Bastion Protocol Application

[kunal-drall]

Project Abstract

Bastion Protocol introduces Circle-Based Finance (CBF) to the Polkadot ecosystem - a novel approach where users form "circles" (trusted social groups) to collectively pool assets, participate in auctions, and manage staking operations. Unlike traditional individualistic DeFi, Bastion leverages social trust and group coordination to enable collaborative financial primitives that mirror real-world community finance models like lending circles and investment clubs.

This Level 1 grant will deliver a core Substrate pallet (pallet-circles) implementing group identity management, collective deposits, group-based staking, and circle auctions, along with a demo chain and React dApp. The project fills a significant gap in Polkadot's DeFi stack by providing social finance primitives as first-class runtime modules, enabling new forms of decentralized community finance and serving as a foundation for future lending, borrowing, and cross-chain integrations.

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 (bastion_protocol.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: @kunal-drall:matrix.org

[github-actions]

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[kunal-drall]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.