We propose a hybrid on-chain/off-chain solution to enable cross-chain messaging on the Cardano network. This solution aims to facilitate seamless communication between Cardano and other blockchain networks, allowing for efficient token transfers and other cross-chain operations. The detailed architecture, flow diagrams, components (on-chain and off-chain), message structure, configuration contracts, reliability measures, and transaction creation mechanisms are fully described in the accompanying technical documentation.

Cardano is currently an isolated network. Interaction (moving data and tokens) and interoperability with EVM-compatible networks are essential for driving broader adoption. Blockchains are closed systems by design, mainly for security reasons. But users don’t care—they want a seamless experience that abstracts blockchain compatibility issues and technical restrictions. This lack of interoperability results in slower innovation and is holding back the progress and mass adoption of Web3. Blockchain interoperability protocols are essential for the Web3 ecosystem and for traditional systems that need to interact with different blockchains. These protocols serve as the foundation for building blockchain abstraction layers, allowing traditional backends and dApps to interact with any blockchain network through a single middleware solution. Without a blockchain interoperability protocol, Web2 systems and dApps would need to build separate in-house implementations for each cross-chain interaction, which is a time-consuming, resource-intensive, and complex process. Blockchain interoperability protocols provide the following capabilities:

• Transfer assets and information across multiple blockchains.
• Enable application developers to leverage the strengths and benefits of different chains.
• Facilitate collaboration between developers from diverse blockchain ecosystems to build cross-chain applications that serve more users and provide additional features or products.

CCIP CCIP provides a single interface through which dApps and Web3 entrepreneurs can securely meet all their cross-chain needs. CCIP can be used to transfer data, tokens, or both across chains. CCIP supports three main capabilities:

• Arbitrary Messaging: Send arbitrary data (encoded as bytes) to a receiving smart contract on another blockchain. Developers use this to trigger actions such as rebalancing an index, minting an NFT, or executing functions with custom parameters.
• Token Transfer: Transfer tokens to a smart contract or directly to an EOA (Externally Owned Account) on a different blockchain.
• Programmable Token Transfer: Transfer tokens and arbitrary data in a single transaction. For example, a user could transfer tokens to a lending protocol with instructions to use them as collateral, borrowing another asset to be sent back to the user.

Some use cases include:

• DeFi composability (e.g., Cross-Chain Liquidation Protection)
• Cross-chain name services
• Cross-chain NFT minting
• Gaming and other scenarios requiring cross-chain execution

We propose a hybrid on-chain/off-chain solution to enable cross-chain messaging on the Cardano network. This solution will allow seamless communication between Cardano and other blockchain networks, enabling efficient token transfers and other cross-chain operations.

Key Proposal Deliverables and Definition of Done

Milestone 1: Architecture Design and Specification Duration: 4 weeks

• Design the architecture of the hybrid on-chain/off-chain solution
• Specify on-chain and off-chain components and interactions
• Define the message flow and off-chain infrastructure requirements
• Address UTXO system complexities
• Define message structure and configuration schema

Outputs:

• Architecture diagram
• Specification document
• Initial GitHub repository with documentation

Milestone 2: Smart Contract Development Duration: 8 weeks

• Develop the master incoming contract, master outgoing contract, and project configuration contract on the Cardano network
• Implement logic for message storage and retrieval
• Develop sample smart contracts for testing cross-chain messaging functionality
• Write unit tests
• Create example smart contracts for testing

Outputs:

• Deployed smart contracts
• Unit tests
• Example dApps

Milestone 3: Off-Chain Module Development Duration: 8 weeks

• Develop message processing module
• Implement the logic for creating transactions based on project configurations retrieved from the Project Configuration Contract
• Integrate intelligent UTXO selector
• Implement retry mechanisms, transaction logging, and rollback functionality for reliability and fault tolerance

Outputs:

• Message processing module
• Integration of intelligent UTXO selector and transaction signing mechanisms
• Reliability and fault tolerance features

Milestone 4: Documentation, Code Review, and Testnet Deployment Duration: 6 weeks

• Write complete documentation, guides, and tutorials
• Perform security audit and code review
• Launch on Cardano testnet
• Gather community feedback

Cost Breakdown:

• Project Management: $10,000 usd
• Technical Architecture: $25,000 usd
• Full Stack Development: $25,000 usd
• Blockchain Development: $20,000 usd
• Documentation and Other: $20,000 USD

Total: $100,000 USD

Team Members:

• Manuel Padilla – Lead Software Engineer (Cardano, Plutus, Haskell) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuel-ale-padilla/ GitHub: https://github.com/manupadillaph

• Camila Mancusi – QA Engineer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilamancusi/ Experience in Web3 testing and usability for Protofire, UNICEF, and SimpleState

• Francisco Ciordia Cantarella – Full Stack Developer LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/francisco-ciordia-cantarella-5323461b8 GitHub: https://github.com/Fran-cio

Braian Leiva – DevOps Engineer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/braian-leiva/ AWS Certified, expert in automation, Terraform, Fargate, and CI/CD for blockchain infra

Deliverables:

• Comprehensive technical docs
• Deployment scripts
• Community feedback
• Security review reports

Protofire is a recognized leader in Web3 development, with clients including Chainlink, The Graph, Filecoin, and MakerDAO. Services include smart contract development, DevOps, and full-stack engineering for dApps, wallets, and cross-chain integrations.

After initial development, Protofire will maintain the solution through a 3-month post-launch support period, including bug fixes, updates, and community feedback. The codebase will be open-sourced and maintained on GitHub, allowing for community contributions. Protofire will also ensure ongoing compatibility with Cardano and CCIP upgrades and can offer extended support or SLAs if needed by ecosystem partners.

It is well known within the community that there is a lack of integration with protocols using CCIP, such as Chainlink or Cryptolink. This proposal is a step forward in that direction.

No dependencies.