Overview
Onboard.Ninja is a free platform that lets event organizers hand out Cardano tokens through scannable QR-code cards. An attendee scans the card with a phone wallet, approves the claim, and the token lands directly in their account1. The product is in public beta and built on Proof of Onboarding, an open standard for distributing tokens at in-person events without paper seed phrases2.
The platform was built by Adam Dean, who introduced the Proof of Onboarding standard (also known as CIP-99) in 2023 to give projects a safer way to greet new users at conferences and meetups3. Cardano Catalyst Fund 13 awarded follow-on funding to Onboard.Ninja to turn the standard into a hosted, self-serve platform that projects can use without writing code3. The attendee's wallet stays on their own phone, which means they hold their own keys rather than relying on the event organizer to safeguard funds.
Key Features
- Pre-printed claim cards. Each attendee gets a physical or digital card with a unique QR code. They scan it from a wallet app and the token claim runs straight into their account, with no seed phrase to copy or paper wallet to load1.
- Works with mobile wallets people already use. Supported claim flows cover four self-custody Cardano wallets, where you hold your own keys: VESPR, Begin, Yoroi, and Tokeo. Attendees can install whichever they prefer at the event4.
- Tokens or NFTs. Organizers can hand out the same token to every attendee (a memento, a discount voucher) or unique NFTs for collectibles and proof-of-attendance use cases3.
- Built on a public protocol. The underlying Proof of Onboarding code, including a test server, a wallet integration library, and the QR-code generator, is published openly on GitHub under a Creative Commons license, so other teams can self-host or extend it2.
- Organizer-facing campaign tools. The hosted product handles automated wallet creation, multi-campaign management, code and QR generation, and claims reporting, so an organizer can run an airdrop (a free token distribution to attendees) without writing scripts3.
What to Expect
If you are an attendee at an event using Onboard.Ninja, the experience is built around your phone. You install one of the supported Cardano wallets (VESPR, Begin, Yoroi, or Tokeo), set it up, save your recovery phrase, then point your phone's camera at the QR code on the card you were handed. The wallet recognizes the claim and pulls in the token. Onboard.Ninja never sees or stores your recovery phrase, so the wallet stays on your device.
If you are an event organizer or project team, the path is to email the team for a demo or try the public beta at beta.onbd.io. The hosted product is still maturing under Project Catalyst milestones, so expect to coordinate directly with the team on token supply, card design, and claim windows. The work is open-source, which means a more technical team can also self-host using the public code repository if they want full control2.
Onboard.Ninja supports Cardano only. The Catalyst proposal lists post-launch milestones for desktop claim support, expanded integrations with other apps, and broader documentation, so the product is still evolving toward a self-serve experience3.
