Delivery of 4 Government Use Cases to Onboard Millions onto Polkadot

Delivery of 4 Government Use Cases to Onboard Millions onto Polkadot

Proposal Date: October 2024
Requested USDT: 763,000 USDT
Beneficiary address: 14TBj11j7YPH9N3YSpVBUrrxNaLY8Szbvj8pWNHpdkthA7ff

Short description: Mandala Chain, built on Polkadot, is the blockchain where government & enterprise integrate seamlessly on apps with public & retail services. It is a network built to bridge the gap between emerging and global blockchain markets. Our initial focus is on Indonesia, where strategic partnerships and resources provide us with the opportunity to build a strong foundation we can leverage to expand to broader markets. With $763,000 in funding, Mandala Chain aims to drive significant user adoption into the Polkadot ecosystem, opening the door for real-world use cases and accelerating Polkadot’s growth across emerging markets.

Previous treasury proposals:
Polkadot @ Coinfest Asia 2024 Proposal - (Link to the Coinfest Asia after movie)

A link to the full version of this proposal can be found here.

Executive Summary

Over the last 12 months, Mandala Chain has spearheaded numerous efforts to build real-world use cases garnering strong support from government, enterprise, and public sectors in Indonesia. Our projects focus on real-world blockchain applications such as digital identity, banking, IP protection, SmartGov and tokenized assets, all with the goal of onboarding the next 100 million users with Polkadot.

Thanks to these efforts, Mandala Chain has built significant momentum, culminating in our successful participation in recent major industry events such as the Bali Blockchain Summit and Coinfest Asia 2024. These high-profile events, supported by the Polkadot Treasury, showcased Mandala Chain and Polkadot to a wide audience, including 20+ government officials and industry leaders at the Bali Blockchain Summit, further solidifying our position as a key driver of blockchain adoption in Indonesia.

Now, with strategic Government and Enterprise agreements and partnerships in place, Mandala Chain seeks to scale development capacity to meet urgent demand for use cases already in the pipeline. With other tech stacks on the ground in Indonesia it is essential to act swiftly to capitalize on demand for the Mandala Solution on Polkadot without losing market share to competitors in this key market.

By onboarding more developers and accelerating the delivery of these crucial use cases, Mandala Chain can continue the pursuit of mainstream adoption and onboarding millions of users to Polkadot from Indonesia and Beyond.

In supporting Mandala Chain through this treasury proposal, the Polkadot ecosystem stands to gain significant benefits, including new active users, growth in on-chain activity, and increased liquidity, as we bring mainstream Web2 users into the Web3 space. Together, we have the opportunity to capture the next wave of users and drive exponential growth for both Mandala Chain and the broader Polkadot ecosystem.

Mandala Chain Team at the Bali Blockchain Summit

Overview of Mandala Chain's Accomplishments

Over the past 12+ months, Mandala Chain has been tirelessly working to build a name for itself in Indonesia, focusing on both educating the population and forming relationships with key government and enterprise stakeholders. During this time, we’ve built strong brand equity, educating both the general public and government officials on the benefits of blockchain technology and its potential to transform industries.

This hard work has positioned us to move from vision to execution. With key agreements now in place, Mandala Chain is ready to deliver real-world use cases and onboard the next wave of users with the Polkadot tech stack. This next phase of growth, supported by treasury funding, is crucial for bringing millions of users into the Polkadot ecosystem.

For full details on our achievements, see here.

Opening panel at the Bali Blockchain Summit

A section of the Polkadot Title Area at Coinfest 2024 with Polkadot, Mandala Chain and friends.

Goals and Objectives

Facilitate Massive adoption by onboarding large populations through real world use cases and government/enterprise partnerships.

With our strategy and roadmap already underway, Mandala Chain is:

Working on a portfolio of real world use cases Onboarding new non-crypto users who will be accessing essential on-chain services
Realistically and credibly on track to bring millions of users into the Polkadot ecosystem

The budget requested will contribute to the incubate section in our four-step framework to facilitate massive active user adoption through real-world use cases.

More details on our Goals and Objectives including our framework can be found here.

Summary of Use Case Portfolio & Status

The table below shows Mandala Chain’s use case projects and the status of each:

The use cases outlined above are primarily based in Indonesia but have the potential to be replicated or adapted for similar projects in other countries. Mandala Chain is already in discussions with three governments in neighboring countries. More details on these international collaborations will be disclosed in due course.

Further Details on Use Cases in Incubation

The four key use cases currently being incubated by Mandala Chain, and the basis for the funding request for this proposal, are: IDCHAIN, DJOIN, West Java SmartGov, and UnBALIvable. These projects represent groundbreaking solutions across industries such as digital identity, cooperative banking, smart government, and intellectual property protection. For a deeper dive into each use case, including their objectives, features, and development phases, click the link below:

Mandala Chain - Use Cases in Incubation

Milestones and Deliverables

Over the next nine months, our primary focus is to develop IDCHAIN, our decentralized identity solution. By the end of this period, we aim to have IDCHAIN fully developed and tested, laying the groundwork for future mass user onboarding. This involves completing its Proof of Concept (POC), deploying the testnet, conducting comprehensive security and compliance testing, UI/UX feedback iterations, and preparing the infrastructure for eventual large-scale adoption.

Simultaneously, we'll finalize the MVPs for DJOIN, UnBalivable, and the West Java SmartGov Pilots toward their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stages. This includes integrating essential features like KOCEK (Cooperative Credit Scoring) with DJOIN, refining user experiences based on feedback, and ensuring all projects meet compliance and security standards. Throughout this process, we'll collaborate closely with enterprise and government stakeholders to solidify partnerships and integrations.

View a detailed breakdown of Milestones and Deliverables here.

Budget Breakdown

To ensure the success of our incubated projects, Mandala Chain will scale its development team and allocate resources efficiently. This budget covers all costs for development, testing, user experience refinement, and public showcasing events. To view a detailed breakdown of how the requested 763,000 USDT will be used, please see here.

Why This Matters for Polkadot

Polkadot’s potential for mainstream adoption has been recognized, but the challenge remains in crossing the chasm from early adopters to the mass market. Mandala Chain’s real-world use cases, government support, and enterprise partnerships create the perfect opportunity for Polkadot to expand into new regions and industries, starting with Indonesia. By backing Mandala Chain, the Polkadot Treasury will enable the ecosystem to tap into millions of new users, drive liquidity, and increase on-chain activity—all critical to solidifying Polkadot’s leadership in the Web3 space.

However, time is of the essence. The Indonesian government has earmarked blockchain as critical infrastructure to become future proof in its Digital Indonesia 2045 Vision, Mandala Chain has built brand equity as a go to resource and it is critical we deliver and take advantage of this initial momentum. If we do not act now, there's a significant risk that competing blockchain platforms will seize this opportunity, capturing market share and forming strategic partnerships that could have been Polkadot's. The potential costs of not funding Mandala Chain range from loss of influence in emerging markets, to slower user growth, and a setback in establishing Polkadot as a global leader in the Web3 space. Delaying support could allow others to fill the void, making it more challenging for Polkadot to penetrate these markets in the future.

By supporting this proposal, we can turn these opportunities into realities. Funding Mandala Chain will accelerate Polkadot's expansion into emerging markets, capitalize on government and enterprise collaborations, and push forward the positive momentum we've outlined. This strategic move will not only enhance Polkadot's global presence but also strengthen its position as the platform of choice for mainstream adoption.

Review the full proposal here.

When a single whale votes AYE, casting 4X the TOTAL VOTES CAST BY ALL NAY VOTES COMBINED, OpenGov has indeed failed.

There’s just no incentive for smaller $DOT holders to band together and pay transaction fees if they're inevitably outvoted by a single whale.

OpenGov voting policies are flawed today, and it is actually hurting Polkadot more than it is helping, given how much money is seemingly wasted by referendums that continue to pass simply because one or two whales vote AYE when the majority thinks it's a bad idea that shouldn't get treasury funds.

In the meantime, we continue to hear the argument that DAOs fix this (they do not, they simply cannot compete with whales - simple math says otherwise). Others say the Decentralized Voices program fixes this, which it is clearly does not.

In fact, the DV program arguably makes the problem worse, as it centralizes more votes to just a handful of decision makers that get selected by a minority group. The only actual fix (not just a bandaid) is the capping of votes once identity is solved, which will take time.

We should always be incentivizing participation of small fish, if we truly want Polkadot to be as decentralized as possible, and the current OpenGov design does the opposite.

This referendum is half-baked and should not pass in its current state, but it probably will. Thanks mr whale.