Blue Whale

[sidelaw]

Project Abstract

Blue Whale is an AI-powered chatbot that enables over 4 billion WhatsApp users to send, receive, and manage Polkadot-based assets as easily as sending a text. By integrating a smart wallet into the world's most popular messaging app, we make crypto adoption simple, intuitive, and accessible to everyone. Developers can also leverage our open tools to build chat-based crypto applications, expanding the ecosystem and driving global adoption of blockchain technology.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (project_name.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[sidelaw]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[diogo-w3f]

@sidelaw Thanks for the grant application. While I find the project interesting, the application lacks several important details and technical information. Below is a list of what I noticed:

• Project details: Please include an explicit bullet point for “What the project will not cover,” along with links or references to UI mockups, API specifications, or existing documentation.
• Ecosystem fit: This section should cite concrete evidence supporting the stated needs (e.g., forum threads, data, or articles) and include comparisons with related ecosystems, not just Polkadot.
• Team: The section is missing key information such as a contact email, website, registered address, legal entity, GitHub usernames for each member, and any available LinkedIn profiles.
• Development status: Please provide links to prior research, an MVP repository, videos, or other proof of work.
• Referral program and “Additional Information / How did you hear about the Grants Program?” These headings are missing; include them and write “N/A” if there’s nothing to report.

Could you also review our guidelines and explain how your project could help improve the usage of the DOT token?

[semuelle]

Pinging @sidelaw.

[semuelle]

To add to what Diogo already mentioned: can you expand on this bit? How do you implement transaction fees? Have you done any market analysis for this? Potential size of the user base and market?

[sidelaw]

@diogo-w3f @semuelle Thank you for the feedback. We are taking the time to revise the proposal and will update it by tomorrow, as well as provide answers to the questions.

[sidelaw]

@diogo-w3f Should be fixed now. Please let me know if there is anything else. Thank you.
@semuelle Thanks for the questions

1 How do you implement transaction fees?

Transaction Fees Implementation

Fee Model: We plan to implement a small, transparent transaction fee of 0.30% on every transaction processed. Using smart contracts to handle fee deduction automatically during transaction execution. We will ensure that the user sees the net amount post-fee, maintaining a seamless experience.

This fee is considerably lower than fintech like Wise and Revolut at an average of 0.92% and significantly lower than traditional payment processors (like PayPal at 2-4% + a fixed fee) and competitive with crypto alternatives.

2## Market Analysis

WhatsApp has over 2 billion active monthly users globally, including regions with high interest in crypto adoption (India, Latin America, Africa).

Primary Market - Daily Users

Target Users: Non-technical users seeking easy access to crypto, for daily sending and receiving services.

• India: 487 million WhatsApp users
• Brazil: 147 million WhatsApp users
• Indonesia: 119 million WhatsApp users
• Nigeria: 90 million WhatsApp users

Addressable market: A conservative estimate of 0.5–1% penetration of WhatsApp users for Polkadot transactions would equate to 10–20 million active users.

Secondary Market - Merchants

Global small-to-medium merchants using WhatsApp Business: 50+ million businesses

Target merchants in emerging markets seeking lower payment processing costs

Addressable market: Conservative estimate of 0.5% adoption = 250,000 merchant users

Tertiary Market

Developer Fees / SDK Access: Premium SDK features and analytics dashboards for developers creating WhatsApp mini apps. Collaborations with payment platforms, NFT projects, and DeFi protocols for embedded services.

[diogo-w3f]

@sidelaw Thanks for the answer. What about regulation? Have you already researched how it works in the countries you mentioned? I live in Brazil, so I can tell you that everybody uses WhatsApp here. Besides that, launching a financial product on it can be a major challenge. Meta took years to be approved by the Central Bank of Brazil to launch its payment system, and even so, people mostly use PIX, which is a system provided by the Central Bank where nobody pays fees for payments and bank transfers inside the country.

Furthermore, the Central Bank is tightening the conditions to open fintechs in Brazil, since criminal organizations were using the financial system for money laundering. In this way, you should expect to need some millions of Reais available to open a fintech in Brazil. So how do you plan to handle that?

What about the users? How do you plan to convince them to use your system when they already have one that works for free? Do you know the crypto regulation in each of these countries, and how are you going to handle it?