How NuFi’s Project Catalyst proposal can onboard Cardano’s next 1 million Web2 users

Picture this: you’re a Cardano project with a Web3 game or other dApp targeting the mass market: Web2 users. Trouble is, they know nothing about Cardano, don’t have a crypto wallet, and have never even heard of NFTs. You still want to make your product available to them — but how?

Now imagine: to start using your dApp, a Web2 user simply logs in with a social account or email address. They sign in with Google, Twitter, Facebook (or any other Web2 account) and — with a single click — they’ve created a non-custodial wallet and connected it, ready to go. There’s nothing to install or set up, and no seed phrase to write down. After they’ve onboarded, you can sell them digital assets using credit card checkout.

This could soon be reality if the NuFi wallet team can secure funding from Cardano’s Project Catalyst. Below, we’ve explained our Project Catalyst proposal (a plug-n-play solution for dApps that makes the above possible) and how you can help us win funding by registering to vote for Project Catalyst before August 18th 2023, and then voting for NuFi’s proposal from August 31st to September 14th.

Bonus: you’ll earn ADA rewards for voting in Project Catalyst (though existing voters may need to re-register to be eligible — more on that below).

What has NuFi proposed?

Our proposal — “Onboarding Cardano’s next 1 million Web2 users” — is for a plug-n-play solution that dApps can integrate to onboard Web2 users and crypto beginners. With nothing to install or set up, and with no seed phrase to write down, a Web2 user can connect to a dApp in a matter of seconds, simply by logging in with a social account or email address.

Logging in creates a non-custodial wallet behind the scenes (meaning a user won’t even know they have it), then connects the user to the dApp in a fully frictionless way that doesn’t include any crypto terminology. There’s also a fiat on-ramp provided so users can buy ADA without needing to set up an account with a centralized exchange (or the dApp can sell digital assets to users directly using a credit card checkout).

Aside from helping Web2 users onboard into Cardano, our proposal fixes a problem with existing solutions: specifically, if a dApp directly integrates a Web2 onboarding provider (such as Web3Auth), the social account wallet created is usable with that dApp only (due to security measures imposed by providers) and the Web2 user has a different wallet for each dApp. Our solution solves this problem by acting as a non-custodial relay (or middleman), providing the Web2 login options on behalf of the dApp and allowing a user to re-use the same social account wallet with any dApp that uses our proposed solution.

For more details, please read our Project Catalyst proposal here and take a visual tour here.

How can I support NuFi’s proposal?

You can use your ADA’s voting power to vote “Yes” for this proposal in Fund10 of Project Catalyst. Anyone with 500 ADA or more (staked in a single account) is eligible to register and vote on all proposals, meaning you can support NuFi’s proposal as well as other interesting projects that you’d like to see funded. It takes less than two minutes to register and, when voting begins, it takes less than 10 seconds to vote for NuFi’s proposal.

What is Project Catalyst?

Project Catalyst is an on-chain governance initiative that allows ADA holders to determine how the Cardano ecosystem grows by deciding how treasury funding is allocated. Once or twice a year, the Project Catalyst team outlines specific goals and invites proposals aimed at achieving these goals; ADA holders then vote to decide which should be funded. You can find more information here.

What is the timeline?

Voting registration is open now and ends August 18th 2023. Voting begins on August 31st and ends September 14th. Results are announced September 21st.

I already registered for Catalyst voting. Do I need to register again for Fund10?

Yes and no. You can earn ADA rewards for voting in Fund10 but you’ll need to re-register before August 18th to be eligible to receive voting rewards. If you registered in Fund4 or later, you can still vote without re-registering but you won’t earn voting rewards.

I haven’t registered before. How can I do that?

Though you can’t register for Catalyst using the NuFi wallet, you can register quickly and easily using AdaLite (another wallet operated by the NuFi team). To do that, follow the instructions below (or watch the video walkthrough here).

Please note: You’ll need at least 500 ADA staked in a single account to be eligible to vote.

1️) Visit adalite.io and access your existing Cardano wallet

2) Once inside AdaLite, click the ‘Voting’ tab and download the Catalyst Voting app to your phone as instructed (this app is where all votes are cast):

3) Back on AdaLite, click the Register button below the instructions box.
Choose a 4-digit pin and write it down — you’ll need it to access the voting app later:

4) Next, review and confirm the transaction:

5) You’ll then see a QR code which is shown only once and is not visible again after you close this window. You must store this QR code securely by taking a picture of it, printing it out, or saving it as a PDF before closing the window. You’ll need this QR code later, and losing it means re-registering:

6) Open the Catalyst Voting app; press ‘Connect wallet’ and then, on the next screen, press ‘Use voting QR code and pin’’:

7) Scan your QR code (either the one shown on AdaLite or the copy you saved) and, on the next screen, enter the pin code you chose earlier. Done!

The app will tell you when the upcoming snapshot will take place; on this date, please ensure that you have at least 500 ADA staked in the account you just registered in order to be eligible for voting.

What happens next?

Open the Catalyst Voting app between August 31st and September 14th, click ‘Proposals’ at the bottom and find the ‘Products and Integrations’ challenge. Next, find NuFi’s proposal (Onboarding Cardano’s next 1 million Web2 users), then use your voting power to vote “Yes” (via a thumbs up).

When you’ve finished voting (including for other proposals), be sure to visit the ‘My Selection’ screen and click ‘Cast my votes’, which will submit your votes to the blockchain and make them official. If your voting power is not displayed in the app after August 31st, you should uninstall the app, reinstall it, and then re-enter your QR code and pin.

Where can I get more help?

You can ask questions about NuFi’s proposal or about the Catalyst registration and voting process in NuFi’s Discord server. For Catalyst-related announcements, follow NuFi on Twitter.