Cardano Catalyst Link New 2.5M ADA Pilot to Real Product Usage

Project Catalyst don explain new 2.5 million ADA pilot wey go fund 10 to 15 product teams and at the same time link most payments to real on-chain usage. The program dey target working products wey fit integrate the Cardano infrastructure wey dem just add and reach mainnet within three months.

The Cardano Foundation first announce the pilot for June with two million ada grant pool. The current Catalyst Pilot page now show say the total fund na 2.5 million, and applications go open for August and go remain available for two weeks after launch.

Catalyst Dey Target Products Wey Ready for Mainnet

Individual grants go range from 50,000 to 200,000, and the pilot open specifically to product teams wey fit deliver working Cardano solution within three months.

Applicants must build around at least one of four areas: oracles, stablecoins, programmable tokens or on-chain identity.

The integration scope wey dem publish include Pyth oracle feeds, stablecoins like USDM and USDCx, programmable tokens based on CIP-0113 and on-chain identity through CIP-0170. The original Cardano Foundation announcement also list Brale, subject to im availability when the fund launch.

Proposals must include build plan, usage targets and strategy to attract users after launch. Selected products must reach mainnet with at least one real transaction during the initial three-month development period.

Most Catalyst Funding Depend on Usage

Only 40% of the approved grant go distribute during onboarding.

Once product reach mainnet, teams fit receive up to another 40% based on performance against their stated adoption targets. Another 20% go available if relevant usage continue two months after the previous measurement.

The pilot dey measure adoption through network fees wey users generate as dem interact with the funded products. Selected teams go apply standard transaction label, so their activity fit show automatically for public dashboard and Cardano leaderboard.

Up to four of the strongest-performing projects fit also receive bonus worth as much as 50% of their initial grant. Bonus eligibility dey based on usage relative to the size of the original funding allocation.

The structure dey move substantial part of Catalyst funding beyond development milestones alone. Product must first reach mainnet and then generate measurable activity before the full grant go available.

Expert Curation Replace Full Public Voting

The selection process still different from previous full Catalyst funds.

Instead of the multi-stage public voting process wey dem use for earlier rounds, the pilot go use simplified community expert curation model. Applications go pass through compliance checks and technical and business review before final selection.

The program dey funded from undistributed resources wey remain from previous Catalyst rounds, including funding wey connect with projects wey withdraw or no complete required goals. The Foundation talk say this one allow the pilot to proceed without new Cardano Treasury withdrawal.

Applications never open yet. The official Catalyst page talk say submissions go begin during August and go close two weeks after launch.

The first selected cohort therefore go test more than new Catalyst funding round. Within three months, funded teams must move from proposal to live Cardano products, after which network usage go determine how much of the remaining funding dem go receive. For the pilot, delivery go put product onto mainnet, but adoption go determine how far the grant continue.