[final report] Maldo

[DarioMaldo]

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

1. Service Lifecycle Management

2. Onchain Escrow

3. Reputation & Ratings

4. Guarantee Mechanism for Maldo Pro

5. Curated lists & Badge logic

6. Kleros Arbitration

7. Indexing & Verifiability

Next Steps

With the protocol now live on Arbitrum, Maldo’s 2026 roadmap focuses on:

1. Scaling Maldo Pro for high reputation providers.

2. Launching Maldo Enterprise with real estate and care companies.

3. Expansion to Montevideo (10× current TAM).

4. Reputation backed credit pilots tied to onchain history.

5. 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.

[Arb_Junior]

Thank you @DarioMaldo ,

This report demonstrates strong execution across technical, product, and community dimensions. it reflects well on accountability, transparency, and alignment with Arbitrum DAO’s grant objectives, though there are areas where governance practices could be further strengthened for future reporting cycles.

The Maldo team has delivered a production grade decentralized marketplace that meaningfully advances Arbitrum DAO’s mission of enabling real-world utility for blockchain infrastructure.

Key aligned achievements include:

• Milestone based delivery: Each milestone had clear objectives, deliverables, and outcomes matching the structured reporting expected by Arbitrum DAO.

• Third-party validation: The Cobuilders security review, Kleros integration, and legal compliance work (Maldo S.A.S. incorporation) demonstrate due diligence and risk mitigation.

• Community impact: Over 5,300 monthly active users, 1,300+ service providers, and sustained offline activations show tangible ecosystem growth beyond testnet experimentation.

• Transparent contract deployment: The mainnet contract address is publicly verifiable on Arbiscan, enabling community audit and trust.

This report sets a strong precedent for how grantees can bridge Web3 infrastructure with real world adoption while maintaining accountability to DAO stakeholders.

Opinion:

Strengths

1. Alignment with DAO objectives: The project directly supports Arbitrum’s goal of expanding decentralized applications into real world use cases, particularly in emerging markets.

2. Risk management: Legal structuring, security audits, and Kleros arbitration integration show mature governance thinking around liability, dispute resolution, and regulatory compliance.

3. Scalable architecture: The modular smart contract design (Registry, Deals, Badges, Escrow) with IPFS + The Graph indexing supports long-term extensibility and community-driven enhancements.

4. Community-first approach: Mobile-first UX, local meetups, and radio campaigns reflect deep understanding of the target market a governance best practice for DAO-funded projects aiming for grassroots adoption.

Areas for Improvement:

1. KPI standardization: While metrics are reported (e.g., 5,300 MAU, 1,300 providers), they are not tied to pre-defined success criteria from the original grant proposal. Future reports should explicitly map outcomes to initial KPIs for clearer accountability.

2. Treasury transparency: The report does not disclose how grant funds were allocated (e.g., treasury address, multisig signers, vesting schedules). Publishing this would align with Arbitrum DAO’s emerging best practices for token ops hygiene.

3. Post-grant sustainability plan: The 2026 roadmap is ambitious but lacks detail on revenue models, tokenomics (if any), or community governance transition (e.g., will Maldo DAO emerge?). Clarifying this would reassure the DAO of long-term viability beyond grant dependency.

4. Follow-up reporting: Arbitrum DAO requires a 3-month post-grant survey to assess effectiveness. Proactively committing to this (and publishing results) would strengthen trust.

Questions for Accountability @DarioMaldo

1. Fund Allocation Transparency: Can you publish the treasury addresses used for this grant, along with a breakdown of how funds were allocated across milestones (e.g., development, legal, marketing)?

2. KPI Baseline: What were the original success metrics defined in your grant proposal, and how do the reported outcomes (5,300 MAU, 1,300 providers) compare to those targets?

3. Sustainability Model: How will Maldo sustain operations post-grant? Are there revenue streams (e.g., Maldo Pro subscriptions), token incentives, or plans for community governance (e.g., Maldo DAO)?

4. Kleros Governance Integration: How does Maldo’s use of Kleros arbitration align with Kleros’s own governance model (e.g., PNK staking, juror selection)? Are there plans to involve Maldo users in Kleros court parameter decisions?

5. Post-Grant Follow-Up: Will you commit to the Arbitrum DAO’s 3-month post-grant survey requirement, and can you share preliminary insights on user retention or platform sustainability since mainnet deployment?

[Anzus_GemWallet]

It’s great to see blockchain being used for a real-world service and designed for people who may not already use crypto. From your user research, what was the biggest hurdle for beginners—creating a wallet, understanding payments, or trusting the service?

I help with support at Gem Wallet, so this kind of feedback is useful for making onboarding easier.