At the suggestion of @Gavin, I’m starting this thread to collectively brainstorm possible Namada applications. By “application”, in this context, I mean an interface / GUI / toolkit that uses the Namada protocol and blockchain (and often shielded actions) as a “backend”, but provides abstractions, input methods, and data displays tailored to a particular use-case. While the Namada protocol itself is conceptually simple (multi-asset shielded payments, shielded set rewards, public goods funding), I think there’s a lot of room for variety in the interfaces which use this protocol as a backend. For comparison, consider the variety of banking, payment automation, payroll, etc. applications which all use the same basic backend system. Different applications in the payments world are optimized for different customers (individuals, companies, non-profits, …) and different use-cases (paying for lunch, large bank transfers, monthly payroll, donations, …).
Here are a few specific ideas for applications I would like to see built on top of Namada:
A mobile payments application (with iOS & Android support, perhaps built with React Native), with support for:
Easy shielded multi-asset payments (w/WeChat-like “Scan to Pay”) UX
Shielded set rewards tracking
Shielded swaps, when you need to swap between tokens in order to pay
Optional integration with Gnosis Pay for PoS support (can be used along with shielded swaps)
A “power user” desktop wallet (maybe a browser application) which supports the kinds of sophisticated payment flows needed for e.g. organizational payroll - queuing, review, scheduling, multi-stakeholder approval (maybe combined with a FROST multisignature account).
A shielded donation application, a bit like the old version of the Gitcoin app, where:
Project creators in search of funding can submit information for a project page, including a z-address.
Users who want to fund projects can browse a list of projects, add them to a “cart” with individual donation amounts, and once they’re done, send all the payments in a single Namada transaction.
A Namada community “governance dashboard” application, where community stakeholders can easily:
View data on current Namada PGF activity
Public goods stewards, and their focus areas / statements of intent
Current public goods flows (continuous PGF)
Historical retroactive funding (retroactive PGF)
Plan for future Namada PGF activity
Craft proposals for PGF (maybe linked to the forums)
Discover others interested in funding similar activities (or others interested in joining teams)
Temperature-check ideas for new PGF recipients (via signaling votes)
I think this is a great use case. For example in Gofundme or similar platforms even you choose the ‘anonymous’ option it is still a traditional payment and Gofundme has all your details. Also, for decentralized VPNs like Sentinel and other dApps, this could be great for shielded payments too within these dApps.
For payments, what is the % of crypto payments vs traditional fiat payments? I think the key questions here are, the shielded set of Namada will be only for crypto or also RWAs/fiat currencies eventually? Because if not limited to crypto then the possibilities and use cases increase a lot. For example, there is a trend of cash dissapearing in some countries with only digital payments available meaning the privacy of cash is lost, and with CBDC this would mean even more surveillance and control. However, if the shielded set could also be used for traditional fiat/RWAs assets then there would be a major global interest in Namada to build and improve many payments apps
Any IBC asset can be sent to Namada and shielded using the MASP, including stablecoins such as Noble’s USDC and USDY. There are probably more RWAs connected to IBC in some fashion, I’m not an expert in the area.
For IBC I think Injective is leading in RWA tokenization, probably good idea to have call with them to discuss potential collaborations and use cases. The issue is that users and use cases of IBC assets is small compared for example with fiat payments both retail and corporate. But as a starting point, for example traditional apps offering stablecoin payments such as USDC, USDY and others may be interested to integrate Namada for more private payments options. Also, P2P platforms to trade crypto for fiat including cash could be a possible use case too
an interface / GUI / toolkit that uses the Namada protocol and blockchain (and often shielded actions) as a “backend”, but provides abstractions, input methods, and data displays tailored to a particular use-case
i find payments to be the most compelling place to start. you could have encrypted messaging alongside the payment. it would be great to have a Splitwise for crypto with user data protected by default. i’d love to be able to say “sure, let’s split dinner, download this app” to someone who doesn’t have crypto, knowing there’s a smooth way to go from credit card to crypto to peer-to-peer payment
governance dashboard could be powerful! if i were making this, i’d want the features to iterate alongside people using it (because i imagine that they’ll inform one another)
regarding a shielded donation application, i’d also like to see an NFT integration so that donors can receive some sort of proof of donation. perhaps this could grow into a Kickstarter or GoFundMe kind of crowdfunding platform
Some nice ideas, I will share this thread with the ZecHub community. We are all excited for mainnet and more importantly the cool applications that will be built.
First, I was thinking of a bot that would have the main features of Namada Keychain + Namadillo (wallet creation/import, transaction).
Then, in a second phase, when Anoma is launched with its intent-centric model, we could implement new features…
I’m currently testing a bot (with an intent-centric model under the hood), and I find that the simplicity of the tool is its greatest strength, as there are almost no barriers to adoption.
Amazing that you’re already getting started with a bot!
Anybody who is already building or considering to build an application on Namada should feel free to reach out via DM, I’d love to support it. Can link with Namada eng resources, bring holistic product perspective, and connect with other teams in the ecosystem.
(DM here works or @mauricewbr on socials)
Hello Maurice,
I’m not designing a bot for Namada, but I’m currently testing a bot (from one of Anoma’s competitors, in a way).
That’s why I mentioned the idea of a bot for Namada on this forum.
@cwgoes could the combination of Anoma and Namada help with fraud proofs? In the Cosmos hub ICS or Celestia fraud proofs are not ready yet and even on Ethereum L2s also full fraud proofs are not ready yet. In a previous talk in the modular summit you mentioned that intents are similar to rollups (optimistic rollups, zk-rollups, or both?) but top bottom approach, the opposite of rollups. How are intents and fraud proofs related? And could intents and somehow the Namada privacy tech help with achieving full fraud proofs for Ethereum L2s, Celestia, Cosmos ICS, etc.?
@cwgoes@Gavin how does this Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) for ERC20 compares with Namada’s MASP? For existing erc-20 they mentioned some ‘wrapping’ mechanism, I don’t think the privacy guarantees of this can be anywhere close to Namada’s MASP with enough assets deposited?
‘This framework transforms standard ERC-20 tokens into confidential wrapped versions that mask balances and transaction amounts, providing users with additional privacy protections while maintaining compliance controls.’
sorry for delay. been travelling and can’t keep with messages. yes. our system is all built an in operation in 14 countries. my plan is to integrate Namada into the ecosystem
‘multisig privacy’
