Proposal: Daedalus Maintenance and Enhancement

Introduction

The Daedalus Wallet is a crucial component in decentralizing the Cardano ecosystem by enabling users to participate in network security and governance through a full-node solution. Developed by IOHK, Daedalus provides enhanced security, decentralization, and staking capabilities.

By downloading and validating the entire blockchain, Daedalus ensures robust end-user security and network participation compared to light wallet clients. However, this approach comes with a tradeoff in user experience due to high-performance overhead. With recent technical advancements in Cardano, there is an opportunity to refine Daedalus into a more lightweight, feature-rich, and practical full-node solution.

This proposal seeks to address the maintenance, optimization, and enhancement of the Daedalus Wallet, ensuring its continued viability as a full-node Cardano wallet. Currently, Daedalus faces challenges related to high resource consumption, long synchronization times, and lack of modern features that improve usability and interoperability with Layer 2 solutions. Without dedicated maintenance and innovation, Daedalus risks becoming obsolete in comparison to light wallets and competing full-node solutions.

Focused Improvements to Daedalus:

The following enhancements will bring noticeable improvement to Daedalus performance.

1. LSM Integration LSM enhancements within cardano-node can be leveraged to significantly reduce the operational memory requirements for Daedalus. Thus reduction in memory overhead will directly translate into improving both Daedalus performance and overall user experience. An output deliverable of this proposal will be the integration of the LSM-supported version of Cardano node into the Daedalus wallet.

2. Investigate Mithril Integration Mithril, a stake-based threshold multi-signature scheme, enables efficient light client synchronization. Integrating Mithril into Daedalus would greatly improve Daedalus user experience by reducing historically long synchronization times. Mithril feasibility will be explored for potential integration

A successful integration of both LSM-supported node and Mithril would drastically change Daedalus’ market position.

3. Enhanced Governance DRep Profiles The user experience for DRep selection within Daedalus can be greatly enhanced by leveraging on-chain DRep metadata to display diverse and colorful DRep profiles. An output deliverable of this proposal will be the creation and implementation of an intuitive and engaging DRep profile viewing experience within Daedalus that enables wallet users to browse, review, and delegate to DReps. Having a fair and intuitive interface for reviewing and selecting DReps is crucial for strengthening Cardano’s on-chain governance, for ensuring informed decision-making, and for encouraging a more diverse, competitive and decentralized DRep ecosystem.:

Additional Innovation Research:

The following areas will be explored to determine feasibility for potential integration. Feasible initiatives identified through this research will be incorporated into the project roadmap with defined integration plans and timelines.

1. Explore L2 Bridge Interfaces for Hydra, Midgard and Partner chains As Layer 2 scalability solutions like Hydra, Midgard, and partnerchains evolve, they will drive significant transaction volume on Cardano. We aim to explore seamless asset bridging and staking monetization across these L2 solutions.

2. Research Hybrid Integrations with Open-Source Light Clients (e.g., Lace) Assessing the benefits of a full-node wallet interacting with open-source light wallets, including potential applications in Bitcoin DeFi.

Proposal Benefit Summary

If implemented, this proposal would:

Improve Performance: Reduce memory and resource requirements via LSM integration and explore Mithril integration, enhancing user experience.

Enhance Governance Participation: Provide better DRep profile browsing, making governance participation more accessible.

Accelerate Wallet Synchronization: Investigate Mithril integration for faster chain synchronization, addressing one of the primary pain points for users.

Enable Layer 2 Interoperability: Explore seamless asset bridging and staking across Hydra, Midgard, and partnerchains

Hybrid Wallet Integrations – Output research on potential integration models between Daedalus and open-source light wallets like Lace to expand usability without sacrificing full-node benefits.

Strengthen Cardano’s Decentralization: Ensure Daedalus remains a strong full-node option, supporting network security and decentralization. The Cardano community, particularly full-node users, delegators, stake pool operators, DReps and governance participants, will benefit from improved usability and functionality, reinforcing Cardano’s long-term adoption and ecosystem strength.

Core Maintenance Responsibilities:

Dependency Management

• Regular updates to cardano-node (Cardano’s core protocol implementation), including synchronization with upstream releases.
• Resolution of platform-specific library conflicts (e.g., macOS libiconv.dylib compatibility)

Bug Fixes

• Addressing recurring synchronization failures and node crashes, which often require database resets (immutable, volatile, and ledger directory cleanup)
• Diagnosing network connectivity issues tied to Cardano’s peer-to-peer topology

User Support

• Troubleshooting wallet synchronization delays (e.g., 99.9% sync stalls) and transaction loading freezes
• Maintenance of diagnostic tools (Help > Daedalus Diagnostics)

CI/CD Pipeline Management

• Oversight of GitHub Actions workflows, including automated testing for pull requests

Security & Compliance

• Monitoring for vulnerabilities in cryptographic dependencies (e.g., Rust libraries, Haskell packages).
• Monitoring for vulnerabilities in the frontend stack (e.g. NPM NodeJS packages)

Team Composition and Expertise:

Our team at DripDropz consists of highly skilled product managers and developers with deep expertise in: Enterprise software development

• Cardano, UTXO management, transaction building, and chaining
• Optimizing Cardano transactional performance
• Staking, stake pools, and Cardano governance
• Community-driven development and innovation

Backend Engineers (2 Full-Time) Expertise: Rust (system-level components), and C/C++ (native library bindings). Cost: $230,000 Annually

Haskell Engineer (0.1 Full-Time) custom on-demand support for wallet-backend Cost: $25,000 Annually

Frontend Developer (1 Full-Time) Expertise: Modern JavaScript frameworks, performance profiling. Cost: $100,000 Annually

Technical Support Specialist (0.5 Full-Time) Responsibilities: Triage GitHub issues, reproduce user-reported bugs, and collaborate with developers. Cost: $30,000 Annually

QA Testers (Contractors) Responsibilities: Validate fixes across macOS, Windows, and Linux environments. Cost: $20,000 Annually

Infrastructure & Operational Costs CI/CD Services: GitHub Actions (included) + supplemental cloud testing (AWS/GCP): $12,000/year. Hardware: Dedicated macOS/Linux/Windows test machines: $15,000 (one-time). Security Audits: Annual third-party code reviews: $50,000.

Risk Mitigation Strategies:

Knowledge Transfer

• Allocate 3 months for overlap with IOHK’s current maintainers to document tribal knowledge (e.g., sync failure recovery workflows).

Contingency Fund

• Reserve 15% of budget ($75,000) for unforeseen issues (e.g., hard fork compatibility crises).

Investment Breakdown:

The total funding request for this proposal is $582,000, allocated as follows:

• Developer salaries and benefits (3 Full-Time Equivalents) - $355,000
• Technical support - $30,000
• Wallet-backend subcontractor (10% time) - $25,000
• Wallet testing, benchmarking, and infrastructure - $47,000
• Security Audits - $50,000
• Contingency - $75,000

Key Proposal Deliverables & Definition of Done:

Tangible outcomes include:

• LSM Integration Completed – Demonstrated memory and performance improvements in Daedalus.
• DRep Profile Experience Implemented – Fully functional governance delegation UI in Daedalus.
• Mithril Integration Feasibility Plan/Report – Research report and proof-of-concept for fast sync mode.
• Layer 2 Bridge Feasibility Report – Analysis of integration potential for Hydra, Midgard and partnerchains.
• Hybrid Wallet Integration Research Report – Evaluating potential Daedalus interactions with light clients like Lace.

Each deliverable will be considered complete once implemented, tested, and documented, ensuring usability and security.

Project Commencement:

This project is scheduled to commence in June 2025, contingent on budget approval and run for 12 months.

By funding this proposal, the Daedalus Wallet will continue to evolve as a premier full-node solution, maintaining its role in strengthening the Cardano network while improving usability and market relevance.

The Daedalus Wallet is a crucial component in decentralizing the Cardano ecosystem by enabling users to participate in network security and governance through a full-node solution. Developed by IOHK, Daedalus provides enhanced security, decentralization, and staking capabilities.

This proposal seeks to address the maintenance, optimization, and enhancement of the Daedalus Wallet, ensuring its continued viability as a full-node Cardano wallet. Currently, Daedalus faces challenges related to high resource consumption, long synchronization times, and lack of modern features that improve usability and interoperability with Layer 2 solutions. Without dedicated maintenance and innovation, Daedalus risks becoming obsolete in comparison to light wallets and competing full-node solutions.

This proposal enhances the Daedalus Wallet by improving performance, governance participation, and scalability, ensuring its long-term viability in the Cardano ecosystem.

Key Benefits: Better User Experience: LSM integration and Mithril research reduce memory usage and improve sync times.

Stronger On-Chain Governance: A fair and transparent DRep selection interface empowers ADA holders to make informed delegation decisions.

Enhanced Scalability: Exploring Layer 2 bridges (Hydra, Midgard) and hybrid wallet integrations expands interoperability.

Long-Term Security & Maintenance: Regular updates keep Daedalus secure, preventing obsolescence.

Return on Investment (ROI): Higher adoption & retention of full-node users.

Stronger decentralization by making full-node participation more accessible.

Future-proofing Cardano with L2 support and governance improvements.

Who Benefits? ✅ Full-node users (faster, leaner Daedalus) ✅ ADA holders & voters (better DRep selection) ✅ DReps (fairer visibility & competition) ✅ Stake pool operators & developers (L2 adoption & transaction growth)

This proposal ensures Daedalus remains a powerful full-node wallet, supporting decentralization, governance, and scalability in the Cardano ecosystem. 🚀

Tangible outcomes include:

1. LSM Integration Completed – Demonstrated memory and performance improvements in Daedalus.
2. DRep Profile Experience Implemented – Fully functional governance delegation UI in Daedalus.
3. Mithril Integration Feasibility Plan/Report – Research report and proof-of-concept for fast sync mode.
4. Layer 2 Bridge Feasibility Report – Analysis of integration potential for Hydra, Midgard and partnerchains.
5. Hybrid Wallet Integration Research Report – Evaluating potential Daedalus interactions with light clients like Lace.

Each deliverable will be considered complete once implemented, tested, and documented, ensuring usability and security.

The total funding request for this proposal is $582,000 (1,164,000 Ada), allocated as follows:

Developer salaries and benefits (3 Full-Time Equivalents) - $355,000 (710,000 Ada) Technical support - $30,000 (60,000 Ada) Wallet-backend subcontractor (10% time) - $25,000 (50,000 Ada) Wallet testing, benchmarking, and infrastructure - $47,000 (94,000 Ada) Security Audits - $50,000 (100,000 Ada) Contingency - $75,000 (150,000 Ada)

Investment Breakdown (12 months duration) with a target staffing breakdown is as follows:

Backend Engineers (2 Full-Time) Expertise: Rust (system-level components), and C/C++ (native library bindings). Cost: $230,000 Annually

Haskell Engineer (0.1 Full-Time) custom on-demand support for wallet-backend Cost: $25,000 Annually

Frontend Developer (1 Full-Time) Expertise: Modern JavaScript frameworks, performance profiling. Cost: $100,000 Annually

Technical Support Specialist (0.5 Full-Time) Responsibilities: Triage GitHub issues, reproduce user-reported bugs, and collaborate with developers. Cost: $30,000 Annually

QA Testers (Contractors) Responsibilities: Validate fixes across macOS, Windows, and Linux environments. Cost: $20,000 Annually

Our team at DripDropz consists of highly skilled product managers and developers with deep expertise in:

• Enterprise software development
• Cardano, UTXO management, transaction building, and transaction chaining
• Optimizing Cardano transactional performance
• Staking, stake pools, and Cardano governance
• Community-driven development and innovation

In addition to developments, this proposal also includes one year of ongoing maintenance and support including:

• Continuous updates and security patches to keep Daedalus aligned with Cardano network changes.
• Dedicated deployment pipelines to ensure stable releases.
• Community-driven feedback loops for iterative enhancements.
• Long-term support from DripDropz, leveraging their expertise in Cardano infrastructure.

This proposal depends on:

• Cardano Node & Core Tech Upgrades – Ensuring compatibility with ongoing Cardano network enhancements (e.g., LSM, Mithril).
• On-Chain Metadata & Governance Infrastructure – Needed for DRep profile browsing and delegation improvements.
• Hydra, Midgard, and Partnerchain Developments – Essential for interoperability research and potential bridge integrations.
• Mithril Availability – Feasibility of Mithril-based fast synchronization may depend on the development progress of Mithril itself.