Open Grant Proposal: CelystikHub — Filecoin Storage Layer for a Decentralized Innovation Marketplace

# Open Grant Proposal: CelystikHub — Filecoin Storage Layer for a Decentralized Innovation Marketplace

**Project Name:** CelystikHub

**Proposal Category:** Storage

**Individual or Entity Name:** Celystik Labs

**Proposer:** saqib839

**Project Repo(s):**
- https://github.com/Celystik-Labs/celystikhub-solidity-contracts

**Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP under the MIT/Apache-2 dual-license?:** Yes

# Project Summary

CelystikHub is a trustless, open innovation marketplace that lets innovators, researchers, and organizations collaborate, contribute, and earn without relying on traditional grants, bounties, or hackathons. Projects are tokenized as Innovation Units (IUs) — ERC-1155 NFTs currently deployed on Optimism — with contributors, creators, and investors earning proportional rewards through a native CEL token and a Proof-of-Impact incentive mechanism.

Today, project metadata, deliverables, and any linked code repositories are referenced through centralized infrastructure. This proposal funds a Filecoin-backed storage layer for CelystikHub: project files and metadata uploaded during project creation will be pinned to IPFS and stored via Filecoin deals (using a deal-making service such as web3.storage or Lighthouse for MVP speed, with a path to direct FVM storage-market integration), with the resulting content identifiers (CIDs) recorded against the project's on-chain Innovation Unit record. In a second phase, teams will be able to opt in to mirroring their code repositories to Filecoin as a decentralized backup and retrieval option alongside — not replacing — their existing GitHub/GitLab hosting.

## Impact

CelystikHub's core mechanism — Proof-of-Impact — depends on contributions being verifiable and persistent. Storing that evidence on centralized infrastructure undercuts the trustless model the protocol is built on: a single point of failure or takedown could sever the link between a contributor's on-chain IU allocation and the work that earned it. Moving project data and, eventually, repositories onto Filecoin closes that gap, giving contributors durable, censorship-resistant proof of work tied directly to their IU holdings.

Success looks like: the Filecoin storage option becoming the default path for new project creation on CelystikHub, a measurable number of projects migrating existing data, and a reusable storage module other Filecoin-adjacent dApps could adopt.

## Outcomes

A Filecoin storage module integrated into CelystikHub's project-creation flow (upload → pin → deal → CID recorded on-chain); a repository-mirroring option for teams that want their code backed up to Filecoin alongside GitHub/GitLab; and public documentation of the integration for reuse by other Filecoin ecosystem projects. Success is measured by number of projects using Filecoin storage, total data onboarded, and repo-mirroring adoption rate among active projects.

## Data Onboarding

- Month #1: ~5 GB (pilot projects, metadata + small file uploads)
- Month #3: ~25 GB (early production rollout)
- Month #6: ~75 GB (repo mirroring live, broader adoption)
- Month #12: ~200 GB (default storage path for new projects)

*(Estimates — to be refined against actual current project count/activity on the platform.)*

## Adoption, Reach, and Growth Strategies

Target users are open-source developers and researchers seeking sustainable income, DAOs and enterprises evaluating or funding innovation, impact investors wanting transparent exposure to open R&D, and Web3 communities aligned with trustless collaboration — CelystikHub's existing user base. The first 10 users will be existing active CelystikHub project creators, onboarded directly by the team as pilot migrations. The first 100 will come through making Filecoin storage the default (opt-out rather than opt-in) option in the project-creation flow, plus documentation and a short walkthrough guide published alongside the feature launch.

## Development Roadmap

The work is broken into three phases. First, backend integration connecting CelystikHub to Filecoin via IPFS pinning and storage-deal automation, so that project files and metadata uploaded during project creation are pinned and stored with the CID recorded against the on-chain project record — led by Muhammad Saqib (DeFi Researcher) and Waheed Ahmad Wattoo (Head of Engineering), with Muhammad Waqas (Full Stack Developer) supporting smart contract/CID linkage; funded at $20,000, completing 8 weeks from grant start.

Second, extending the storage layer to mirror full project code repositories to Filecoin as an opt-in decentralized backup, retrievable via CID, alongside existing GitHub/GitLab hosting — led by Muhammad Saqib and Muhammad Waqas; funded at $17,500, completing 14 weeks from grant start.

Third, rolling out Filecoin storage as the default option in the live project-creation flow, and publishing integration documentation and a retrospective on storage cost/performance for the wider Filecoin ecosystem — led by Naveed Riaz (Frontend Developer) for UI integration and Muhammad Saqib for documentation; funded at $12,500, completing 16 weeks from grant start.

## Total Budget Requested

| Milestone # | Description | Deliverables | Completion Date | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Filecoin Storage Integration (Core) | Upload → pin → deal → on-chain CID flow live | Week 8 | $20,000 |
| 2 | Repository Mirroring | Opt-in repo mirroring to Filecoin | Week 14 | $17,500 |
| 3 | Production Rollout & Documentation | Default storage option + public docs | Week 16 | $12,500 |
| **Total** | | | | **$50,000** |

## Maintenance and Upgrade Plans

Post-grant, the storage module will be maintained by the Celystik Labs team as part of CelystikHub's core infrastructure. Ongoing Filecoin storage-deal costs for active projects will be funded through CelystikHub's existing protocol treasury/fee mechanisms rather than requiring separate ongoing grants.

# Team

## Team Members
- Muhammad Idrees — Head of Research
- Waheed Ahmad Wattoo — Head of Engineering
- Iftikhar Baloch — Head of Strategy and Innovation
- Muhammad Waqas — Full Stack Developer
- Muhammad Saqib — DeFi Researcher
- Naveed Riaz — Frontend Developer
- Faisal Riaz — AI/ML Researcher

## Team Member LinkedIn Profiles
- Waheed Ahmad Wattoo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waheed-a-wattoo/
- Muhammad Idrees: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idrees535/
- Muhammad Saqib: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saqib839/
- Iftikhar Baloch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iftikhar-ul-islam-10b362153/

## Team Website
https://celystik.com/
https://hub.celystik.com/

## Relevant Experience

Celystik Labs is a Blockchain and AI R&D Studio with a cross-functional team spanning blockchain research, engineering, strategy, full-stack and frontend development, DeFi research, and AI/ML. CelystikHub already has live smart contracts (CELToken, ProtocolTreasury, InnovationUnits ERC-1155, ProjectStaking, EmissionController) deployed on Optimism, demonstrating an operating product rather than a concept-stage idea, backed by dedicated engineering (Waheed Ahmad Wattoo) and full-stack/smart-contract development (Muhammad Waqas) roles already in place.

## Team code repositories
- https://github.com/Celystik-Labs/celystikhub-solidity-contracts

Start by reviewing the CelystikHub Solidity contracts repository and tracing the project-creation flow, Innovation Unit record, and existing metadata or CID handling. Clarify the Filecoin/IPFS integration scope, repository-mirroring phase, and ownership before coding. Done means the stated upload, storage, on-chain CID, rollout, and documentation outcomes are defined and verifiable.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.