MLabs - Cardano Tx Library: JavaScript/TypeScript Interface, Koios Backend, Hard Fork Maintenance
MLabs LTD
ID: 69fc8e0989371182537b30a3
CTL is a foundational off-chain transaction-building library that has been part of the Cardano developer toolkit since the Alonzo era and has historically been the first library to ship support for new ledger features. It is in production use by Indigo, Clarity, Genius Yield, Cardano Racers, Noble Steed Games, SingularityNet, and others — several of whom maintain their own forks. Today CTL is reachable only from PureScript. That keeps it out of the hands of the largest population of Cardano developers — those writing JavaScript and TypeScript — and concentrates maintenance on a smaller community than the library deserves. The library also needs to keep pace with Cardano's protocol roadmap, including preparation for the Dijkstra hard fork (Protocol Version 12, expected Q1–Q2 2027). This proposal funds three work packages: 1. **JavaScript/TypeScript Interface** — opens CTL to JS/TS developers without requiring them to learn PureScript. 2. **Koios Backend** — adds Koios as a first-class query layer alongside the existing Blockfrost and Kupo+Ogmios options. 3. **Quarterly Maintenance and Dijkstra Hard Fork Preparation** — funds disciplined dependency-bump cycles and the Dijkstra-readiness work CTL needs during the budget period. This work supports Cardano's vision of being the most secure, reliable, and censorship-resistant blockchain for mission-critical applications by lowering the barrier to entry for builders and keeping foundational tooling current with the protocol. CTL has prior funding from IOG, ecosystem adopters, and Project Catalyst Funds 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13. It is currently under separate review by the Intersect Open Source Committee's Tooling Sustainability Program, which is expected to cover core maintainership and Van Rossum hard fork work. This proposal is scoped to work that program does not cover: net-new feature development (WP1, WP2) and forward-looking maintenance tied to the 2026/early-2027 cycle (WP3).
Scorecard
How this score works
Each criterion is worth between 1 and 4 points. The score is the points earned out of the points on criteria that have been answered — shown as a percentage. Green is 75% or higher, Amber is 50–74%, and Red is below 50%.
Some criteria are checked automatically against the proposal data (open source, doxxed team, treasury return clauses, etc.). Others are human-judgment calls — value for money, public good, whether the deliverables are realistic. Those stay blank until a DRep ticks them.
Criteria can also be marked Not applicablewhen they don't fit the proposal — for example, "open source" doesn't apply to a DAO governance proposal with no software output. Those are excluded from the score entirely, neither helping nor hurting.
Green requires 80% coverage. If less than 80% of the applicable criteria (by points) have been answered, the verdict stays at Amber — "pending review" — even when every answered criterion passes. This proposal's coverage is currently 68% (13 of 19 applicable criteria answered).
Vote intent
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{
"_meta": {
"schema_version": "1.2.0",
"ingested_at": "2026-05-11",
"source_url": "https://hydra.intersectmbo.org",
"proposal_id": "69fc8e0989371182537b30a3",
"title": "MLabs - Cardano Tx Library: JavaScript/TypeScript Interface, Koios Backend, Hard Fork Maintenance",
"proposer": "MLabs LTD",
"administrator": "Intersect",
"estimated_duration_months": 12,
"requested_budget_ada": 3169463,
"requested_budget_usd": 570503,
"ada_usd_rate_proposer": 0.18
},
"identity": {
"doxxed": true,
"doxxed_notes": "MLabs LTD is a registered company, IOG Plutus Partner. Named technical leads: Dzmitry Shuiski (CTL chief maintainer), Rama Garay (cardano-data-lite and infrastructure), Koz Ross (Tech Lead, ~10 years Haskell, 4+ years Cardano), Jordan Hill (delivery PM).",
"doxxed_set_by": "ai"
},
"metadata": {
"open_source": "yes",
"open_source_notes": "CTL is the existing open-source library being extended. All deliverables MIT-licensed, merged to public repositories (Plutonomicon/CTL, purescript-cardano-koios-provider, etc.).",
"open_source_set_by": "ai",
"has_prior_delivery": true,
"has_prior_delivery_notes": "CTL has been continuously funded and shipped across Catalyst Fund 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13. Library is in production use by Indigo, Clarity, Genius Yield, Cardano Racers, Noble Steed Games, SingularityNet with notable forks at Liqwid, Fourier Labs, Platonic Systems. MLabs has shipped CTL through Conway and Plomin hard forks and is currently delivering Van Rossum compatibility under the OSC Tooling Sustainability Program.",
"has_prior_delivery_set_by": "ai",
"admin_model": "intersect",
"admin_model_set_by": "ai",
"duplicate_of_existing_solution": {
"value": "partial",
"confidence": "medium",
"set_by": "ai",
"notes": "CTL itself is a unique, mature off-chain library. WP1 (JS/TS interface) does not duplicate CTL but does address a problem space (JS/TS off-chain transaction building) where alternatives exist: Lucid Evolution, Mesh SDK, cardano-serialization-lib bindings, and BloxBean's Java/JVM toolchain. The JS/TS gap CTL aims to close is real, but JS/TS developers do have working alternatives today. WP2 (Koios backend) is additive to existing Blockfrost and Kupo+Ogmios backends and has no competing implementation. WP3 (quarterly maintenance and Dijkstra prep) is maintenance, not duplicative."
}
},
"ask": {
"usd_peg_vs_market": "conservative",
"usd_peg_vs_market_notes": "Uses 0.18 ADA/USD, well below market.",
"usd_peg_vs_market_set_by": "ai",
"milestone_payments_disclosed": true,
"milestone_payments_disclosed_set_by": "ai",
"milestone_schedule_disclosed": "amounts_and_dates",
"milestone_schedule_disclosed_notes": "WP1 has four explicit milestones with week counts (4, 12, 6, 6 weeks). WP2 and WP3 list milestone titles but show partial week counts in the excerpt; pattern is consistent with MLabs's standard milestone-disclosed format.",
"milestone_schedule_disclosed_set_by": "ai"
},
"treasury_return": {
"has_return_clause": false,
"has_return_clause_set_by": "ai",
"treasury_favourability": "weak",
"treasury_favourability_notes": "Standard MLabs delivery model: milestone-based, single line item per WP for engineering hours. No revenue share, no unused-funds return clause described. Open-source delivery to public repositories is the public-good return mechanism.",
"treasury_favourability_set_by": "ai"
},
"relationships": {
"competes_with": [],
"competes_with_notes": "No directly competing 2026 proposal identified. CTL is currently under separate review by the Intersect Open Source Committee's Tooling Sustainability Program for core maintainership and Van Rossum hard fork work. This proposal is explicitly scoped to non-overlapping work (net-new features WP1/WP2 plus 2026/early-2027 maintenance WP3 outside OSC scope).",
"competes_with_set_by": "ai"
},
"ecosystem_demand": {
"evidence_level": "moderate",
"evidence_level_confidence": "high",
"evidence_level_set_by": "ai",
"active_users_known": true,
"active_users_examples": [
{
"name": "Indigo Protocol",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "CTL in production"
},
{
"name": "Clarity",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "CTL in production"
},
{
"name": "Genius Yield",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "CTL in production"
},
{
"name": "Cardano Racers",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "CTL in production"
},
{
"name": "Noble Steed Games",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "CTL in production"
},
{
"name": "SingularityNet",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "CTL in production"
},
{
"name": "Liqwid Labs",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "Maintains a CTL fork"
},
{
"name": "Fourier Labs",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "Maintains a CTL fork and contributes PRs"
},
{
"name": "Platonic Systems",
"kind": "integrator",
"notes": "Maintains a CTL fork and contributes PRs"
}
],
"developer_demand_signals": [
"51 forks and 93 stars on main repository",
"External contributions from Fourier Labs, BinarApps, Tontine Trust, Platonic Systems, Indigo",
"Five Catalyst rounds funded CTL with milestone delivery",
"CTL under review by OSC Tooling Sustainability Program (independent ecosystem validation of value)"
],
"adoption_risk_notes": "WP1 (JS/TS interface) and WP2 (Koios backend) target a demand pattern that is real but indirect: the question is not whether the existing PureScript CTL has users (it clearly does, with multiple named production integrators), but whether the JS/TS bridge will be adopted by teams not currently using CTL. The proposal acknowledges this honestly. WP3 (maintenance) demand is direct — existing CTL users need ongoing hard fork compatibility. Rated moderate (not strong) because: (a) WP1 demand requires forecasting adoption by teams not currently using CTL, not just retention of existing PureScript users; (b) Catalyst Fund 14 submission for the same JS/TS scope was not approved, which is a soft signal of prior reviewer skepticism."
},
"incumbents": {
"has_existing_solution": "partial",
"has_existing_solution_confidence": "high",
"has_existing_solution_set_by": "ai",
"existing_solutions": [
{
"name": "Lucid Evolution",
"url": "https://github.com/Anastasia-Labs/lucid-evolution",
"status": "shipped",
"overlap": "substantial",
"notes": "Maintained TypeScript/JavaScript Cardano off-chain transaction-building library, widely adopted in Cardano DeFi."
},
{
"name": "Mesh SDK",
"url": "https://meshjs.dev",
"status": "shipped",
"overlap": "substantial",
"notes": "TypeScript/JavaScript SDK for Cardano dApp development with wallet, transaction-building, and contract integration. Active ecosystem use."
},
{
"name": "cardano-serialization-lib + Blockfrost SDKs",
"status": "shipped",
"overlap": "partial",
"notes": "Lower-level primitives that JS/TS developers can compose into transaction-building stacks."
},
{
"name": "BloxBean Cardano Client Lib (Java/JVM)",
"url": "https://cardano-client.dev",
"status": "shipped",
"overlap": "partial",
"notes": "Different language ecosystem but solves the analogous 'native off-chain library for non-Haskell developers' problem on the JVM side."
}
],
"differentiation_claim": "WP1 brings CTL's mature, audited off-chain transaction-building surface (proven in production by Indigo, Liqwid, etc.) to JS/TS developers without re-implementing it. WP2 adds Koios as a third backend, which no other library currently provides as a first-class option. WP3 is maintenance specific to CTL.",
"differentiation_credibility": "medium",
"differentiation_credibility_notes": "WP2 (Koios) and WP3 (maintenance) are clearly differentiated. WP1 (JS/TS bindings) is more complicated: the value proposition is real (CTL has features and audit history that newer JS/TS libraries lack) but the addressable population of teams that will switch from Lucid Evolution or Mesh to a CTL-via-bindings approach is harder to evidence. The Catalyst Fund 14 non-approval for the same scope is a flag worth noting. Differentiation rated medium rather than high because WP1's relative value over Lucid/Mesh depends on bindings ergonomics that haven't been delivered yet."
},
"risk_flags": {
"aggressive_peg": false,
"self_administered_no_oversight": false,
"incumbent_already_delivering": false,
"no_evidence_of_demand": false,
"competes_with_in_batch": false,
"concentration_risk": false
},
"id": "hydra-mlabs-ctl-jsts-koios-maintenance",
"source": {
"hydra_id": "69fc8e0989371182537b30a3",
"channels": [
"hydra"
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}
}