Proposed by:
Requested amount:
0 DOT

#1570 · NFT Mozaic’s MVP Grants Program

Quick Summary

NFTMozaic is launching an outcome-focused Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Grants Program to support early-stage, consumer-facing, brand-centric NFT dApps on Polkadot.

This program will mainly focus on building applications that drive user adoption - B2C, with most of the dApps being on Polkadot Asset Hub.

We will define a separate program and guidance as needed for larger projects with an existing user base, and are committed to integrating Polkadot or driving their next growth phase with Polkadot.

Unlike traditional grants, NFTMozaic ties 70% of funding to user-onboarding campaigns and user-onboarding metrics, such as wallet creation and on-chain activity, ensuring MVPs lead to adoption, not just demos.

Projects must deliver a usable MVP with one complete user journey and allocate 15–20% of their grant to marketing, driving actual usage from day one of launch.

Why This Matters

Today, there’s a critical gap between hackathons and real user-ready apps in Web3 and within the Polkadot ecosystem. NFTMozaic aims to fill this by funding ~20 lightweight MVPs with a built-in user acquisition strategy that can launch quickly on Asset Hub or other parachains.

Key Details

  • Program Name: NFTMozaic MVP Grants Fund ( A better brand name can be created)
  • Purpose: Support early-stage teams in prototyping and testing consumer/brand-focused NFT solutions quickly and cost-effectively.
  • Total Budget: 100,000 DOT + 10% for dev rel and marketing curators : Total 110,000 DOT
  • Number of Grants: ~20 
  • Grant Amount (Per Project): Up to 5000 DOT (exact amount is determined by the curator team, based on the technical difficulty and scope of the MVP) The grants can be upto 5000DOT 
  • Project types: Aligned with Polkadot strategic verticals for maximum impact (AI, Gaming, Entertainment are currently prioritized; not for Art/Collectables use cases)
  • NFTMozaic Council will elect the curators
  • The NFTMozaic Council will have representation from the Web3Foundation, Parity Technologies, parachains and some of the BD Groups in the ecosystem

Governance & Stewardship

  • A curator team (elected by the NFTMozaic Council) will evaluate, onboard, and validate projects.
  • NFTMozaic Council to include reps from Web3 Foundation, Parity, and a BD group.
  • Successful MVPs with traction will be referred to ecosystem BD orgs (e.g., PoKe, Web3Deal Desk) for scaling support.

Project Eligibility & Criteria

The NFTMozaic Council and the curator team will confirm a project’s eligibility and define, evaluate, onboard, and validate projects collaboratively to ensure everyone’s feedback is aligned with the core mission and the overall ecosystem’s values.

  • Project Scope & Use Case:
    • Must be consumer-facing or brand-centric (e.g., loyalty program, fan engagement, or gamified collectibles).
    • Should demonstrate how Polkadot’s NFT infrastructure offers unique advantages (cross-chain, affordability, etc.).
  • MVP Viability:
    • The proposed MVP must be realistic in timeline, budget, and execution.
    • MVP plan should include a marketing strategy
  • Team Readiness & Expertise:
    • Preference for teams with relevant technical or industry/branding background.
    • Applicants new to blockchain/NFTs are still welcome if they present a clear, actionable plan.
  • Potential for Growth & Adoption:
    • Must outline a scalable roadmap if the MVP gains traction.
    • Strong brand relationships or community ties are a bonus.

Full proposal

Read more
StatusDeciding · 26d
99%Aye
Aye (5)
158.31K DOT
Nay (2)
590 DOT
Decision1 / 28d
0.0%25.2%
20.1%Support Threshold
0Support Threshold
Support(0.00%)
69.28K DOT
Issuance
1.56B DOT
Vote

hello, what is your experience in this field?

NFTXCMMay 16
muddlebee

who are the team members behind this project? I didn't see any mention in the proposal doc.

@muddlebee This is not a project, it is a bounty proposal to screen and launch 20 projects. As far as NFTMozaic (https://nftmozaic.com) is concerned, Unique.Network's team is behind it's creation, I lead it together with Charu Sethi. The project has support from DF, for many other details see https://nftmozaic.com/blog/nftmozaic-intro/. We are in the process of forming a Council, since it is being built as a Collective of leading NFT projects/people in the ecosystem. Alex D. from Web3 foundation is on it, we offered these roles to a number of people and are in discussions to get the Council to 3-5 members

muddlebeeMay 16

who are the team members behind this project? I didn't see any mention in the proposal doc.

May 16

who are the team members behind this project? I didn't see any mention in the proposal doc.

NFTXCMMay 16
hellno

Yeah, no … after the last eighteen months it’s hard not to feel a little whiplash when someone says “let’s revive consumer-facing NFTs on Polkadot.” Q1 2025 NFT sales volumes are still down ~63 % year-over-year (-76 % in March alone). And broader market trackers show trading-volume attrition of 60 - 70 % since the 2022 peak. Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions.

Budget math: 20 × 5 000 DOT = 100 000 DOT in project grants plus 10 % “dev-rel & marketing curators.” But later each project also pays its own dev-rel + marketing exec another 5-10 %. Double skim?

MORE IMPORTANTLY: At 15-20 % mandatory marketing spend, teams could end up with < 3 500 DOT of real build capital—barely a modest hackathon prize.

KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue.

**Focus areas ** Art/collectibles explicitly excluded, yet that vertical still carries what’s left of mainstream mindshare.

Governance opacity “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified.

Hard to defend transparency when curator wallets are also taking percentages of every grant.


Until the proposal bakes safeguards in, it reads less like “innovation” and more like a nostalgia tour for JPEG summers past.

I urge everyone to vote NO on this crab.

@15a9uAgkQz3VJEx2ksMxChtQFZohDx8pr6vbEDbMDKagro2b 

Thanks for giving the reasons behind your vote, this is very important for OpenGov to function properly, and your thoughts here are highly appreciated.

Let me add to the above comments:

  1. "Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions." It seems like you missed the important message here - we will not support Collectables projects (unless they have utility), but on other use cases. CodeCraft has proven that works (see Unique Network's numbers). The whole idea is to take the proven strategy to Polkadot in general.
  2. "Double skim?" there is no skim. We do not get paid out of this bounty. Our costs (for BD, tech support etc.) are covered by Web3f.
  3. KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue. True, they do not. But that's not expected at this early stage. This is about creating projects that have potential for retention and revenue. Curators will be judging that.
  4. “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified. The Bounty process in Polkadot's OpenGov assumes currators are chosen and confirmed by a vote here. There's no bigger transparency in our ecosystem.

Sincerely,

Alexander

NFTXCMMay 16
hellno

Yeah, no … after the last eighteen months it’s hard not to feel a little whiplash when someone says “let’s revive consumer-facing NFTs on Polkadot.” Q1 2025 NFT sales volumes are still down ~63 % year-over-year (-76 % in March alone). And broader market trackers show trading-volume attrition of 60 - 70 % since the 2022 peak. Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions.

Budget math: 20 × 5 000 DOT = 100 000 DOT in project grants plus 10 % “dev-rel & marketing curators.” But later each project also pays its own dev-rel + marketing exec another 5-10 %. Double skim?

MORE IMPORTANTLY: At 15-20 % mandatory marketing spend, teams could end up with < 3 500 DOT of real build capital—barely a modest hackathon prize.

KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue.

**Focus areas ** Art/collectibles explicitly excluded, yet that vertical still carries what’s left of mainstream mindshare.

Governance opacity “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified.

Hard to defend transparency when curator wallets are also taking percentages of every grant.


Until the proposal bakes safeguards in, it reads less like “innovation” and more like a nostalgia tour for JPEG summers past.

I urge everyone to vote NO on this crab.

@15a9uAgkQz3VJEx2ksMxChtQFZohDx8pr6vbEDbMDKagro2b 

Thanks for giving the reasons behind your vote, this is very important for OpenGov to function properly, and your thoughts here are highly appreciated.

Let me add to the above comments:

  1. "Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions." It seems like you missed the important message here - we will not support Collectables projects (unless they have utility), but on other use cases. CodeCraft has proven that works (see Unique Network's numbers). The whole idea is to take the proven strategy to Polkadot in general.
  2. "Double skim?" there is no skim. We do not get paid out of this bounty. Our costs (for BD, tech support etc.) are covered by Web3f.
  3. KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue. True, they do not. But that's not expected at this early stage. This is about creating projects that have potential for retention and revenue. Curators will be judging that.
  4. “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified. The Bounty process in Polkadot's OpenGov assumes currators are chosen and confirmed by a vote here. There's no bigger transparency in our ecosystem.

Sincerely,

Alexander

hellno

Yeah, no … after the last eighteen months it’s hard not to feel a little whiplash when someone says “let’s revive consumer-facing NFTs on Polkadot.” Q1 2025 NFT sales volumes are still down ~63 % year-over-year (-76 % in March alone). And broader market trackers show trading-volume attrition of 60 - 70 % since the 2022 peak. Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions.

Budget math: 20 × 5 000 DOT = 100 000 DOT in project grants plus 10 % “dev-rel & marketing curators.” But later each project also pays its own dev-rel + marketing exec another 5-10 %. Double skim?

MORE IMPORTANTLY: At 15-20 % mandatory marketing spend, teams could end up with < 3 500 DOT of real build capital—barely a modest hackathon prize.

KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue.

**Focus areas ** Art/collectibles explicitly excluded, yet that vertical still carries what’s left of mainstream mindshare.

Governance opacity “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified.

Hard to defend transparency when curator wallets are also taking percentages of every grant.


Until the proposal bakes safeguards in, it reads less like “innovation” and more like a nostalgia tour for JPEG summers past.

I urge everyone to vote NO on this crab.

Hi there @15a9uAgkQz3VJEx2ksMxChtQFZohDx8pr6vbEDbMDKagro2b,

Thanks for raising these points—constructive scrutiny is important. That said, we’d like to clarify a few key aspects to avoid misunderstandings:

1. This is not about reviving sales volume—it’s about driving utility. We’re well aware of the drop in NFT trading volume, and that’s exactly why this program isn’t focused on collectibles or secondary sales. The next era of NFTs is utility-first: gaming, ticketing, loyalty, digital credentials, and brand engagement. Recent market signals—like a16z Crypto’s $7M investment in an NFT-based ticketing platform—reflect this shift (link).

2. Budget structure is intentional, not bloated. Dev Rel & marketing support - These roles exist to guide early-stage teams that typically focus only on tech and neglect user onboarding. Without this support, many MVPs stall post-hackathon.

3. 15–20% marketing allocation is by design. Early-stage Web3 teams often build in a vacuum. This program ensures they plan for real user feedback and onboarding. Polkadot already has strong tooling—SDKs, APIs, wallets, cross-chain infra—so teams don’t need to build from scratch. They need guidance on how to apply what exists to real problems.

4. The KPIs are project-specific and focused on adoption. Yes, wallets and transactions can be gamed—but they’re a baseline, not the whole picture. Each project will work with curators to define KPIs relevant to their use case. Retention and revenue are longer-term goals—this grant is about finding teams who can reach that stage through actual user traction.

5. Governance and curator selection will be transparent. Curators will be proposed via an open call and vetted by the NFTMozaic Council, as per the process when the grant is approved. Having said that, we are preparing for that in the background and are happy to share more details when we have them.

In summary, this isn’t a repeat of CodeCraft. It builds on its learnings with a sharper focus on product–market fit, guided MVP development, and ecosystem alignment. We believe this is exactly what’s needed to help serious builders deliver real adoption for Polkadot’s consumer-facing future.

If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out, and we'll be happy to answer those for you.

hellnoMay 16

Yeah, no … after the last eighteen months it’s hard not to feel a little whiplash when someone says “let’s revive consumer-facing NFTs on Polkadot.” Q1 2025 NFT sales volumes are still down ~63 % year-over-year (-76 % in March alone). And broader market trackers show trading-volume attrition of 60 - 70 % since the 2022 peak. Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions.

Budget math: 20 × 5 000 DOT = 100 000 DOT in project grants plus 10 % “dev-rel & marketing curators.” But later each project also pays its own dev-rel + marketing exec another 5-10 %. Double skim?

MORE IMPORTANTLY: At 15-20 % mandatory marketing spend, teams could end up with < 3 500 DOT of real build capital—barely a modest hackathon prize.

KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue.

**Focus areas ** Art/collectibles explicitly excluded, yet that vertical still carries what’s left of mainstream mindshare.

Governance opacity “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified.

Hard to defend transparency when curator wallets are also taking percentages of every grant.


Until the proposal bakes safeguards in, it reads less like “innovation” and more like a nostalgia tour for JPEG summers past.

I urge everyone to vote NO on this crab.

May 16

Yeah, no … after the last eighteen months it’s hard not to feel a little whiplash when someone says “let’s revive consumer-facing NFTs on Polkadot.” Q1 2025 NFT sales volumes are still down ~63 % year-over-year (-76 % in March alone). And broader market trackers show trading-volume attrition of 60 - 70 % since the 2022 peak. Against that backdrop, spending 110 000 DOT on a replicant of CodeCraft raises some questions.

Budget math: 20 × 5 000 DOT = 100 000 DOT in project grants plus 10 % “dev-rel & marketing curators.” But later each project also pays its own dev-rel + marketing exec another 5-10 %. Double skim?

MORE IMPORTANTLY: At 15-20 % mandatory marketing spend, teams could end up with < 3 500 DOT of real build capital—barely a modest hackathon prize.

KPI design “Unique wallets” + “tx per user.” Both are easily botted and give no view on retention or revenue.

**Focus areas ** Art/collectibles explicitly excluded, yet that vertical still carries what’s left of mainstream mindshare.

Governance opacity “Council with W3F, Parity, parachains, BD groups” elects curators, but no process, term length, or conflict-of-interest guardrails are specified.

Hard to defend transparency when curator wallets are also taking percentages of every grant.


Until the proposal bakes safeguards in, it reads less like “innovation” and more like a nostalgia tour for JPEG summers past.

I urge everyone to vote NO on this crab.

Powered by Subsocial