Proposal “CTX-Q2-2022“ (Completed)Back
| Title: | CTX.com Continued Development (Merchant Dash Payment Processing, Consumer On/Off-Ramp, Pricing Data, etc.) |
| Owner: | AshFrancis |
| Monthly amount: | 180 DASH (3990 USD) |
| Completed payments: | 3 totaling in 540 DASH (0 month remaining) |
| Payment start/end: | 2022-03-13 / 2022-06-10 (added on 2022-03-15) |
| Votes: | 723 Yes / 17 No / 29 Abstain |
Proposal description
Please note: Our last proposal payout was September 2021. Since then we have used a small buffer and then largely self-funded our costs. This undertaking reduces the exposure and risk the DAO faces and it's worth noting that our actual budget is less than $10000 a month - I always welcome feedback on this approach.
Recent Work
- DashDirect Support and Expansion
- CTX.com Continued Progress + Private Equity
- On-Ramp Beta
- Accelerator + Visa Progress
- THORChain Integration Work
Planned Work
- More DashDirect support (Mastercard program)
- Off-Ramp Release
- On-Ramp Release
Other Updates
- 10,000 NFC Cards + 50 POS Devices Issue
Recent Work
DashDirect
As the payment provider for DashDirect we've been thrilled to see how well it's been received by the community, our system has maintained 99.99% uptime. Marshall and the Dash Direct team are continuing to work closely with us as we both expand.
The Dash Investment Foundation (DIF) also holds equity in both our company and Dash Direct.
CTX.com Continued Progress + Private Equity
We've received a lot of support from the DAO historically, but to expand our bandwidth we are now starting to raising some funds via private equity. We continue to build and expand our business case with revenue from the business going back into development that benefits Dash and the wider crypto ecosystem, making Dash more accessible for merchants, integrators, consumers and more.
On-Ramp Beta
We briefly launched our on-ramp in beta, but are making significant changes before full release. The current card processor (no-KYC below certain amounts) unfortunately required the user to enter a code from their bank account. This code was a huge point of friction, being hard for users to find or not at all visible with several banks. Whilst we're still keen to launch a non-kyc on-ramp for small amounts, ultimately our current plan to relaunch will have KYC and be as simple as possible for users to buy (and sell) Dash.
Accelerator + Visa Progress
We were accepted into the Launch.VC accelerator (Launch Academy) and continue to work closely with them refining our product and continuing along their program. This has resulted in receiving a Start-up Visa to permanently move ourselves and our operations to Canada.
THORChain Integration Work
It's important to note that the Dash integration on THORChain is part of the Dash Incubator because its outside the scope of our main proposal. We've received fantastic support from Rion and the other admins and Alex has fully built out the Dash integration with numerous supporting changes in DCG and THORChain repos and more. THORChain forms an important part of our future direction for CTX so this experience has been invaluable.
Planned Work
More DashDirect support (Mastercard program)
As DashDirect expands their service offerings, we'll be expanding our product line with them. With the non-KYC mastercard program its more important than ever our system is ready to scale with multiple nodes and greater redundancies. We'll also be adding more DD specific requested features to our system to continue to provide them with the best payments processor for their needs.
On + Off-Ramp Release
Our on and off-ramps (for both merchants and consumers) still need more work before we're confident in releasing them publicly. We'll be making improvements to it and increasing our geographic coverage and onboarding more payment partners this cycle.
Update on Cards + POS Devices
Dash Mall and Parking have been defunded and unfortunately have ghosted us when it comes to the payment devices we sent them. The devices represented quite a lot of work and we're hopeful that time investment will still be valuable in the future for physical crypto point-of-sale devices. For now, we consider the cards and POS devices we sent them lost. Dash Help still have some devices but ultimately the time-investment is not worth it in this area right now.
Partnerships
Dash Core Group
We work closely with DCG on various aspects of our platform and will continue to do so.
DashDirect
As their payment partner we work very closely with the DashDirect team and will be aiding them in all aspects of their system and expansion.
Dash Investment Foundation
As part of the DIF portfolio, we will be readily available to partner with other DIF companies to provide any payment solutions they need.
Dash Help + Support
The Dash Help team have provided invaluable feedback on Dash Retail (now CTX) and we'll continue to work with them as they identify merchant issues and grow.
Dash Text
Dash Text is fully integrated into Dash Retail (now CTX) and we'll be working closely with this team and their ongoing developments.
Other Teams
CTX.com is live and can be used by anyone, please feel free to use it and provide feedback. If you're interested in receiving hardware devices or NFC cards or want to set up fiat off-ramping, please reach out to us.
Transparency + Accountability
Ownership
Dash Retail and CTX are operated by Astound Group Ltd (UK) and CTX.com Trading Ltd (BC, Canada) which are both owned 45%-45%-10% by Ash, Alex and the DIF respectively.
Finances
All of our finances were historically reported at a granular level to Dash Watch and we're happy to continue that, we'll look to open up our books more too as I'm a keen supporter of transparency.
Budget
Our last proposal payout was September 2021. Since then we have used up a small buffer and then largely self-funded our costs, reducing the exposure to the DAO. This proposal asks for 180 Dash for 3 months but helps cover the unfunded period as well as the next few months. These funds will be mostly be spent on development as that is our focus right now.
We always try to be as respectful of the DAO as possible, taking very low salaries to keep ourselves just afloat (I am also not taking a salary currently whilst I manage to balance Incubator and DR/CTX work). Longer-term we are looking to becoming more and more self-sustaining, and to the point where we return dividends to the DAO via the DIF.
Get in Touch
We are happy to answer any questions either on this proposal or you can reach out directly on the details below.
Email: ash@ctx.com
Telegram: @ashfrancis
Twitter: @ash_ctx
Discord: Ash#8776
Skype: ash.francis
Thank you for reading and for all your support.
Recent Work
- DashDirect Support and Expansion
- CTX.com Continued Progress + Private Equity
- On-Ramp Beta
- Accelerator + Visa Progress
- THORChain Integration Work
Planned Work
- More DashDirect support (Mastercard program)
- Off-Ramp Release
- On-Ramp Release
Other Updates
- 10,000 NFC Cards + 50 POS Devices Issue
Recent Work
DashDirect
As the payment provider for DashDirect we've been thrilled to see how well it's been received by the community, our system has maintained 99.99% uptime. Marshall and the Dash Direct team are continuing to work closely with us as we both expand.
The Dash Investment Foundation (DIF) also holds equity in both our company and Dash Direct.
CTX.com Continued Progress + Private Equity
We've received a lot of support from the DAO historically, but to expand our bandwidth we are now starting to raising some funds via private equity. We continue to build and expand our business case with revenue from the business going back into development that benefits Dash and the wider crypto ecosystem, making Dash more accessible for merchants, integrators, consumers and more.
On-Ramp Beta
We briefly launched our on-ramp in beta, but are making significant changes before full release. The current card processor (no-KYC below certain amounts) unfortunately required the user to enter a code from their bank account. This code was a huge point of friction, being hard for users to find or not at all visible with several banks. Whilst we're still keen to launch a non-kyc on-ramp for small amounts, ultimately our current plan to relaunch will have KYC and be as simple as possible for users to buy (and sell) Dash.
Accelerator + Visa Progress
We were accepted into the Launch.VC accelerator (Launch Academy) and continue to work closely with them refining our product and continuing along their program. This has resulted in receiving a Start-up Visa to permanently move ourselves and our operations to Canada.
THORChain Integration Work
It's important to note that the Dash integration on THORChain is part of the Dash Incubator because its outside the scope of our main proposal. We've received fantastic support from Rion and the other admins and Alex has fully built out the Dash integration with numerous supporting changes in DCG and THORChain repos and more. THORChain forms an important part of our future direction for CTX so this experience has been invaluable.
Planned Work
More DashDirect support (Mastercard program)
As DashDirect expands their service offerings, we'll be expanding our product line with them. With the non-KYC mastercard program its more important than ever our system is ready to scale with multiple nodes and greater redundancies. We'll also be adding more DD specific requested features to our system to continue to provide them with the best payments processor for their needs.
On + Off-Ramp Release
Our on and off-ramps (for both merchants and consumers) still need more work before we're confident in releasing them publicly. We'll be making improvements to it and increasing our geographic coverage and onboarding more payment partners this cycle.
Update on Cards + POS Devices
Dash Mall and Parking have been defunded and unfortunately have ghosted us when it comes to the payment devices we sent them. The devices represented quite a lot of work and we're hopeful that time investment will still be valuable in the future for physical crypto point-of-sale devices. For now, we consider the cards and POS devices we sent them lost. Dash Help still have some devices but ultimately the time-investment is not worth it in this area right now.
Partnerships
Dash Core Group
We work closely with DCG on various aspects of our platform and will continue to do so.
DashDirect
As their payment partner we work very closely with the DashDirect team and will be aiding them in all aspects of their system and expansion.
Dash Investment Foundation
As part of the DIF portfolio, we will be readily available to partner with other DIF companies to provide any payment solutions they need.
Dash Help + Support
The Dash Help team have provided invaluable feedback on Dash Retail (now CTX) and we'll continue to work with them as they identify merchant issues and grow.
Dash Text
Dash Text is fully integrated into Dash Retail (now CTX) and we'll be working closely with this team and their ongoing developments.
Other Teams
CTX.com is live and can be used by anyone, please feel free to use it and provide feedback. If you're interested in receiving hardware devices or NFC cards or want to set up fiat off-ramping, please reach out to us.
Transparency + Accountability
Ownership
Dash Retail and CTX are operated by Astound Group Ltd (UK) and CTX.com Trading Ltd (BC, Canada) which are both owned 45%-45%-10% by Ash, Alex and the DIF respectively.
Finances
All of our finances were historically reported at a granular level to Dash Watch and we're happy to continue that, we'll look to open up our books more too as I'm a keen supporter of transparency.
Budget
Our last proposal payout was September 2021. Since then we have used up a small buffer and then largely self-funded our costs, reducing the exposure to the DAO. This proposal asks for 180 Dash for 3 months but helps cover the unfunded period as well as the next few months. These funds will be mostly be spent on development as that is our focus right now.
We always try to be as respectful of the DAO as possible, taking very low salaries to keep ourselves just afloat (I am also not taking a salary currently whilst I manage to balance Incubator and DR/CTX work). Longer-term we are looking to becoming more and more self-sustaining, and to the point where we return dividends to the DAO via the DIF.
Get in Touch
We are happy to answer any questions either on this proposal or you can reach out directly on the details below.
Email: ash@ctx.com
Telegram: @ashfrancis
Twitter: @ash_ctx
Discord: Ash#8776
Skype: ash.francis
Thank you for reading and for all your support.
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Discussion: Should we fund this proposal?
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I wish you didn't have the standard globohomo race mixing ad on the CTX.com frontpage though.
All YES votes from me. Carry on to victory!
Solarguy
Keep it going Ash!
Great work so far and thnx to you guys for jumping on Thorchain integration too.
Support of this proposal in progress.... ;)
- At this stage the DIF is a strategic investor, a typical investment is less focused on any immediate financial gain for the DIF/Dash but more about leveraging investment in return for benefits for Dash. DashDirect is a great example of this amongst others. Our work has always been strategically aligned with Dash, any investment for the DIF wouldn't have that side benefit of 'getting more for Dash' as we always have and will always seek to do the most for Dash we can. It makes sense to keep the DIFs somewhat limited firepower for those more strategic investments (especially with Dash price where it is)
- Our work with the DAO is somewhat of a hybrid between a 'Dash Service' and a for-profit company. There is a lot of work we undertake that is not directly correlated to our business success but is important for Dash. To give some examples, our rates endpoint is used for pricing data by all DCG wallets, payment providers like AnyPay (who seem to have limited their Dash support, unfortunately), and others (visible here: https://rates2.dashretail.org/ this will move to rates.ctx.com soon). Another example is the THORChain work, taking our core developer off our payments/on-ramp and other commercial products to build a Dash integration into THORChain (supported through the incubator) is not a commercially focused action. However, it means that Dash will soon be on THORChain and we can leverage TC in lots of different ways within our commercial product.
There are smaller reasons too, but this is the core. As somewhat of a disclaimer; I often find a lot of crossover in my roles as a DIF Supervisor, Trust Protector, MNO, Proposal Owner, Incubator Admin, etc., and try to answer as transparently and honestly as I can, however, I do appreciate and welcome any other input, both from others in the DIF and just in general.