a transparent and accountable approach to managing funds properly, such as using escrow services, audits, reports, and receipts.

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

1. Create a working PoC as outlined above. While we're very confident in the feasibility of this approach, we'll meet regularly as a team to track progress, and tweak the project workflow if necessary.
2. We'll dedicate a significant amount of time early on to identifying suitable marketplace and minting platform partners to integrate the finished solution. An inability to find at least one minting platform and marketplace willing and able to integrate the key components of our PoC, even though the integration is subsidized by Project Catalyst, will be the best indication that we should pause further development efforts unless and until we identify ready and willing minting and marketplace partners.

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: Argus-ProofSpace Integration

1. Public Credentials R&D
2. Workflow design (see the example workflow diagram attached)
3. Identification minting platform partner (BizDev)
4. Identification marketplace partner (BizDev)
5. Interaction set-up (see a detailed PS Dashboard set-up explanation video)
6. Webhook integration (see documentation)
7. Testing & Fixing
8. ArgusNFT Workflow Implementation R&D
9. Handle onboarding flow (api/webhook and persistence)

Timeline: 1 - 2 months (depending on counterparty engagement)

Milestone 2: Marketplace-ProofSpace Integration

1. Workflow design (see the example workflow diagram attached)
2. Interaction set-up (see a detailed PS Dashboard set-up explanation video)
3. Webhook integration (see documentation)
4. Testing & Fixing
5. ArgusNFT Handle Authenticity Flow

• ArgusNFT API
• ProofSpace Credential Verification
• Digital Assets Download and Verification
• ArgusNFT Collection Ownership ID

Timeline: 1 - 2 months (depending on counterparty engagement)

Milestone 3: Minting Platform-ProofSpace Integration

1. Workflow design (see the example workflow diagram attached)
2. Interaction set-up (see a detailed PS Dashboard set-up explanation video)
3. Webhook integration (see documentation)
4. Testing & Fixing
5. Support

• Timeline: 2-3 weeks (depending on counterparty engagement)

Milestone 4: Support and sales collateral

1. Support documentation
2. Sales deck
3. Demo video
4. Marketing and Sales to additional Platforms
5. Outreach Presentations, Q&A's

Timeline: 1 - 2 months

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

Milestone 1: Argus-ProofSpace Integration:

Milestone 2: Marketplace-ProofSpace Integration:

Milestone 3: Minting Platform-ProofSpace Integration:

Milestone 4: Support and sales collateral

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

<u>Proofspace Project Budget</u>

Milestone 1: Argus-ProofSpace Integration

• Public Credentials R&D $750
• Workflow design (see the example workflow diagram attached) $750
• Interaction set-up (see a detailed PS Dashboard set-up explanation video) $300
• Webhook integration (see documentation) $750
• Testing & Fixing $750
• Support $750
• Subscription $2,063

Milestone 2: Marketplace-ProofSpace Integration

• Workflow design (see the example workflow diagram attached) $750
• Interaction set-up (see a detailed PS Dashboard set-up explanation video) $300
• Webhook integration (see documentation) $750
• Testing & Fixing $750
• Support $750
• Subscription $2,063

Milestone 3: Minting Platform-ProofSpace Integration

• Workflow design (see the example workflow diagram attached) $750
• Interaction set-up (see a detailed PS Dashboard set-up explanation video) $300
• Webhook integration (see documentation) $750
• Testing & Fixing $750
• Support $750
• Subscription $2,063

Milestone 4: Support and sales collateral

• Support documentation $750
• Sales deck $1,500
• Demo video $1,500

Proofspace Subtotal $20,589

15% Discount $3,088

Proofspace Discounted Subtotal $17,501

<u>ArgusNFT Project Budget</u>

Identification minting platform partner (BizDev) $1,500

Identification marketplace partner (BizDev) $1,500

Workflow Implementation R&D $725

Handle onboarding flow (api/webhook and persistence) 2 weeks $4,250

Handle Authenticity Flow (approx. 3 weeks) $7,450

• ArgusNFT API
• ProofSpace Credential Verification
• Digital Assets Download and Verification
• ArgusNFT Collection Ownership ID

NFT Minting (develop in-house or outsource DID minting platform integration) $5000

ArgusNFT support $1500

Project Coordination and Admin $2,000

Outreach presentations and Q&A's following completion of PoC $750

Marketing/Sales of Solution to additional Platforms $3,000

ArgusNFT Subtotal $27,675

Minting Platform Integration Incentive $3,500

Marketplace Integration Incentive $3,500

Integration Incentive Subtotal $7,000

Budget Total: $52,176

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

ProofSpace

ProofSpace is a multi-network identity platform, wrapped with no-code tools for building and scaling decentralized ID workflows and ecosystems. Our goal is to eliminate the barriers to adopting Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and proliferate the range and volume of use cases on production. Our vision is to power global digital inclusion and cross-chain commerce with interoperable verifiable credentials, and in so doing expand use of blockchain as a medium of trust. We are live with Hyperledger Indy, on testnet with Atala PRISM and reviewing SSI protocols on Polkadot, Ethereum and Solana. LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube | Knowledge Base

The key members of the ProofSpace team supporting this proposal include:

• Nick Mason - CEO. Experienced social entrepreneur and venture analyst with a proven track record of social venture funding and of starting and growing ventures in Europe and Africa. Background as Consultant venture analyst at Toniic, Head of Portfolio and Operations at BeyondMe, UK Director for Sierra Leone based education charity and Trustee for Street Child. Co-Founded ProofSpace (formerly ZAKA in 2019).
• Viktor Radchenko - CTO and Mobile. 20-year R&D track record. Skilled in project and product management, solution architecture, science consulting, blockchain, mobile, web, game, and embedded development. 6 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Ruslan Shevchenko, PhD - Solution Architect and BE. Skilled architect and scientific researcher with 30-years’ experience across blockchain, telecom, advertising and financial services. Researcher in the Institute of Software Systems and Founder of several successful ventures including NBI (an Internet Provider), GradSoft (a software development firm) and UA Scala user group. 10 publications in peer-reviewed journals, co-authored book entitled “Methods of Algebraic Programming” and is an active columnist for the Ukrainian developers' community portal.
• Alexey Hodkov - Frontend/Backend. Talented web backend and frontend solution architect and developer with 17-years’ experience. Team leader, tech mentor and CTO in complex projects for various companies like Yandex LLC and Megogo.
• Viacheslav Zhelobkov - Senior Mobile Dev. Software developer with 20 years experience in wide variety of IT areas including embedded, mobile, web, backend, etc. in roles from solo founder to Solution Architect and CTO.
• Olesya Kershaw - Business and Customer Success Analyst. A professional musician, experienced concert pianist and teacher who made a career change into digital technologies. She uses her analytical, relationship building and research skills in her work as a business and customer success analyst, while continuously developing her technical skills.

Argus NFT

ArgusNFT is developing a suite of cross-chain solutions to improve trust and discovery in in NFT markets. Argus, which is ArgusNFT’s flagship product, is an industry-first solution to the problem of fake/counterfeit NFTs and plagiarized artwork being sold as NFTs. It employs artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to verify the minting history of NFTs, providing stakeholders information they need to determine whether an NFT is an original or a copy. Agrus currently supports all Cardano NFTs, and R&D is ongoing to integrate support of additional blockchains to protect against cross-chain copies. LinkedIn | Twitter

The members of the ArgusNFT team supporting this proposal are:

• Giovanni Gargiulo - CTO. Principal Software Engineer with 15+ years of commercial experience. DevOps advocate with strong experience in Machine Learning, distributed systems and cloud. Cardano Plutus Pioneer, Stake Pool Operator and Open Source Developer. Linkedin, Git
• Anthony Capitan - COO. Entrepreneur with 7 years business development experience, 15 years sales, marketing and project management experience, primarily in financial services and real estate. Linkedin

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

• We have based our budget on realistic estimates of the time and resources required to complete this project with high quality standards.
• We have benchmarked our costs against the average wage in our countries of residence and the typical freelance rates in our industry (ML/web development/blockchain).
• We have considered alternative sources of funding or revenue for this project, such as grants, sponsorships, or fees, but we have concluded that Catalyst funding is the most suitable and sustainable option for us at this stage.
• We have demonstrated that our project will bring significant benefits and value to the Cardano ecosystem, such as increasing NFT sales, user retention, and adoption, showcasing NuNet's potential, enhancing NFT diversity, quality, and discoverability, and fostering collaboration and interoperability among NFT platforms.