Introduction
Teiki is a decentralized crowdfunding protocol initially built on Cardano and IPFS. We utilize Cardano’s liquid staking to build a novel subscription model, where backers stake ADA at smart contracts to generate rewards for project creators. Teiki integrates AI to maximize UX, minimize the time one needs to raise funding, and reduce human costs.
Teiki splits its ambition into smaller generations to deliver recurrent features and improvements. We wish to maintain a lively testnet for a tight feedback loop and transparency with the community. This article series outlines the foundational generation of the protocol and our testnet plan for the features.
Teiki Gen I: Foundation
There are two primary user types on Teiki: the project creators and the backers. Project creators raise funds to build, and backers provide a revenue stream to drive the shared missions. Teiki’s foundational generation focuses on making this process as smooth and effective as possible. Later generations will provide additional functionalities for governance, fiat integration, tooling integration, and more.
For the first testnet, we plan to roll out features weekly until it is complete to keep the testing scope tight. Furthermore, we want to embody recurrent growth and provide a reason for users to re-visit at least weekly.
Episode 1: Enter Teiki
Cardano Wallet is the first prominent feature. A connected wallet is a user identity needed to sign transactions for protocol interactions. For instance, creators must connect to create projects and withdraw funds. Backers must connect to stake their ADA at projects’ smart contracts, and so on.
We support Nami, Eternl, and Gero on the Cardano preview network for the testnet program. We will have more options like Flint, Typhon, Nufi, and Cardwallet on the mainnet.
Next, Creating a Project is the most critical and complex process on Teiki.
The testnet program operates on test tokens; one can obtain tADA from the Cardano faucet (preview network). Moreover, submitted content is publicly stored on IPFS. Please do not submit IP-sensitive content on the testnet. Inappropriate content will be delisted and removed.
Creating a project starts with a description of the project, such as what the project is about, its mission, and its core values. This is also where creators detail their crowdfunding campaign, structure, and why they need to raise funds. We have Grammarly integration to ensure a professional and tight description. Once the protocol has enough data, Niko will tell creators about potential competitors, what to write about, what to avoid, how to be more engaging, and more.
Once the description is filled in, Teiki AI analyses it to understand and recommend additional content like name, tagline, tags, summary, logo, and banners. The goal is to help creators complete these prerequisite steps in minutes instead of hours or days.
We then create a roadmap of milestones and fill in a list of social channels and FAQs to assist the community. Finally, we sign the transaction to create the project. We can pay an extra in ADA to list the project as a Teiki sponsor. Once created, the project is listed directly on Teiki with a shiny details page!
Once projects are created, backers can find their favorites through the homepage and search functionality.
Once a matching project is found, backers can quickly back it by staking ADA. They can safely withdraw staked ADA anytime. There is no lock.
Finally, project creators can withdraw the raised rewards from their backers’ staked ADA!
Testnet Plan
Again, we roll out features weekly until it is feature complete to keep the testing scope tight.
We publish a dedicated article to detail each roll-out a few days before each release. Stay tuned!
Finally, please join the testnet journey to co-complete Teiki Gen I. We have a bug bounty program where you can earn ADA by reporting bugs and feedback. A complete knowledge base with guidelines will be published on GitBook.
(*) AI infrastructure is expensive. We must scale AI gradually as we gain more traction and data to justify the cost. Please be patient if early outputs are not up-to-standard and slow. We will apply for cloud credits from top providers to scale AI on the mainnet.
