Fina P2P - a decentralized, privacy preserving, cross-chain P2P trading platform

[calvinkei]

Fina P2P

Project Description

Fina P2P is a decentralized, privacy preserving, cross-chain P2P trading platform. It allows users to trade between fiat and crypto in a peer-to-peer manner with no KYC required. The entire trade process is governed by smart contracts with privacy features powered by Secret Network.

We believe this application is perfect for demonstrating the importance of smart contract privacy, as it involves exchanging personal information like bank accounts and fiat transaction details. The final product will be available cross-chain and communicate with Secret Network using Secret Path to utilize the privacy features.

Fina has been developing in Secret Network for more than 2 years and we have developed popular products like Fina Wallet and Fina Card, which are liked by thousands of users in Secret Network. We have worked with SCRT Labs, Secret Foundation and other SN teams like Shade Protocol, Stassh, GOV.DAO, Yoiu, etc and established trust with the ecosystem. We believe our track record makes us the best team to implement this product and bring Secret Network's features to other networks.

Problem / Solution

Fiat on/off ramp has always been a pain for crypto users. Banks are not fans of crypto and always have lots of restrictions for crypto related transactions. That is why we saw some P2P solutions emerging like Binance P2P. These platforms act as moderators during the trading process to make sure trades go smoothly and fairly for both parties, and resolve conflicts when disputes happen. However, these platforms are highly centralized and require users to go through tedious KYC and account creation processes, not to mention they are not user friendly to users who hold their assets in non-custodial wallets.

Fina P2P aims at solving the above problems by replacing the centralized middle men using smart contracts, making the trading process trustless and seamless for decentralized users. We protect users' privacy by leveraging Secret Network's features and expand the services to other networks so we can increase the user base.

Detailed product description

Users can buy/sell crypto by looking for potential seller/buyer online. The exchange process will be governed by a smart contract so transaction can be trustless (you don’t need to trust any 3rd party middle man)

User scenarios/actions/journey

1. Seller wants to sell 100 USDT for 100 USD on P2P platform. He puts up an advertisement in the platform
2. Buyer saw the ads and wants to buy the 100 USDT. He notified the seller his intention to buy in the P2P platform
3. Seller accepted the offer and the deal starts. 100 USDT is locked up in the smart contract
4. Buyer sends 100 USD to the seller through bank transfer
5. Seller confirms receiving 100 USD and releases the 100 USDT. Deal finished

Dispute & Appeal Cases

Case 1: Seller locked up 100 USDT, Buyer did not pay

1. Seller cannot get back the 100 USDT because it is locked in the smart contract. He can only choose when to “release” it to buyer. Which in this case he won't as he did not receive the USD payment
2. Buyer will not get the locked up 100 USDT because Seller will not “release” it until he receives the 100 USD bank transfer
3. Seller will raise a “dispute” and moderators will settle it. Both buyer and seller have to send evidences (ie, proof of payment, bank statement, etc)
4. Moderators will make the decision to see who can get the locked up token. These moderators will be trustworthy organization/person elected by on-chain governance, so as to improve decentralization.

Case 2: Buyer paid by bank transfer, seller did not receive token

Same as Case 1, but this time buyer will raise a “dispute”

Go-to-Market plan

Fina P2P targets both the Secret Network community and broader crypto and fintech markets. Its value proposition centers around privacy and security, decentralization, cross-chain compatibility, and a user-friendly interface. Below are our key strategies and tactics

Community Engagement and Social Media Marketing

Fina will leverage its existing community on Secret Network, expand its reach through social media campaigns and collaborations to 100k+ followers, showcase its expertise in integrating Secret Path, and utilize EDM marketing engagement seeding within the Discord community to reach 3,000+ core fans.

Phased Rollout and Focus on Key Markets

Fina P2P will be launched in phases, starting on Secret Network and gradually expanding to other blockchains.  The focus will be on key markets with high cryptocurrency adoption and interest in privacy-preserving technologies. 

Content Marketing

Fina will start offcial blog on the portal, ceate high-quality content, such as blog posts, graphics, and short videos, to educate users about Fina P2P and its benefits.

Impact Expansion via PR and Paid Ads

Public relations efforts will also be employed to generate media coverage and KOL awareness. Fina will also targeted advertising on relevant platforms to reach new users (if budget approved) .

Key performance indicators will include user acquisition, transaction volume, user engagement, and customer satisfaction.

Value capture for Secret Network ecosystem

Fina P2P is a perfect use case for privacy preserving decentralized applications. This will be a chance to expand Secret Network’s privacy features to other chains like Ethereum, by utilizing Secret Path, the latest technology released by Secret Network earlier this year.

We also enable Secret Network users to onboard more easily through P2P fiat on ramp.

Decentralized P2P platform is a relatively new concept in the crypto space and Secret Network will be a pioneer in this area once Fina P2P is launched and available to mainstream chains like Ethereum.

Team members

• Calvin: CEO and Tech Lead
• Nakey: Blockchain developer
• Moon: Head of Marketing
• Pope Black: Community Manager

Team Website

• https://fina.cash

Team's experience

Fina has been developing in Secret Network for 2 years, launching popular products like Fina Wallet and Fina Card. These products are being used by thousands of users on Secret Network and constantly evolving. We have partnered with other renowned SN projects like Shade, Stassh, etc. We are also a previous Secret Network grant recipient for our Fina Wallet product.

Development Roadmap

Example:
We will require 6 months to complete this project. We intend to have 2 developers full-time and a part time UI/UX designer, at a total cost of 300,000 SCRT token.

Milestones:

• Sign-up - 3% of total grant amount
• Deployed on testnet and can be tested in full- 32%
• Product launched on Mainnet - 15%
• 500 users and $50,000 worth of tokens traded within 3 months of launch - 20%
• 1000 users and $250,000 worth of tokens traded within 6 months of launch - 30%

Additional Information

N/A.

[antonymous-a]

More focus should be put on the crucial moderation (dispute) part to allow true decentralization and safety. Moderation is THE most crucial part of any P2P trading platform and that is why it is currently only ran (to my knowledge) by trusted third-parties such as CEXs or regulated companies.

Under the current proposal, the operational, regulatory and reputational risk for running moderation is undefined and that risk cannot safely be deferred to Secret Network governance. Furthermore it is not clear which are the target markets where this P2P trading platform would operate, thus what regulatory scrutiny would moderators receive in the target jurisdictions.

Building on that point, it becomes even less trivial for a moderator to operate safely in many jurisdictions.

In essence, there are significant concerns about whether the proposed platform's design, structure, incentives, and governance mechanisms can effectively enable moderators to maintain a safe service, allowing customers to use the platform without taking on unexpected risks.