- Abstract: Provide a brief summary of your initiative
Hopper Protocol is a decentralized infrastructure for on-chain asset management. Built on top of Safe using Zodiac modules. Hopper enables rapid protocol whitelisting and multichain vault creation, enhancing the Safe ecosystem.
We are committed users of Gnosis products like Safe, CowSwap, Zodiac, and Gnosis Pay, and we see untapped potential in them.
This proposal is about supporting us in creating a platform that will democratize the use of Safe, Zodiac and Karpatkey’s DeFi Kit.
- Aligned strategy: Which pre-approved strategy is this initiative driving forward?
Wildcard strategy
- Funding request: What resources are being requested from SafeDAO in USDC?
$100,000 USDC
- If applicable, upfront funding: Indicate if upfront funding is needed. Refer to 'Payout’ under Get funding from SafeDAO for lump sum payment options.
Not applicable.
- Relation to budget: State the requested funding as a percentage of the total initiative budget and remaining budget (e.g. if you ask for 50k from Strategy 1 with remaining budget of 100K - Total Budget: 25%, Remaining Budget: 50%)
100% of total initiative budget
100% of remaining budget
- Metrics and KPIs: Which metrics and KPIs will the initiative be measured against?
Our main metrics and KPIs:
Total value locked (TVL) in vaults built on Safe
Number of Safe created through Hopper
Number of Safe modules used for each vault creation
Number of unique users & retention
Transaction volume
UX: Average time to create and manage vaults
UX: Average time to deploy users funds
Detailed feedback from protocol users
- Initiative description: What is the initiative about?
Hopper aims to democratize fund management by leveraging the security provided by Safe. We believe that Safe combined with Zodiac module offers the most secure and scalable way to manage funds.
Gnosis Guild has done a fantastic job with these initial modules. However, much work remains to improve the UX and features, enabling anyone to create a vault and manage their funds easily.
Hopper value proposition:
Hopper brings together the following three standards:
Gnosis Safe: A multi-signature wallet designed for managing digital assets by asset managers on EVM-compatible blockchains.
ERC-7540: The asynchronous vault standard that tokenizes user shares, allowing users to deposit assets like USDC into the vault and receive shares in return.
Zodiac modules: Extend Gnosis Safe’s functionality by adding customizable governance and asset management tools, enabling more complex and flexible operations for DAOs and DeFi projects.
Creating Vault Management: The vault is managed by an “asset manager” who has permissions defined by the “Zodiac Roles Modifier” module to interact with the vault and underlying DeFi protocols like Curve, Aave, CoW Swap etc.
Creating the Net Asset Value (NAV) Computation tool: A service to compute the net asset value (NAV) is integrated into the Hopper Vault, with a time-lock period before the new NAV takes effect to protect users.
Adding Cross-Chain Flexibility: Provides cross-chain flexibility by enabling vault deployment on all EVM-compatible blockchains with a single address. This feature facilitates the execution of cross-chain strategies and allows for cross-chain deposits and withdrawals.
Contributions to Zodiac and Karpatkey:
Contribute to the Zodiac Roles Modifier libraries and Zodiac Roles SDK to enhance their capabilities.
Support the development of the Zodiac Pilot to build a better user experience and UI.
Contribute to the Zodiac exit module to enable advanced functionalities, such as exiting from lending positions, managing looped positions, or proposing trade-offs for non-liquid position exits.
Contribute to the open-source defi-kit of Karpatkey to add a significant number of new protocols (CoW Swap is under review) and a large set of EVM-compatible Layer 2 solutions.
- Current status: Does the offering (product/service) already exist or is the funding used to create it?
Two months ago, Hopper successfully completed its first proof of concept using Safe and Zodiac modules. Today, the MVP is ready, and Hopper plans to release its first curated beta vaults before the end of 2024.
MVP content:
ERC-7540 compatibility and Integration between Gnosis Safe and ERC-7540 Asynchronous Vault
Setup and upgrade Zodiac Role Modifiers for Gnosis Safe and Asynchronous Vault
Fee system: Performance fees
NAV timelock and manual update
A Command Line (CLI) to configure Role Modifiers for Specific Protocols
By early 2025, Hopper’s infrastructure will become fully permissionless, enabling anyone to create and manage a vault on top of Safe.
On the business and development side, Hopper is in contact with major players who have shown significant interest in our infrastructure. Among them are Kelp DAO, Pendle, Eigen Layer, F(x) Protocol, GMX, Equilibria, Stake DAO, Re7, Flowdesk, Kiln, Linea, Aave-Chan Initiative and 3 Comma Capital. You can find the full list, updated weekly, in our investment memo.
- Risks: What risks does the initiative entail?
The risks of the initiative can broadly be categorized into technical and security risks.
Technical Risk - Risks of Altering the Codebase
Risks: Introducing new code and smart contracts, even if audited, can inadvertently introduce bugs or vulnerabilities that malicious actors might exploit.
Mitigation: To mitigate this risk, we conduct multiple rounds of peer reviews and implement a robust continuous integration process with automated testing, static analysis, and code auditing.
Security - Attack Surface
Risks: Expanding the attack surface by adding new features and smart contracts can give hackers more opportunities to find and exploit vulnerabilities.
Mitigation: We use third-party security auditors to audit new features and smart contracts combined with bounty programs.
- Timeline and milestones: Provide a detailed timeline or roadmap, include key milestones
The roadmap outlines our strategic development plan and key milestones for the upcoming months. It details our focus on contribution to open-source projects, auditing and integration with third parties.
Hopper Protocol Technical Roadmap
Exit Module With Shares Burning
- Duration: 1 week of work, + code audit.
- Deliverable: An audited Zodiac Exit Module that burns received shares.
- Due Date: 20/11/24
- Budget: $10k (including audit costs).
Zodiac Roles Modifier SDK Improvements
- Duration: 3 weeks
- Deliverable: Audited implementation of the “Extend Call” feature that reconciling new authorizations with previous ones.
- Due Date: 25/11/24
- Budget: $20k (including audit costs).
Zodiac Pilot Improvements: UX/UI Enhancement
- Duration: 1 month
- Deliverable: To be discussed with Gnosis Guild developers. Potential ideas include a clickable list of protocols, a more neutral interface, and improved stability and compatibility with various wallet connectors and browsers.
- Due Date: 08/12/24
- Budget: $10k
Karpatkey DeFi-Kit Improvements: Multi-Chain Protocol Integration
- Duration: 6 months
- Deliverable: Integration of at least 18 protocols (approximately 3 per month) across multiple chains.
- Due Date: 01/04/25
- Budget: $60k
Total Budget: $100k
- Initiative lead: Who is the accountable initiative lead? (individual or organization)
Hopper Protocol
- Team: How many individuals in total will be working on this initiative and what role do they have? Please provide a brief background of the team members, highlighting their relevant experience and expertise
RĂ©mi Foult
Role: Project Manager, he will oversee the project and provide expertise as first user and technical advisor…
Background: Remi is an engineer and DeFi asset manager with experience as the lead blockchain developer at Deloitte and Natixis. Since 2019, he has been managing DeFi funds, including the Ethereum France treasury, and has managed up to $80M on-chain.
Romain Lavernhe
Role: BD and product, he will collect feedback from early users and report on desired features.
Background: Romain is a multi-founder in DeFi, having recently launched Amphor.io and Morphous.xyz.
Role: CTO, he will lead the technical implementation.
Background: Arnaud has 12 years of experience in development, DevOps infrastructure, and software architecture for SaaS, previously working with ConsenSys.
Role: Lead Developer
Background: Guillaume has served as a lead developer at Amphor with smart contracts securing more than $230M de TVL.
Role: Developer
Background: Julien is a highly skilled smart-contracts developer who frequently ranks in the top 10 of Node Guardians’ gas optimization competitions.
The whole team of developers will be working full time on making the Hopper product a success.
- Additional support/resources: Are there any resources (non-financial) requested from the Safe Ecosystem Foundation or the core contributors?
We will need to engage with all relevant stakeholders of the Safe ecosystem to gather their needs.
We would be pleased to see our initiative and platform publicly supported by the Safe ecosystem.
- Implementation dependencies: Does the implementation of this initiative require any prior changes in the current governance processes, e.g., updates to the governance framework, or have any other dependency? If yes, please specify these. Note that the funding of the initiative will be dependent on the approval and (if needed) successful implementation of such necessary governance modifications or any other dependency.
N/A
