♻️What is the lifecycle of a project?

Once a project is created, it is in one of the following states, described below: Open, Funded, Successful, or Expired. This state describes where the project is in its lifecycle.

1. Project Creation:

   • Onchain: A project is initiated on the Catalyst platform with the creation of a project proposal and a new instance of Seed tokens.

   • Offchain: Researchers or sourcers prepare the necessary documentation and project plans needed to launch and present their research idea to potential backers.

2. Open:

   • Onchain: The project is active for funding. Seed tokens can be purchased by backers via a bonding curve, directly contributing to the project's funding goal.

   • Offchain: Simultaneously, project initiators engage with the community, promote their project, and seek support from potential funders and collaborators.

3. Funded (Negotiating):

   • On-Chain: The funding goal is reached before the deadline. The project transitions to the Funded state, where funds are held in escrow until the project is successfully negotiated. With the funders' permission, the sourcer may claim the funds and swap them to stable coins (such as USDC) to reduce the impact of ETH volatility.

   • Off-Chain: Negotiations occur regarding IP licensing terms between the researcher, their research organization, and the sourcer, who are all responsible for finalizing a research agreement, such as a sponsored research agreement. To receive the funding, this agreement must be reached before the negotiation deadline.

4. Success:

   • On-Chain: Upon successfully hitting the funding goal prior to the funding deadline, and a fully executed research agreement prior to the negotiating deadline, the project is updated to the Success state. An IP-NFT and IP Tokens can be minted and transferred to the IP Seed holders, research organization, and researcher. The sourcer may offramp the stablecoins to fiat currency, and wire the funds to the researcher's organization.

   • Off-Chain: Local currency is wired to the research organization and the research can begin.

5. Expired:

   • On-Chain: If the project fails to meet its funding goal by the deadline, or fails to reach a research agreement before the negotiating period is over, it enters an Expired state. Contributors can claim refunds of their contributions.

   • Off-Chain: The project is closed.