Maldo
Completion summary
December 2025
Introduction
Over the last months, Maldo has evolved from an experimental prototype into an operational, decentralized marketplace for real-world services, powered by Arbitrum and actively used by thousands of residents and service providers in Maldonado, Uruguay.
Support from the Arbitrum DAO enabled us to:
. Architect and develop a complete onchain trust layer for local services.
. Early validation of product-market fit through extensive UX research and community engagement.
. Deploy a mobile app and operational platform for non crypto users.
. Build a compliant structure to operate the marketplace in Uruguay.
. Integrate decentralized dispute resolution and guarantees into a subscription based business model for professionals.
. To deploy our contract to Arbitrum Mainnet, completing the scope of the grant.
This document provides a milestone by milestone summary and concludes with the mainnet deployment and contract capabilities that now serve as Maldo’s foundation for 2026.
Milestone 1: Architecture, UX foundations & Early traction
Objective:
Design the protocol architecture, deploy the first smart contract version on Arbitrum Sepolia, conduct UX research, and validate demand through early traction.
Smart contract development on Arbitrum Sepolia
During Milestone 1, Maldo deployed the first version of its Registry and Deals contract on Arbitrum Sepolia.
Key capabilities included:
. Registry: creation of service listings with IDs, provider addresses, descriptions (planned for IPFS) and lifecycle status.
. Ratings & Reviews: 1 to 5 star ratings with text reviews stored onchain.
. User Profiles: optional metadata + staking foundations.
. Dispute functionality: Dispute method, configurable resolver and events for arbitration.
. Comprehensive event system enabling indexing and analytics.
This established a functional trust and reputation primitive.
UX research
Milestone 1 included a structured UX program led by Gabriel Aufgang, covering:
. 1-on-1 interviews with providers and clients
. App flow testing
. Behavioral segmentation
. Local accessibility considerations
Findings included confusion about whether Maldo was a directory, social network, or marketplace, and lack of clarity around client vs provider roles.
Actions taken:
. Fully redesigned onboarding for both roles
. Streamlined navigation and performance
. Prioritized mobile first product direction as 97% of users access via mobile.
Community & Growth foundations
Maldo achieved significant traction during this phase:
. Service providers grew from 250 to 600
. CTR >4% Meta / >6% Google
. Radio campaign on Cadena del Mar (10 daily slots)
. 10+ local meetups, including a major event with 120+ attendees
Milestone 1 helped us validate trust, local awareness and willingness to adopt the platform.
Milestone 1 Outcome:
A working testnet protocol, validated UX direction and strong initial traction.
Milestone 2: Product launch, Kleros integration & Ecosystem growth
Objective:
Transform Maldo from prototype into an operational product. We deployed the first mobile app, integrated Kleros compatible contracts, scaled community traction and continued UX refinement.
Contract completion & Kleros integration
By Milestone 2 we completed:
. Registry & Badges contracts
. Escrow & reputation extensions
. Kleros compatible arbitration flows
UX refinement & Beta testing
Gabriel Aufgang continued mentorship with:
. Bi weekly structured interviews
. Remote app testing
. Onboarding flows
. Reorganized categories and service flows
A detailed customer journey map was created, identifying emotional states, trust points and opportunities for improved experience.
Maldo Android App Launch
Milestone 2 delivered the first Android app.
The app was tested within community groups:
. Providers valued simplicity, profiles, quotes and reviews
. Feedback highlighted performance needs and improved navigation
Community growth & Ecosystem impact
By this point:
. 1000 providers registered
. Sustained CTR >4% Meta / >6% Google
. Cost per installation at $0.27
. Continued offline activation: events, university sessions and local partners
During Milestone 2 Maldo also:
. Sponsored a $500 ETH Uruguay hackathon bounty
. Won the rnDAO Arbitrum Pitch Day community vote
Milestone 2 Outcome:
A validated mobile app, a complete pre production smart contracts and strong ecosystem presence.
Milestone 3: Production readiness
Objective:
Complete legal structuring, finalize integrations, refine product systems, prepare the contract suite for mainnet, strengthen analytics and B2B capabilities.
Contract integration & Pre-production environment
Milestone 3 delivered:
. Integration of Sepolia contracts in the pre production environment
. All critical Cobuilders findings resolved
. Implementation of IPFS + The Graph indexing
. AI agents for onboarding & service discovery
Additionally:
. Maldo Enterprise launched, enabling multi property service management for agencies and companies
. Maldo+ and Maldo Pro subscription designed, including the $100 guarantee per job, resolved via Kleros
Legal framework & Corporate structure
Working with Jackson Bertón, Maldo:
. Assessed Central Bank and consumer protection implications
. Incorporated Maldo S.A.S.
. Produced updated Terms & Conditions and Privacy policy
This created a compliant foundation for subscriptions, B2B operations, and guarantee programs.
Growth system & Analytics
. +2,000 app installs
. 5,300 monthly active users
. +1,300 service providers
. Designed KPI dashboards to support growth metrics
Offline and Web3 activations continued: hackathon sponsorship, partner events, and high reputational provider gatherings.
Cobuilders technical & Security review
A key deliverable in Milestone 3 was the Cobuilders security & Architecture review:
Full report: https://cobuilders.notion.site/maldo-security-review
Issues tracking: https://hackmd.io/@FSQc5Pj4T62nRRamPPpSfw/ryVHKjb7Zl
Scope covered
Cobuilders reviewed:
. System architecture & modular design
. Registry, Deals, Badges and Escrow logic
. State transitions and event integrity
. Dispute integration and compatibility with Kleros
. Access control and reentrancy protections
. IPFS and The Graph indexing considerations
. Upgradeability and long term scalability
Cobuilders’ supervision ensured:
. All critical issues were fixed before mainnet
. Event consistency for indexers
. Service guarantee logic for Maldo Pro
. A clear foundation for future features
. Codebase suitable for production deployment on Arbitrum
This review improved the safety and reliability of the final mainnet deployment.
Final Deliverable: Deployment on Arbitrum Mainnet
With legal, UX and technical work completed and after Cobuilders validation, Maldo deployed its contracts to Arbitrum Mainnet, finalizing the scope of this grant.
Arbitrum Mainnet contract deployed: https://arbiscan.io/address/0xb55d05adf9cc3b7aec3db2e3f38bfbd33320be35#code
Mainnet contract capabilities
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Service Lifecycle Management
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Onchain Escrow
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Reputation & Ratings
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Guarantee Mechanism for Maldo Pro
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Curated lists & Badge logic
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Kleros Arbitration
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Indexing & Verifiability
Next Steps
With the protocol now live on Arbitrum, Maldo’s 2026 roadmap focuses on:
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Scaling Maldo Pro for high reputation providers.
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Launching Maldo Enterprise with real estate and care companies.
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Expansion to Montevideo (10× current TAM).
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Reputation backed credit pilots tied to onchain history.
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Deepening data strategy and AI onboarding agents.
Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank the Arbitrum DAO, reviewers and ecosystem contributors for their trust and continuous support.
This grant enabled Maldo to:
. Launch a Web3 powered trust infrastructure for real world labor markets.
. Onboard thousands of non crypto users into a decentralized marketplace.
. Deploy a production ready contract on Arbitrum Mainnet.
. Build a compliant, sustainable foundation for long term growth.
We look forward to continuing this journey with Arbitrum as our core infrastructure partner.