Welcome to Catalyst, the DeSci funding machine that lets you decide the future of science. Whether you are a Web3 native, or just jumping in, Catalyst is for everyone to participate in funding innovative research. This guide will walk you through the steps to start your journey on Catalyst, from connecting your wallet to funding your first project.

Step 1: Visit the Catalyst Website

Start by heading over to Catalyst. This is where you'll discover a variety of projects seeking funding. You can explore projects related to longevity, neuroscience, and more.

Step 2: Login or Connect Your Wallet

Connect Your MetaMask Wallet

To participate, you'll need a MetaMask wallet. If you don't have one, you can easily set one up by downloading the MetaMask extension for your browser or the mobile app. If you need additional support, follow this complete setup guide.

Login with Email or Socials

You can also choose to log in using your email or social account using Privy. Privy allows you to use Catalyst using just your email. You will be able to fund your wallet in Catalyst through Coinbase Pay or Moonpay.

To fund using Moonpay, click on your wallet in the top right corner, click “Get ETH,” and then click “Moonpay.” You will be taken to Moonpay’s application where you can purchase ETH and fund your wallet. 

Once your wallet is set up, click the "Connect" button at the top of the Catalyst homepage. Follow the prompts to link your MetaMask wallet to the platform.

Step 3: Bridge to Base

Catalyst operates on Base, a blockchain network optimized for secure and low-cost transactions. To interact with projects on Catalyst, you'll need to bridge your ETH from the Ethereum mainnet to Base. This can be done directly within MetaMask or once you have connected your wallet to Catalyst, you can click ‘ Get ETH’ and select the bridging option as shown below. :

If you are briding using Open your MetaMask wallet:

In the network dropdown, select "Base" or add it as a custom network if it's not listed. Use the bridge option in MetaMask to transfer ETH from the Ethereum mainnet to the Base network.

Once your ETH is successfully bridged to Base, you'll be ready to fund projects.

Step 4: Find a Project and Fund It

Browse through the available projects on Catalyst. When you find a project that aligns with your interests, click on it to learn more. 

To contribute, simply enter the amount of ETH you want to contribute in the funding section. Confirm the transaction in your MetaMask wallet, and your contribution will be processed.

Step 5: Receive IPTs

To receive IP Tokens, the project must reach its funding goal, and a research agreement must be successfully finalized between the researchers and sponsors. If the funding goal isn’t met or an agreement isn’t reached, your funds will be refunded.

When the project’s funding goal is met and a successful negotiation is finalized, you’ll receive your IP Tokens, giving you governance rights over the IP generated by the research you’ve funded.After funding a project, you'll receive IP tokens (IPTs) in return. IPTs represent your share in the intellectual property generated by the research you're funding. 

You're ready to fund!

That's it! You've successfully connected to Catalyst, bridged to Base, and funded a project. By supporting these groundbreaking initiatives, you're not only contributing to scientific progress but also becoming a part of the DeSci community. Welcome aboard!

With the beta launch of Catalyst, Molecule invites you to embark on an exciting journey with Catalyst Quests—a gamified adventure designed to onboard users into the DeSci movement. 

Catalyst Quests empowers our community to interact with early-stage research projects listed on Catalyst by completing various activities, sharing feedback, and growing the DeSci ecosystem. In return, participants will earn experience points (XP), which are used to measure engagement and identify the leading patrons of science. 

Put simply, participate in quests, earn XP, and climb the DeSci leaderboard. 

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How Catalyst Quests Works

Hosted on Rep3, Catalyst Quests has two types of challenges: ‍

Research Project Quests:

Each time a project is listed on Catalyst, a new quest is launched, creating more XP-earning opportunities. The quest tasks include: 

• Project Due Diligence: Join research discussions on X and attend researcher AMAs.
• Sharing Feedback: Provide feedback on specific project information and future Catalyst features. 
• Funding Science: Back a project that aligns with a funder's interests.‍

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‍Side Quests: 

Engage in fun and interactive activities to earn XP, including:

• Patron of Science Quiz: Take a BuzzFeed-style quiz to discover your Patron of Science.
• Creating Content: Make and share content related to Catalyst to spread the word.
• Following Our Socials: Follow our social media accounts to stay updated.
• Creating Memes: Share your creativity by making and posting memes about Catalyst.

— and more in the future! 

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Streak Incentive

Users who participate in consecutive Research Project quests will receive a streak boost. Here is how it works: 

• Base Points: Complete tasks in a quest to earn XP. For example, a single Research Project Quest is worth 100 XP.
• Streak Boost: Points increase with each consecutive week of Research Project Quest completion. The more consistent your participation, the more XP you earn:
  • Project 1 Quest: 100 XP
  • Project 2 Quest: 100 XP + 50 XP Boost = 150 XP 
  • Project 3 Quest: 100 XP + 50 XP Boost = 150 XP 

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Join Catalyst Quests

Joining Catalyst Quests is a chance to make your mark in the DeSci movement. As you earn XP and rise through the DeSci leaderboard, you'll proudly show your early support for innovative research and the broader DeSci space. 

Exclusive Insider Access Boost: As a thank you for your early support, Catalyst Insider Access List participants will receive additional boosts on their earned XP. This exclusive boost is our way of saying thank you for being a DeSci pioneer and helping us shape the future of scientific funding. 

Ready to try Catalyst and earn XP? Start your first quest now and start racking up your XP. 

For more information about Catalyst, check out the docs and shape the future of decentralized science funding.

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About Molecule

Molecule is dedicated to advancing scientific research through democratized funding and the tokenization of intellectual property (IP). By transforming IP into liquid, onchain assets, Molecule aligns the incentives of researchers and funders, fostering a more collaborative and efficient research ecosystem. 

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Early-stage biomedical research funding is plagued by a mismatch between funded and impactful research. This disconnect results in detrimental diseases being underfunded despite their impact on public health. For instance, conditions like longevity, hair loss, women’s health, cryonics, and brain aging often receive disproportionately less funding compared to their prevalence and burden on society.

Public funds play a substantial role in financing research. In Europe, approximately 0.74% of GDP is allocated to research and development (R&D), representing a significant public investment. In the United States, the investment is even higher, with R&D expenditures accounting for around 3.4% of GDP. Despite this forced, substantial investment by taxpayers, the public has almost no influence over how these funds are allocated.

Enter Catalyst. By utilizing blockchains, Catalyst democratizes research funding, allowing individuals to directly support projects that resonate with them. This decentralized model aims to rectify the inefficiencies of the current research funding apparatus, ensuring that funding better aligns with societal needs. 

Catalyst empowers individuals to use their cryptocurrency to make impactful decisions, fostering a more transparent and impactful research funding protocol.

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Introducing Catalyst: Aligning Incentives Through Onchain Intellectual Property

Molecule is thrilled to unveil Catalyst, the decentralized science (DeSci) funding machine. Catalyst aims to fuel scientific advancements by enabling democratized research funding through tokenizing intellectual property (IP). 

Catalyst forms communities around the drug development process and empowers individuals to support meaningful scientific research. In exchange for funding the research, funders receive tokens with rights to the research IP. This creates aligned incentives for researchers and funders to collaborate to bring more breakthroughs to those in need. 

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Benefits of Catalyst

For Funders:

• Purchase Tokens to Fund Research: Funders can contribute directly to advancing scientific research ideas. 
• Take Part in Research and Licensing Decisions: In exchange for funding contributions, funders receive IP tokens, which gives them the right to participate in certain research and IP licensing decisions. 
• Trade Tokens to Match Evolving Interests: Funders can trade their IP tokens on decentralized exchanges, giving them the flexibility to match their evolving interests.

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For Researchers: 

• Access to a Network of Global Funders: Catalyst opens up new avenues for funding beyond traditional sources.
• Build Community Around Your Research: IP Tokens are tools for building engaged communities around research, so researchers can connect with passionate supporters and collaborators. 
• Focus on Science: Researchers can concentrate on pursuing and advancing scientific work.

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How Catalyst Works

Catalyst works by turning scientific ideas into digital tokens (IP Tokens). IP Tokens allow researchers to grant funders rights in exchange for backing their project. These rights create a shared incentive for researchers and funders to collaborate together to make the research valuable. 

But what rights do these IP Token holders have? The right to govern and access IP is limited by the IP-NFT holder. The governance decisions could include: 

• Voting on proposed IP licenses
• Deciding on the distribution of proceeds earned from the IP-NFT and its IP
• Signaling support for experimental and clinical trial designs 

Using IP Tokens and shared governance rights, Catalyst aligns the interests of researchers and funders, making it easier for them to collaborate around budding research ideas. 

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The Foundational Pieces of Catalyst

Catalyst brings together key infrastructure to tackle the scalability and incentive challenges traditional research funding models face. These components include:

Democratized Funding: Catalyst creates access to funding opportunities without the need for traditional intermediaries, enabling anyone to participate in funding research projects.

IP Tokenization: Catalyst converts research funding into IP Tokens. IP Tokens grant the token holder rights to exclusive data, voting on project execution details, licensing the intellectual property to patients and pharmaceutical organizations, and determining how proceeds earned from licensing are distributed to token holders. 

Bonding Curves: Bonding curves distribute IP tokens, rewarding early funders with a larger share of tokens. Funders can contribute or withdraw funds until a project meets its funding goal, making funding science unruggable. 

‍Liquidity Provision: A portion of IPTs is used to set up a liquidity pool on a decentralized exchange, allowing funders to swap their tokens and enhancing flexibility.

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A New Era of Incentive-Driven Research Funding

By leveraging blockchain technology and tokenized intellectual property, Catalyst creates a dynamic, democratized funding marketplace that brings together researchers and funders, accelerating scientific progress. For more information, check out our documentation. 

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Jumpstart the DeSci Machine; Get Insider Access

Molecule is gearing up for Catalyst’s beta launch. We invite you to be among the first to experience funding groundbreaking research projects and join the DeSci movement. 

To celebrate the upcoming launch, we encourage you to sign up for Catalyst Insider Access. By joining now, you'll be the first to receive exciting updates and exclusive information on what's coming next. Trust us—you won't want to miss out on what's coming.

Be the first to know, and get ready to jumpstart the future of decentralized science funding.

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About Molecule

Molecule is dedicated to advancing scientific research through democratized funding and the tokenization of intellectual property (IP). By transforming IP into liquid, onchain assets, Molecule aligns the incentives of researchers and funders, fostering a more collaborative and efficient research ecosystem.