[DIP Proposal] Steem mobile wallet and authentication app

Greetings!

Following the Steemit DIP initiative announced by @steemitblog, it is time to develop the infrastructure and tools essential to Steemit and its community users.

Proposal Background

It has been 6 years since the Genesis block of the Steem blockchain was created. Steemit is still functioning today as the 1st blockchain-based social media platform and the oldest PoC.

Numerous new social media projects have been launched since the advent of Steemit, but no challenger has emerged beyond Steemit. Nevertheless, the number of new onboarding users of Steemit is gradually decreasing. Why?

• Is it because the rewards for the effort put into creating the content aren't that great?
• Is it because the price of STEEM or SBD keeps dropping?
• Is it because of the low APR compared to many DeFi projects?

We think the biggest reason is the terrible UX on mobile devices.

Most people today spend a large part of their day looking at their phone. They google or watch YouTube on their mobile phones, communicate with SNS such as KakaoTalk, WeChat, Telegram, and Twitter, and play mobile games.

After all, how mobile-friendly infrastructure is in place is a key factor in the growth and prosperity of social media platforms and communities.

We desperately want the Steem blockchain and Steemit to become more mobile-friendly. A Steem account is not just a social media account, it is also a wallet that holds valuable digital assets. So security is more important than any other social media, and making it technically perfect takes a lot of work. (Of course, there are regulatory issues that are not yet crypto-friendly)

Nevertheless, we would like to solve this problem with the Steem DIP from the @steemitblog team. Below we would like to propose SteemStation, an authentication and wallet application that allows you to use Steemit more conveniently and safely on your mobile device.

Proposal Overview

• Name : SteemStation
• Brief Description : The SteemStation is mobile wallet and authentication service for Steem. This provide a way for any applications to easily authenticate users without asking them to provide any password or private key. Users can easily and securely log in to Steemit.com and various Steem-based apps, regardless of location or device they use (desktop or mobile browser).

Team

Team Members

• Team Leader : @donekim
• Lead Project Manager : @anpigon
• Mobile app Developer : @anpigon
• Frontend/Condenser Developer : @happyberrysboy
• Backend Developer : @realmankwon + @happyberrysboy
• External Contributors(part-time) : external dev(2+) + UX/UI designer(1)

Team Experience

• A lead project manager @anpigon has developed mobile Steem keychain app on Android and is now working as a full stack developer for 12 years.

• @happyberrysboy & @realmankwon are co-founders of UPVU, the largest aggregator service on Steem. They are currently developing a 3rd-party front as an alternative to the overload of Steemit.com, meanwhile working on a forked version of Steem-engine.

• @happyberrysboy is managing chrome browser extension version of the Steem Keychain

• @donekim is a content creator who creates posts related to cryptocurrency and blockchain, and has been active on Steemit for the past 5 years.

Legal Structure
An official legal entity is required to release an app on the ios app store. The release of the mobile app will be operated under the name of the following corporation.

• Registered Legal Entity : Uncommon lab Inc
• Registered Country : South Korea
• Contact : [email protected]

The registered address can be separately provided to Steemit Inc upon request for personal information protection.

Development Roadmap

Milestone Summary

• Total Estimated Duration : 40 weeks
• Full-Time Equivalent(FTE) : 7.5 FTE
• Total Costs(Request budget) : 167,160 USD

*This project is NOT A FORK of existing sources such as Hive keychain. We start the build from zero base for Steem, and if the proposed budget is cut, many features listed below, such as the URL scheme, may be excluded from the development item.

[Milestone 1] - Initiate Project & basic features development

• Estimated duration : 13 weeks
• FTE : 2.5
• Costs : 54,600USD

Number	Deliverable	Specification
01	Mobile app	- Design basic features and functions
		- Development of login method (encrypted keys store securely in Android keystore/iOS keychain, QR-login)
		- UI/UX design
02	Backend	- Build authentication server for mobile wallet
		- SDK development for mobile wallet(login-only)
03	Condenser	- Review and add condenser code for mobile wallet(login-only)

[Milestone 2] - App release (iOS / Android)

• Estimated duration : 13 weeks
• FTE : 3
• Costs : 65,520USD

Number	Deliverable	Specification
01	Mobile app	- Develop transaction signing function using URL scheme
		- Signing and broadcasting transactions
		- Confirmation of processing transaction results and interactions
		- Beta app release (iOS / Android)
02	Backend	- Build authentication server for full operation
		- SDK development for full operation
03	Condenser	- Review and add condenser code for full operation
04	Push server	- Transaction signature request

[Milestone 3] - Integration & Documentation

• Estimated duration : 14 weeks
• FTE : 2
• Costs : 47,040USD

Number	Deliverable	Specification
01	Mobile app	Add wallet function
		Bugfix & Troubleshooting
02	Backend	Bugfix & Troubleshooting
03	Integration	SNS(Steem Network Sidechain) Integration
04	Documentation	We will provide documentation as part of the source code and a handbook on how users or application developers can use SteemStation.

Future Plans

• Development will begin as soon as this grant proposal is approved.
• The development progress is transparently disclosed through monthly and quarterly reports and github.

Tbh there is a cheaper way to create a Steem mobile wallet by forking the Hive keychain. However, using an in-app browser like Hive keychain doesn't do much to improve UX. All users should have the convenience of using Steemit.com anytime, anywhere, and we believe it is right to build ours intact through Steem DIP.

If various apps are developed based on Steam in the future, OUR OWN APPS created from zero base, such as Steam Station, will play an essential role in integrating them.

This account was originally created by @goodhello, and we took over. Special thanks to @goodhello for donating the account.

If you agree with our proposals and thoughts, please support us through resteem.

Kind regards,
The SteemStation Team