# [PUBLIC] Polkadot Treasury Proposal: Go-Substrate-Rpc-Client - Retroactive Maintenance Grant (Sept 2021 to Dec 2023)

###### tags: `grant`

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**Proponent:** 12wWLUd5qMzLFGqBsMnHLVFeTuYJwuo5ygMAxuSywrBX1XSF
**Date:** 20.10.2023
**Requested DOT:** $90,750 ~ DOT 24,474.149 ([EMA7](https://polkadot.subscan.io/tools/price_converter?value=90750&type=time&from=USD&to=DOT&time=1697781600))
**Short description:** Many projects interfacing with Substrate based chains are based in Go. An easy to use and well supported client library to interface with Substrate helps with adoption for those projects. The fast development speed of Substrate requires regular upgrades of [GSRPC](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/). Additionally, projects using [GSRPC](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/) need occasional support, which consumes further attention from us. Being supportive of these users and growing the featureset is key spreading the adoption of Polkadot and related chains. Currently, the repository is used by more than **500** Github [Go Modules](https://github.com/search?q=go-substrate-rpc-client+language%3A%22Go+Module%22&type=code&p=2&l=Go+Module) such as: *Snowbridge*, *Cosmos*, *Chainsafe*, *Chainlink* and *Bifrost* among others.

This grant is applying for retroactive funding of the maintenance of [GSRPC](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/).

## Context of the Proposal
This grant is proposed by k/factory, a core development contributing to the [Centrifuge](http://centrifuge.io/) project. A team made of experienced Substrate builders and a well established project in the Polkadot/Kusama ecosystem.

We have already received and successfully delivered multiple grants:

1. We developed a Go-based RPC library for interacting with Substrate nodes ([GSRPC](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/)) as a Web3 Foundation grant in [Q3 2019](https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/index.md#%EF%B8%8F-wave-3---q3-2019) and maintenance coverage as one of the first [Polkadot treasury proposals](https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/motion/12) in Q3 2020.
2. We also built [an early bridge](https://github.com/ChainSafe/ChainBridge) together with ChainSafe in [Q1 2019](https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/index.md#%EF%B8%8F-wave-1---q1-2019) and [Q1 2020](https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/index.md#%EF%B8%8F-wave-5---q1-2020) which was funded by a Web3 Foundation grant.
3. Last but not least, [FUDGE](https://github.com/centrifuge/fudge) received a [Polkadot treasury grant](https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/treasury/184) In Q4 2022. This tool provides a simple and generic way to interact with and manipulate the database of a Substrate-based blockchain.

Moreover, the k/f team has contributed to the Substrate and other related repositories in numerous [pull requests](https://github.com/search?q=user%3Aparitytech+author%3Awischli+author%3Amustermeiszer+author%3Abranan+author%3Anunoalexande+author%3Alemunozm+author%3Amikiquantum+author%3Alucasvo+author%3Aofferijns+author%3Acdamian&type=pullrequests), [new issues](https://github.com/search?q=user%3Aparitytech+author%3Awischli+author%3Amustermeiszer+author%3Abranan+author%3Anunoalexande+author%3Alemunozm+author%3Amikiquantum+author%3Alucasvo+author%3Aofferijns+author%3Acdamian&type=issues) and [discussions](https://forum.polkadot.network/search?expanded=true&q=%40mustermeiszer). We have deep knowledge in distributed/decentralized applications, libp2p, Golang, Solidity and Ethereum overall, zkSNARKs, and tokenization of assets with NFTs and has been developing with Substrate since Summer 2019. Various team members have presented talks on Polkadot related events such as Sub0, AmsterDOT, Polkadot Decoded, or Polkadot Parachain Summit.

### Team Members

Centrifuge’s team working on this project

- **Cosmin Damian** (Project Lead - Substrate, Rust, Go)
- **Nuno Alexandre** (Software Engineer - Substrate, Rust, Go)
- **Jeroen Offerijns** (CTO - Substrate, Rust, Ethereum)

#### Contact

- **Contact Name**: Cosmin Damian
- **Contact Email**: [e-mail]
- **Website**: https://centrifuge.io/

#### Legal Structure

- **Registered Address:** k-f dev AG, Grafenauweg 8, 6300 ZUG SWITZERLAND
- **Registered Legal Entity:** k-f dev AG

## Problem Statement

The previous [Maintenance Grant](https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/motion/12) expired in August 2021. This grant is applying for maintenance retroactively since then, as well as future maintenance until the end of 2023.

Continuous maintenance is required because changes in the Polkadot SDK (Substrate) require regular upgrades of the [GSRPC](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/) library.

Currently, the repository is used by more than **500** Github [Go Modules](https://github.com/search?q=go-substrate-rpc-client+language%3A%22Go+Module%22&type=code&p=2&l=Go+Module) such as: *Snowbridge*, *Cosmos*, *Chainsafe*, *Chainlink* and *Bifrost* among others.

These users require regular support as well as fixes to the library. Centrifuge has been providing this support at no cost since September 2021, since the previous grant expired.

- Since project inception we have merged [197 PRs](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed)
- And closed [103 issues](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aclosed)

### V2 Development Status
As part of a separate grant, GSRPC has been upgraded to load chain types into an internal registry by means of parsing the chain metadata. Here are the details of the Grant [GSRPC V2](https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/pull/1281) that covered this. This work has also been completed.

## Future plans

The Centrifuge tech stack uses [GSRPC](https://github.com/centrifuge/go-substrate-rpc-client/) for the client interactions from the Centrifuge Protocol components and the Centrifuge chain therefore is critical for Centrifuge and k-f that this library remains up to date with the latest Polkadot ecosystem changes.

Due to the amount of users of this library, we expect to continue being the most used GO implementation interface to interact with Substrate based chains.

## Budget Summary
This table provides a cost breakdown based on the milestones and deliverables above.

- **Start Date**: 1st of September 2021
- **End Date**: 31st of December 2023
- **Total Duration**: 2 years, 4 months (121 weeks)
- **Hourly Rate**: $150 / h
- **Estimated Time**: 5 hours per week
- **Total Costs:** 90,750 USD

## Payment Conditions

The grant is proposed to the Polkadot Treasury and as such, if granted, will be paid in DOT.
At the time of writing the total grant amount of $90,750 results in a total grant amount of 24,474.149 DOT, based on EMA7 2023-10-20 (source: [Subscan](https://polkadot.subscan.io/tools/price_converter?value=90750&type=time&from=USD&to=DOT&time=1697781600)).