(Modified from V1 Chunky version and V2 Hippie version, we have proudly pivoted to an open-source, non-rivalrous and non-excludable public good dApp to impact, nourish, and last.)
TL;DR - V3
HOPON is a decentralized money market, allowing beginners to be easily onboarded to Ethereum by a experienced individual they trust (a friend or irl connection) while managing various risks through smart contracts, and enabling both parties with better returns. HOPON addresses the key challenges that hinder users from embracing blockchain. These challenges include lack of transparency in CEXs, compromised security, uncertainty and complexity in user experience.
We have completed the Figma design of our MVP product, Governance NFT artwork, Notion setup, and deployment of smart contracts (feel free to track our progress on our project page).
To kickstart HOPON DAO and launch the product, we are seeking 18 ETH in stream from Nouns DAO. In appreciation, we will promote Nouns goggles in our logo/design and offer 10 HOPON Board Member NFTs to the Nouns Treasury. Furthermore, we commit to allocating 2% of future HOPON revenue towards purchasing more Nouns, and an airdrop of 2% HOPON token to Nouns holders.
The Story
In 2022, some friends approached me, knowing my track record in the blockchain space (won a hackathon $16k awarded/got $4Million funded in a DAO tool project). They were completely beginners and wanted me to help them invest in blockchain, so they offered me a 20% carry. I was shocked at how much they offered.
Despite not being my area of expertise, my passion for blockchain made me accept the challenge of managing a portfolio of blue-chip blockchain stocks for them. This enabled them to diversify their investments safely and hedge against risks in traditional financial markets. (Also, the juicy 20% carry for me. )
Later, I guided them through registering on Binance and setting up APIs (the KYC and setup process took over an hour for each person). I employed a trading bot to manage their investments.
Everything is good, right? I realized many people need “Someone trustworthy to explain crypto clearly and help me buy.”
However, these needs are underserved due to the high time and mental cost. Did you realize this when your family or friends ask you about crypto?
Then I did some research. I realized what I experienced could be a massive tunnel of onboarding beginners to crypto.
What stopped beginners to onboard crypto and What do they need?
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External risks - Technology: Beginners find it difficult to understand the principles of blockchain and its core assets. (This is also the reason why beginners seldom use decentralized facilities.)
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“Why Ethereum can’t be banned?”
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“What is a hot wallet?”
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External risks - Market: Investing in blockchain is risky due to technical glitches, regulatory challenges, and scams.
- “What happened to FTX/3 Arrows Capital/Luna?”
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Internal risks - Timing and investment selection: Beginners can't, so experienced players come to help but must use centralized exchanges to execute API trading without acting as a custodian.
- “I’m not sure what and when to buy or sell. Can you help me?”
In addition to the problems that users are facing, what I personally care about and worry about most is that, despite the security of the blockchain coming from decentralization, most users have to use centralized exchanges, which are, well, very centralized. This undermines the security of the blockchain in all aspects but is too slow to be noticed.
All the current solution requires a centralized exchange to on board beginners, the data shows 89% of blockchain users are using centralized exchanges. [Reports from Crypto.com]
A whopping 89%. If this situation continues, we may face the collapse of decentralization. Motivated for the sake of blockchain's security, I need to get more people using blockchain directly instead of through middlemen.
With this in mind, based on my experience and research, we need a product that:
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Brings together beginners and experienced players, letting the experienced ones guide the beginners.
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Focuses on building features on DEX, not CEX.
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Clearly sets out what each side can and must do and ensures that these rules are followed automatically (hint: smart contracts).
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Has the management team run in a decentralized way to avoid becoming centralized.
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Is safe and easy to use.
This way, we can lower the entry barrier for beginners while rewarding the experienced players, align the interests of both parties, push for more use of decentralization, and ensure everyone's security.
Hop on the solution！
We have designed a decentralized money market based on smart contracts. It allocates and controls various risks for experienced players and beginners and seeks better returns for both. We want to run it in a decentralized, Gumroad way.
Let's call it HOPON. As joining crypto investment is as easy as hop-on a friend’s hitchhike!
It solves all problems blocking users from using the blockchain in a decentralized way:
Transparent Investment: HOPON is an open-source, community-driven investment tool. Decentralized funds are managed through smart contracts, with decisions made by the fund manager(experienced crypto users) being monitored by investors(beginners) and the community to ensure transparency and trust. (Solves 1)
Accessibility: HOPON is built on Ethereum, offers access to a wider range of assets, primarily ERC-20 tokens, secured by smart contracts. (Solves 2)
Uncompromised Security: Trades are traceable and secured by audited smart contracts. We provide a non-custodial platform, ensuring investments are locked securely with clear risk-reward parameters without any party directly holding users' funds. (Solves 3)
Public Goods Governed by DAOs: We use the governance framework of Nouns DAO and initiate governance by auctioning Board Members governance NFT. HOPON will always maintain decentralized DAO governance rather than being a private company. (Solves 4)
Simplified Experience: We offer on-chain and permissionless access. Users can log in using self-custodial wallets like Metamask or a built-in Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallet. Onboarding to the crypto world with an investment will take 10 times less time than using a CEX. (Solves 5)
Competitive Landscape
HOPON offers the best solution for beginners initiating their crypto investment journey in terms of time, earnings, safety, and mental cost.
While there are existing solutions for crypto onboarding, such as exchange tutorials and copy-trading platforms, they often fail to address new users' individual needs and comes with heavy mental load. HOPON distinguishes itself by offering a personalized, trust-oriented experience between individuals that decentralizes the trust we put in CEXs.
The User Experience
"Think about being the crypto beginner at a social gathering. You can easily scan an experienced friend's QR code, buy a small amount directly from them (on-chain), and duplicate their trades in just a few minutes (via smart contract). Later, you can consult with friends at leisure, with the freedom to learn and invest more as you get comfortable—all under the safeguard of a solid smart contract and your friend's expertise. Smooth as silk, it feels like following your friends' Instagram."
"Think about being an experienced player and setting up your preferred profit-sharing ratio and risk margins. Then, all it takes is for a beginner friend to scan a QR code to join your smart contract. You can even start a group chat with an AI bot to answer common questions, letting you concentrate on key insights and decisions. Experienced players can deposit a safety margin to cover potential losses for beginners, building trust and making it easier for future invitations."
Managers(the experienced players) get a part of the profits from the trades they help with. This ensures they want the same things as the beginners they are helping.
Different from other platforms, HOPON leverages the trust that already exists between friends. This trust is very important to help people feel less unsure and scared about investing in crypto.
The Journey Building it
October 23
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Started the HOPON project, conducted research, and defined the problems.
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Designed the Deck.
- Finalized the Board Members NFT Artwork.
November 2023
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Defined the business model, and governance model.
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Conducted user interviews.
January 2024
- Defined the user persona and designed the user journey.
- Drafted the PRD Draft.
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Drafted the Nouns Proposal Draft v1/2.
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Drafted the Smart Contract v0.1. Test panel
- Deployed contract address: 0x61E1F6fD244A508eB344C8647455499627D1EbbF
February 2024
- Created the Frontend Mockup Design v0.1.
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Drafted the Nouns Proposal Draft v3.
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Conducted user interviews.
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Built up the Wiki Draft and Notion Space.
March 2024
- Starting the NFT auction. (Currently in a test drive)
Future Milestones
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End of March: Launch the MVP product to a user base of over 50 individuals, with at least 5 contracts created and operational.
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Mid-April: Conduct in-depth user interviews with at least 10 participants to refine our product for the next iteration.
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End of April: Introduce and implement the staking and rewards features to enhance user engagement.
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May: Build and release the HOPON Token and share the Tokenomics. 8% for our team with a 5-year-vest, 90% token will go to the community.
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Recurring: Provide regular biweekly updates on proposed developments to keep our community informed and engaged in our progress.
It Clicks!
We got some awesome feedback from potential users after our user research:
A Crypto Influencer:
“I'm totally on board with this product. I've got three fans who've handed over their wallets for me to manage their crypto, and we've never even met in person. With HOPON, their money will be safer, and I can handle investments for more followers. It's a win-win.”
A long-time crypto holder:
“I've been holding onto coins for ages, and I don't want to spend a ton of time digging into the latest projects and tweaking my portfolio. It's just too much. If there's a tool like HOPON, I can let a pro invest in areas I'm interested in but don't have the time to research. Instead of keeping all my money in Bitcoin or Ethereum, I'd be cool with letting someone I trust invest 20% of it in new crypto areas.”
A community member:
“This app is an interesting approach to onboarding crypto users and I can’t overstate how much I want to encourage you to go for it.”
We need Nouns’ help
Kicking things off the right way is crucial. The Nouns DAO community, known for its open-source and decentralized approach, talented members, and successful track record, is the perfect launching pad for a new crypto project like ours. We've already put in a ton of work, and now we're reaching out to Nouns community members to join us at HOPON DAO. Let's team up and create something amazing!
We've completed MVP design and smart contracts (Product design 165hrs+dev 60hrs+graphic design 20hrs+NFT artwork 35hrs = spent $20k+).
We are seeking 18 ETH in stream to support our MVP build-up, infrastructure setup, community recruitment, and ongoing product development based on user feedback from the MVP phase, from March 2024 to May 2024.
Budget breakdown
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Frontend Development: 130 hours at $80 + $100 Future token per hour (approximately 3.34 ETH)
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Smart Contract and Backend Development: 130 hours at $80 + $100 Future token per hour (approximately 3.34 ETH)
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Product: 90 hours at $80 + $100 Future token per hour (approximately 2.05 ETH)
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Design: 70 hours at $80 + $100 Future token per hour (approximately 1.6 ETH)
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Contract Audit: Estimated cost of 6-8 ETH
What Nouns will get
This is a chance to build public goods that will really shake up the blockchain world. It'll let more folks use blockchain directly to execute the most frequent trade operations like swapping and holding tokens. This project is about more than just earning revenue – with Nouns' support, we are more likely to make a mark on blockchain history together.
We're also aiming for a long-term project that'll change how people build on the blockchain. So far, Nouns DAO has a great image in areas like art, charity, creativity, and sports. Funding HOPON means funding fine designed project that comes from user's need and can keep going on their own, with lots of users constantly using the products. This will make a strong and lasting impression on people, making every user feel connected to Nouns.
Let's talk numbers. HOPON will promote Nouns DAO in our product and offer 10 HOPON Board Member NFTs to the Nouns Treasury as an invitation to govern the public good together. Furthermore, we commit to using 2% of future HOPON revenue to buy more Nouns as a permanent supporter, and 2% of future HOPON token airdrops to Nouns holders at the Token Generation Event. After the TGE, 8% HOPON token will be vested within 5 years to our founders and contributors/architects, and the rest 90% will all go to the community to compensate the gas fee and reward our users.
Team
Andrew - The initiator, promoter, never give up. Won a hackathon/ startup and got funded. Likes to observe users and connect dots.
Christie - Ex-product manager of a global Web2 payment giant, recently more appreciating decentralized product practices.
Goofy - Full stack engineer with 11+ years of experience, responsible for a top-notch social network app with 10 million monthly active users.
Bob - Blockchain and frontend engineer, exploring various blockchain technologies since 2019.
And we invite YOU to join us, check it out here [HOPON Back Office] or join our Telegram group chat.
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