Intro to the Nimiq App Roadmap category

[Richy]

Welcome to the Nimiq Apps Roadmap discussion

Nimiq’s mission is to empower individuals with money that is open and independent. The posts A Look Inside Nimiq and Beyond the Crypto Label explained the renewed direction, and the Protocol Roadmap turned the protocol half of that direction into a plan that you helped discuss. This is the other half: the roadmap for the one flagship end-user app the Foundation committed to build. Like the Protocol Roadmap, it was developed internally and is now opened to the entire community for questions, comments and suggestions before it is finalized and shared on the Nimiq website.

The big idea

The protocol is infrastructure, and infrastructure needs a concrete way for people to experience its value. So the Foundation concentrates new product development on one end-user app, built on Nimiq Pay, that solves real problems for real users and brings those users to the Nimiq protocol. Three sections organize the financial experience, Pay, Save and Earn, and Mini Apps run through all three: small apps, built by us and by the community, that extend what the app can do and work together with the native app and with each other. In these threads we call them Mini Apps, the name the community already knows; in the app itself, users will simply see “Apps”. The real name of the app is deliberately deferred to the redesign and rebrand (Theme Bg); until then we refer to it as The One App.

Who the app is for

We want to compete on superior UX and usability. Crypto wallet UX is still not great: many first-time users quit before their first transaction, seed phrases remain a friction point, fees confuse and trap users (paying fees in a token you don’t hold), and dApps live in isolated frames that are not fully integrated with their host app once closed. We aim to build an app that works very well for payments, lets you hold and grow your assets, and integrates Mini Apps deeply with the native experience. First we focus on people who already use crypto. The non-crypto audience comes later, once the app has a brand of its own (Bg.6).

How this roadmap and the Protocol Roadmap feed each other

Protocol → app. The bridge (Ad.2) is the app’s asset on-ramp. Custom tokens, fee abstraction, stablecoins and wrapped Bitcoin (Ad.1, Ad.3–Ad.5) make Save and Pay real on Nimiq. The DEX and the staking products (Ae.1–Ae.3) make Earn real. Mini Apps native support (Ah.5) is the protocol-side mirror of Theme Bb.

App → protocol. What we observe in the app, which features get used, where Mini Apps fall short, which assets people actually hold, influences the prioritization of the Protocol Roadmap. At the redesign (Bg.5) we decide which features become native and first-class, based on where the Nimiq protocol demonstrably shines.

Wherever a milestone depends on protocol work, its thread ends with a Linked Protocol milestones line pointing to the Protocol Roadmap.

The roadmap

Seven categories, Ba to Bg, each with one thread per milestone. Items are numbered so that Ad.2 always refers to the Protocol Roadmap and Bc.2 to this one.

Seven categories, Ba to Bg, each with one thread per milestone. Items are numbered so that Ad.2 always refers to the Protocol Roadmap and Bc.2 to this one.

• Ba - Core app readiness. The structure, openness and reach of the foundation app.
  • Ba.1 Implement the app shell: Pay / Save / Earn + the global layer
  • Ba.2 Full open-sourcing of the core app
  • Ba.3 Move legally sensitive features out of the core into Mini Apps
  • Ba.4 Evaluate web and desktop versions of Nimiq Pay
  • Ba.5 Testing and bug hunting
• Bb - The Mini App platform. The differentiator: Mini Apps that work with the native app and with each other.
  • Bb.1 Extend framework capabilities, driven by demand
  • Bb.2 Install-after-use
  • Bb.3 One global scanner; Mini Apps register as QR handlers
  • Bb.4 Inter-Mini App and native interaction
  • Bb.5 Global notifications panel for Mini Apps
  • Bb.6 Contextual discovery + catalog
  • Bb.7 Mini Apps as account providers
  • Bb.8 A framework that reaches beyond our app
• Bc - Feature parity with Wallet/CPL. Every Wallet and CPL feature, ported as a Mini App, on the path to one app.
  • Bc.1 Staking Mini App
  • Bc.2 Bitcoin support via Mini App
  • Bc.3 Swap / buy / sell via third-party widgets
  • Bc.4 Payment request links (CPL)
  • Bc.5 Cashlinks
  • Bc.6 Multi-address management
  • Bc.7 The Wallet & CPL fallback options
• Bd - Save & Earn. Holding and growing value, with dashboards other wallets can’t show.
  • Bd.1 Save: the multi-token asset list, value-first
  • Bd.2 Earn: yield Mini Apps + deeply integrated native dashboards
  • Bd.3 Under-the-hood asset decisions
• Be - Pay Section. The payment rails we can build with our own technical work.
  • Be.1 Bitcoin Lightning payments
  • Be.2 Stablecoin payments
  • Be.3 Crypto-to-fiat via existing rails, tech-only
  • Be.4 Instant payment experience
• Bf - Ledger support. Ledger holders must always keep access to their NIM.
  • Bf.1 Decide the Ledger integration path
  • Bf.2 Implement the chosen path
• Bg - The Big Bang. One launch moment instead of a drip of releases.
  • Bg.1 Iterate in wireframe state with user feedback
  • Bg.2 Define the launch bar and timing
  • Bg.3 Full redesign + a new name
  • Bg.4 Full Wallet/CPL fallback option
  • Bg.5 Decide native and first-class features
  • Bg.6 Activate the non-crypto audience

As with the Protocol Roadmap, this is a draft of milestones and their dependencies, not a delivery schedule. Some items are in active development, some are research, and some are longer-term ideas. Plans remain subject to technical validation, security review, available resources and regulatory requirements. When they change, we will explain what changed and why.

How the feedback process works

Each category has its own section, and each milestone has its own thread with a plain-language explanation. Read the ones that interest you, then post your questions, comments and suggestions in the matching thread.

• We will answer every question within approximately one week. Some answers need input from several people on the Apps team, so please bear with us.
• We expect to gather feedback over the next couple of weeks.
• After that, we will use what we learned here to finalize the roadmap. The final version will be announced publicly and added to the Nimiq website.

Skeptics are especially welcome. Direct, thoughtful debate is what makes plans better, so doubts and counter-proposals belong here just as much as questions, as long as they come with reasoning.

Ground rules

• Stay aligned with the core values explained in Beyond the Crypto Label: open source, self-custody, decentralization as a design constraint, permissionless participation, and social impact ahead of profit.
• Comments, questions and suggestions should come with proper reasoning. Explain the “why” behind your point. Negativity for its own sake will not be tolerated.
• Spam, negative behavior, and constantly asking for hype marketing or exchange listings will result in a ban. We said we would not let market noise dominate discussions about the protocol, products and ecosystem, and this is where that starts.

Posting and Trust Level 1

This forum uses trust levels. New members can read existing milestone threads right away. To reply in threads, for example to propose something, you need to reach Trust Level 1. You earn it by using the forum long enough to receive the badge: read topics, spend some time browsing, and it is awarded automatically. If you are new, start by reading and replying, and the ability to open your own threads will follow.

Thank you for taking the time. Let’s build a revolutionary payments app together.

Pura Vida
Team Nimiq