How EMURGO applies a strategic framework to Fund14 proposals.
Introduction
Transparency in funding is essential for any decentralized blockchain ecosystem, and Cardano’s Project Catalyst is no exception.
With 13 rounds of community voting already completed, more than 3 million votes cast, and over $100M distributed to community-approved proposals, Catalyst has become a critical launchpad for Cardano builders.
As Catalyst’s funding now expands to treasury withdrawals, it’s more important than ever for these builders and ADA holders to understand how proposals are evaluated for transparency and accountability.
This blog explains EMURGO’s internal thought process framework for approaching Catalyst’s Fund14 round and spotlights our viewpoints on certain proposals that can drive commercial value to Cardano.
*Please note that EMURGO does not vote on Catalyst proposals. Instead, we only provide viewpoints that highlight potential and can maximize ecosystem impact.
Our Strategic Lens
We utilize a strategic lens to identify proposals that broadly align with our mission: building the future of finance, leveraging blockchain technology.
In addition, we are also committed to robust decentralized governance, a unique and defining characteristic of the Cardano ecosystem whereby the community shapes the future of the network.
Thus, we believe Catalyst proposals should further this mission and also facilitate greater participation in community-led governance.
Four Guiding Principles
Breaking it down further, we focus on projects embracing one or more of the following principles:
1) Advancing Real Financial Use Cases
Transform Cardano into a financial infrastructure addressing real-world needs.
2) Strengthening Liquidity & Growth
Grow Cardano’s economic activity, capital inflows, and treasury.
3) Promoting Open, Scalable Innovation
Be developer-friendly and institution-ready.
4) Enhancing Cardano Governance
Increase governance participation and develop user-friendly governance tools.
Our Evaluation Framework
We use a multi-stage review process:
- Stage 1: Theme Gatekeeping
We focus on the following areas related to our mission:
- Financial infrastructure
- Tokenization & RWAs
- Enterprise integrations
- Developer tooling
Anything outside of these areas is filtered out.
- Stage 2: Multi-Criteria Scoring
- Stage 3: Strategic Fit Analysis
We also consider market trends and opportunities for collaboration to evaluate commercial viability.
Our Viewpoints on Certain Proposals
With these principles and a comprehensive framework in mind, we believe the following Catalyst proposals (separated by category) highlight innovative use cases and ecosystem initiatives that align with our mission and can drive Cardano’s commercial growth.
Cardano Use Cases: Partners & Products
Integrates LayerZero v2, a leading omnichain messaging layer, onto Cardano testnets, enabling advanced cross-chain applications and more liquidity and interoperability.
Brings retail-focused pay-as-you-go microinsurance for transactions on the Cardano blockchain.
Delivers an open, community-owned lending protocol supporting multiple collateral types and automatic interest rate adjustments.
Establishes a proof-of-concept lab connecting businesses to Cardano-based solutions through Antler Ibex’s global innovation platform.
Combines robust on-chain infrastructure with advanced UX to unify governance tools for DReps, reducing fragmentation in governance participation.
Brings tokenized U.S. real estate assets as Real-World Assets (RWAs) on Cardano for high-yield investment opportunities.
Develops a compliance-focused UX stack enabling Bitcoin integration into Cardano DeFi. Addresses institutional needs for regulatory assurance and cross-chain investment possibilities.
Integrates ADA payments directly into vending machines, demonstrating real-world Cardano utility for everyday transactions.
Integrates Ctrl Wallet’s large multi-chain user base into the Cardano ecosystem. Already supporting 2,300+ blockchains, Ctrl provides streamlined onboarding and seeks to grow Cardano adoption among Ctrl users.
Embeds the Fuku AI conversational assistant directly into Cardano wallets and major dApps to enable users to conduct swaps, staking, and liquidity provisioning using plain language commands.
Cardano Use Cases: Concepts
Adds DIA’s decentralized price oracles onto the Cardano blockchain for high-quality asset pricing data essential for DeFi growth and risk management.
Creates a decentralized, performance-based platform for verified B2B lead generation for Cardano projects to enable business growth.
Cardano Open: Ecosystem
Brings developers, entrepreneurs, and enterprises together in one of the world’s fastest-growing tech hubs to discuss and build on Cardano.
Creates an open-source SDK connecting Cardano dApps with major non-Cardano wallets (MetaMask, Phantom, etc.), driving greater interoperability and user onboarding.
Bridges the gap between Web3 projects and traditional enterprises by providing comprehensive non-technical services, including contract reviews, project management, compliance guidance, and Web3 education.
Cardano Open: Developers
Empowers DReps with an advanced governance console to track voting, manage votes, etc., strengthening governance participation.
Integrates the Bitcoin Lightning Network with Cardano, enabling Bitcoin users to more quickly mint wrapped BTC on Cardano without affecting real-time settlement.
Provides a TradFi SDK to gather and normalize TradFi data through open-source connectors, and then generate Midnight ZK-proofs to promote privacy.
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Closing Thoughts
We believe these projects highlight innovative use cases and ecosystem initiatives that strongly correlate with our mission and can drive Cardano’s commercial growth and decentralized governance further.
However, these are simply our viewpoints, and we would like to hear from voters: share your perspective with us! How should this framework shape the next wave of Catalyst outcomes?
Also, you can find out more and join the discussion at https://projectcatalyst.io/funds/14.
Disclaimer
Users should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by EMURGO to invest.
