diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6985cf1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Generated by Cargo
+# will have compiled files and executables
+debug/
+target/
+
+# Remove Cargo.lock from gitignore if creating an executable, leave it for libraries
+# More information here https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/guide/cargo-toml-vs-cargo-lock.html
+Cargo.lock
+
+# These are backup files generated by rustfmt
+**/*.rs.bk
+
+# MSVC Windows builds of rustc generate these, which store debugging information
+*.pdb
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bade2acc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# validator-bonds
+Monorepository for Validator Bonds product