Hi @makosch and @prastut , this is by no means an authoritative list of potential grant scope, but I have done my best to outline the current status of the previously proposed infrastructure grant categories and outstanding opportunities. Looking forward to your questions and potential grant submissions.
-
Light client protocol
- Sub-linear proof-of-work verification protocol that allows light client to sync block headers in sub-linear time
- State query protocol that allows light client to query any state from full node efficiently, securely and with privacy
There is some work within the core development team on light clients, however expertise implementing FlyClient and in proof-of-work system security could be useful, 2 grant projects, here and here have been proposed on this subject, however they did not address the challenge of adapting FlyClient to work with NC-MAX as described in this post.
-
Interoperability between Nervos CKB and Bitcoin and Ethereum
- Atomic Swaps
- Trustless cross-chain asset transfers
The toCKB framework is under development now, it addresses interoperability in creating bridges between chains (SPV validation on both sides for Ethereum<->CKB for instance), however atomic swap solutions and possibly other development frameworks building on toCKB could be possibilities.
-
Crypto primitives transplanted to the CKB
- Hash functions that bridge different blockchains to verify their block headers and transactions, like keccak256 for etheruem
- Signature algorithms for various authorization scenarios, like BLS, Schnorr, RSA, and so on
The SECBIT zk toolkit implements a wide range of zero knowledge primitives, the Lay2 team has deployed Keccak, and there has been a project to bring RSA verification to CKB, however I am not aware of any projects related to BLS or Schnorr. In general, if you have expertise in optimizing cryptographic algorithms, there is an opportunity for a grant proposal.
-
Smart contract language and tooling
- Compilers which compile existing languages to ckb-vm executable
- Interpreters for existing languages which can run in ckb-vm
- DSL or framework designed specifically for CKB’s programming model to make generator/validator programming more convenient and secure
- Productivity tools such IDE, debugger, etc.
- Dynamic Linking for code reuse
Obsidian Labs built the CKB Studio IDE and is currently working on adding web IDE functionality and support for Rust contracts, if you see any missing pieces of a developer experience after reviewing CKB Studio there may be an opportunity for a grant proposal. Compilers and interpreters for existing languages is still a very open category. There is a DSL in progress from the core dev side however if you have experience in creating programming languages I am sure the community would be happy to hear about your ideas.
-
Mining pool
- Open source mining pool project that allows miners to choose which transactions to include, e.g. a mining pool that supports Stratum V2 and/or BetterHash
Grant proposal submitted for this scope of work by Insight.
-
CKB SDKs and Middleware
- SDKs for different languages
- Configurable and extensible transaction and cell parsers to facilitate dApp developers
The Lay2 team created pw-sdk, to connect the web3 development ecosystem to CKB and Lumos does a great job at cell parsing, however SDKs is a wide area and this seems to still be a very open category for useful ideas.
-
UDT related ecosystem support
- UDT dev tools
- UDT examples & UDT-based dApp development
- Token Swap
- Payment Channel
Tools for minting UDT’s are under developed by the foundation. As far as payment channels go, there has been a design proposed that is currently being implemented by a research team. If you have experience in building payment channels a grant proposal could be valuable.
-
Wallet Development
- Hardware Wallet Integration
- High performance wallet (with auto swap stable coin, one click Nervos DAO)
Ledger hardware wallet integration has been built by the Obsidian Systems team and is also being implemented in the Neuron wallet by the core development team. Synapse has developed a browser extension wallet, Lay2 has developed ckb.pw to support a number of different wallets, if after reviewing these you see additional room for wallet functionality, please submit a grant proposal for consideration.
- NervosDAO related dApps
The Nervos DAO offers inflation compensation based on locked tokens, this compensation could be directed to a service provider or public benefit project. Adding governance using DAO deposits is also an option. If you see any useful designs that could be used across different applications for governance/funding, looking forward to any grant proposals.