QuantumGuard application submission

[andredif]

Project Abstract

QuantumGuard, a quantum-safe blockchain based on Substrate framework and NIST PQC.
The grant aims to provide a quantum-safe node and a custom browser wallet extension.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (project_name.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (bank details via email or Polkadot (USDC & USDT) address in the application).
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[andredif]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[Noc2]

Thanks for the application. I have one initial question: which implementation of CRYSTALS are you planning to use? Could you link to the GitHub repo? Also, what are your long-term goals with this project?

[andredif]

Hi David, thank you for your questions. Regarding the Rust implementation in the Substrate node, I'm gonna use the pq-crystals implementation: https://github.com/pq-crystals/dilithium (Apache 2.0 license) ; while in the browser extension, which requires Javascript, I was planning to use the npm package https://www.npmjs.com/package/dilithium-crystals (MIT License) , adapting it to an HD wallet . The long-term goal is to create a start-up for the project, and build a full quantum-safe parachain. The idea is to use this Grant to get the first bricks of the project, and then once it's been shown the interest of the community around it, create my own company and a small team to bring it to a testnet-level first and then to a production-level blockchain. Best regards, Andrea Di Franco Il giorno lun 20 nov 2023 alle ore 08:23 David Hawig < ***@***.***> ha scritto:

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***@***.**** requested changes on this pull request. Thanks for the application. I have one initial question: which implementation of CRYSTALS are you planning to use? Could you link to the GitHub repo? Also, what are your long-term goals with this project? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2113 (review)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AMMLWSLUFJ2PVQQM72OUDQTYFMAPBAVCNFSM6AAAAAA7R55LEWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43YUDVNRWFEZLROVSXG5CSMV3GSZLXHMYTOMZZGA4TONRXGI> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Noc2]

Thanks for the quick reply. Could you integrate this into the application? Also, feel free to add more information regarding your cryptography background or similar experience that you have.

[andredif]

Thank you, David. I have updated my applications with the repositories' links and a brief description of my experience with cryptography

[Noc2]

Thanks for the update. I'm happy to go ahead with it and mark it as ready for review.

[takahser]

@andredif could you add the mandatory Docker deliverable to milestone 2 as well? Other than that I'd be willing to support this project as well.

[andredif]

@takahser Thank you for your review and the corrections you've made. I've added the 0d-Dockerfile deliverable to Milestone2.

[takahser]

@andredif thanks for the update, LGTM.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @andredif our payment options have also recently changed. Would you be willing to use USDC on Asset Hub instead of ETH mainnet?

[andredif]

Hi @keeganquigley , I apologize for not complying with new payment rules. I've just updated the application with my Polkadot Asset Hub address.

[semuelle]

Hi @andredif, sorry for the inconvenience, but we just started requiring KYC/KYB checks for all potential grantees. Could you please provide the information outlined under this link? Let me know if you have any questions or issues.

[andredif]

Hi @semuelle , I can confirm you that I've successfully completed the KYC procedure

[github-actions]

Congratulations and welcome to the Web3 Foundation Grants Program! Please refer to our Milestone Delivery repository for instructions on how to submit milestones and invoices, our FAQ for frequently asked questions and the support section of our README for more ways to find answers to your questions.

Before you start, take a moment to read through our announcement guidelines for all communications related to the grant or make them known to the right person in your organisation. In particular, please don't announce the grant publicly before at least the first milestone of your project has been approved. At that point or shortly before, you can get in touch with us at grantsPR@web3.foundation and we'll be happy to collaborate on an announcement about the work you’re doing.

Lastly, please remember to let us know in case you run into any delays or deviate from the deliverables in your application. You can either leave a comment here or directly request to amend your application via PR. We wish you luck with your project! 🚀

[andredif]

Thank you all for approving my Grant application. I will read carefully the Milestone delivery instructions and start working on the project in the next upcoming days.

[andredif]

Dear all,
due to the complexity of the task regarding the first milestone, and other issues, I'd kindly ask you to extend the delivery date of the first milestone up to 3 more working weeks, roughly to the beginning of March. Would it be possible?

[keeganquigley]

Hi @andredif thanks for your inquiry. Sure, that shouldn't be a problem since the project technically isn't due for a couple more weeks. If you come to find that it will be delayed further than 4 weeks, we would simply ask you to submit an amendment to the original application to extend the timeline. Thanks for your vigilance in this matter!

[andredif]

Thank you for the explanation, I really appreciate it! I'll be working hard to complete the milestone in the shortest time possible.

[keeganquigley]

Hi @andredif just checking in to see if you are on track to deliver soon. If not feel free to submit an amendment.

[andredif]

Hi @keeganquigley yes, sadly I faced many caveats while working on the project, and I definitely need to amend the delivery date. What is the correct procedure? Do I need to rewrite the total weeks needed for the milestones, recalculating them from the start of the project till the new expected date of delivery?

[keeganquigley]

Hi @andredif thanks for the update. Yes, you can submit a pull request to amend the original application to extend the timeline, see here for full details. This will need 2 approvals from the committee but is usually passed fairly quickly. Please update the total weeks needed as well as each milestone for estimated delivery date. Thanks!

[andredif]

hi @keeganquigley , I've created a pull request with the amended time schedule. Thank you again for the opportunity

[keeganquigley]

Hi @andredif are you still working on this grant? Even with the amendment, the milestones should have been delivered a few months ago. Thanks for any updates you can provide. Please note if we don't hear back after a few weeks we will cancel the grant due to inactivity.

[keeganquigley]

Hi @andredif we understand that you have other obligations, but at the same time, we want to make sure the grant is still being worked on. Please let us know otherwise we will close it for now and you can potentially re-open it in the future. Thanks.

[andredif]

Hi Keegan, I deeply apologies for not having delivered the project in time. Many problems have arose. If you'd give me the opportunity to block the grant and try to re-open it in the future, I believe this could be the best option at the moment. Best regards, Andrea Di Franco Il giorno gio 7 nov 2024 alle ore 22:46 Keegan | W3F < ***@***.***> ha scritto:

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Hi @andredif <https://github.com/andredif> we understand that you have other obligations, but at the same time, we want to make sure the grant is still being worked on. Please let us know otherwise we will close it for now and you can potentially re-open it in the future. Thanks. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2113 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AMMLWSKTR4KLLXPUILHOYT3Z7PNUNAVCNFSM6AAAAABQRXU6EWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDINRTGI4TANBTHA> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[keeganquigley]

Sounds good @andredif thanks for the update and sorry to hear about the difficulties. Let's do that for now, and you can let us know if you'd like to re-open it in the future. It would just require two approvals from the committee again. Thanks!