Kado

[Kado-Vince]

Project Name

Kado

Team Name

Kado

Payment Address

secret1djchv8d8fu00yl732x7sdcvtgkaf3kh9fr360e

Project Description

Kado is building payments infrastructure for web3 and the future of digital money. Simple, frictionless access to and utility for crypto — on/off ramps, payments, fiat-to-crypto B2B2C experiences & APIs for consumers and businesses.

Problem

Simpler solutions for onboarding to Secret Network are necessary for further growth and adoption. The onboarding experience today is friction filled, complex, and difficult for new users – who need to make multiple transfers and swaps to reach their end destination, while also incurring high fees and long waiting periods. This complicated onboarding process impedes new users from easily exploring the Secret Network ecosystem.

Not only is Secret Network building industry leading privacy technology, but they’re also partnering with mainstream icons like Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith on new innovative concepts blending culture and NFTs. As Secret Network continues these partnerships, and brings in mainstream users (non-crypto natives), there needs to be a seamless onboarding solution that can enable mass adoption.

Solution

While other crypto on-ramps exist in the space, the onboarding experience to web3 is clearly not solved. Today's on-ramps are just scratching the surface of what is possible. Kado is not just an on/off-ramp. We are deeply partnering with the builders in Web3 ecosystems like Secret to be an extension of those communities, and build alongside them.

Kado looks at how we onboard a new user/business from day one, and how do we make it seamless as possible where the user doesn't require crypto experience.

Users will easily be able to on-ramp in a single instant transaction into the Secret Network ecosystem, off-ramp DeFi rewards back to their bank accounts, participate in Secret NFTs/dApps/smart contracts directly with their fiat capital (e.g. credit card), and/or merchants/businesses can build on Secret and connect back to the "real world" via fiat<>crypto APIs. This means popular apps such as Kevin Smith’s NFTs built on Secret can directly be accessed via new on-ramp solutions and mainstream users as well.

Detailed Product Description

Users will be able to on and off-ramp between fiat<> Secret Network, in a single, instant transaction. Initial payment methods will include ACH bank transfer, Visa and Mastercard credit/debit cards, and wire transfers. The Kado platform is available globally. Kado Ramp will be live in all US states, except for New York, South Dakota, and Hawaii, due to state regulations. Soon, Kado will also provide bank transfers from the UK, Europe, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Kado Ramp is live in all countries except OFAC-restricted countries, and where the country code is “RU”, “CN”, “UA”, “KP”, “ZW”, “YE”, “SY”, “VE”, “NI”, “LY”, “IQ”, “IR”, “CU”, “BLR”.

Already Completed

• Prime Trust integration to enable on/off-ramp functionality
• Kado & Axelar integration
• Avalanche USDC banking integration (to on/off-ramp into Axelar USDC)

Grant Deliverables

• USDC (via Axelar) on/off-ramp to Secret
• Smart contract swap on DEX to SCRT tokens
• Bonus: Ability to purchase Secret NFTs with a credit/debit card (requires collaboration with 3rd parties)

Go-to-Market Plan

• Launch Axelar USDC integration to Secret Network, with invite-only beta testing for key stakeholders
• Cross-promotion to the community leading up to launch
• Public Launch

Value capture for Secret Network Ecosystem

Solving the onboarding process to the Secret Network ecosystem, and enabling mass adoption for new users/businesses without any previous crypto experience.

On-ramp from fiat to Secret Network, in a single, instant transaction

Off-ramp back to your bank account in a single, instant transaction
Developers and merchants can build on top of Kado’s fiat <> crypto APIs
Enable a fiat payment rail directly for Secret Network Protocols/dApps/NFTs/Builders

Team members

20 full time employees, led by:

• Emery Andrew, Co-Founder CEO
• Vince Dowdle, Co-Founder COO

Contributors Separate from Grant

N/A

Team Website

https://www.kado.money/

Team Experience

Led by founding team members who previously worked at Mastercard, AT&T, and created a digital agency consulting for various Fortune 500 brands. Our CEO became invested in the digital asset to fiat problem back in 2012, when he began trading virtual, in-game currencies for real-world assets, and vice versa.

Kado started in May 2021 during a Terra ecosystem hackathon, with the goal of being able to spend stablecoins in the real world, and easily buy more of them. As the first platform that enabled users to onramp directly into Terra and spend their stablecoins on Amazon, we saw great traction in a short amount of time. 105+ countries, $20m+ on-ramped through Kado in just 2 months of being live, and many B2B partnerships built out across leading Terra dApps.

While launching in the Terra ecosystem, we've always been building towards a multichain infrastructure. We're excited about bringing our proof of concept to every web3 ecosystem to enable seamless onboarding by connecting fiat rails, and fiat<>crypto API solutions that builders can develop on top of.

Team Code Repos

N/A

Team LinkedIn Profiles

Emery Andrew, CEO - https://www.linkedin.com/in/emery-andrew/
Vince Dowdle, COO - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vince-dowdle/

Brand Ambassadors and Advisors

N/A

Development Roadmap

More chains, more assets, more payment methods, more integration partners

Technical Milestones

M1: Upon the passing of grant proposal
M2: Launch buy/sell axlUSDC → Secret Network via Kado + Axelar Bridge
M3: Integrate smart contract swap on DEX to SCRT tokens
M4: Launch buy/sell SCRT tokens
M5: Integrate ability to purchase Secret NFTs with a credit/debit card (in collaboration with NFT ecosystem partners)

Performance Milestone

Within first 3 months after M4:

• Goal 1: $250k On/Off-Ramped
• Goal 2: $750k On/Off-Ramped
• Goal 3: $1.5m On/Off-Ramped
• Goal 4: $3m On/Off-Ramped

Amount Requested

$150K (USD equivalent) in SCRT tokens

The Future and Our Commitment to Secret Network

Kado is looking forward to partnering with Secret to provide fiat on/off-ramp & payment services for the entire Secret Network ecosystem. Kado envisions a long-term partnership with Secret by exploring and collaborating on various fronts in the future. In the immediate term Kado will integrate with Axelar to push USDC into the ecosystem, and integrate a smart contract swap to enable onramping to SCRT tokens. Over the long term, Kado will push to prioritize Secret integrations with our banking partners to continue removing steps and enabling the most seamless experience possible. There will also be many opportunities for cross-marketing, education, mutual growth, and network effects.

Additional Information

$100k of grant allocated upon passing of Milestones 1-4:

• M1: 15% unlock
• M2: 30% unlock
• M3: 15% unlock
• M4: 30% unlock
• M5: 10% unlock

$50k of grant allocated to Performance Goals, 3 months after completion of M4

• Goal 1: $12.5k
• Goal 2: $25k
• Goal 3: $37.5k
• Goal 4: $50k

All performance and bonus milestone funding goes toward offsetting fees for customer onboarding - tl;dr this is an investment into customer acquisition for Secret Network!