blockpublisher

[amiyatulu]

Project Abstract

Decentralized Publishing of News, Journals, and Books
The advent of blockchain technology has the potential to transform the publishing industry in several ways. By leveraging decentralized networks and cryptographic techniques, blockchain-based publishing solutions can offer a more efficient, transparent, and accessible system for authors, publishers, and readers alike.

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 (project_name.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: @netology:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[amiyatulu]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks for the application @amiyatulu a couple questions:

• How would you overcome some of the downfalls of previous blockchain-based publishing platforms such as Civil? How would your project differ?
• Can you please add some deliverables to the milestones in the form of tables, similar to your previous application?

Thanks!

[amiyatulu]

Hi, @keeganquigley thanks for the reply.

The app is not specifically designed for journalism, unlike Civil but designed for any kind of publishing; it's a common platform for both academic and news publishing, as well as sharing academic content from any sources. The app is more comparable to YouTube and Bluesky, as most journalism is now done on social media, but only users sharing high-quality content that meets the guidelines are monetized, with a 51% approval rate similar to the openGov tipping system.

It's also versatile enough to be used for entertainment content. The FOSS interface can be integrated with other FOSS social media platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky for cross-posting, increasing visibility.

Civil seems to fail due to lack of sustainable business model, also the design. There are mainly two costs for maintenance, developer cost and marketing. As we are situated in India, labour costs are not very high. Average $3000 - $5000 per month can be sufficient for maintenance. OpenGov can provide that support during early stages. Once token value of app rises, it will become self sustainable.

I will update deliverables to the milestones in the form of tables, and get you back.

[amiyatulu]

Hi @keeganquigley I have updated milestone in tabular form.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks for your answers @amiyatulu I won't approve it quite yet but I will mark it as ready for review so the rest of the committee can comment.

[Noc2]

You seem to have removed the Future plans section from the application. I would be interested to learn more about it. Could you potentially add it again?

[amiyatulu]

Hi @Noc2 I have updated the future plans.

[semuelle]

Thank you for the application, @amiyatulu. This is generally an interesting topic I'd be happy to support. My main question about your proposal would be if you have any experience with zero knowledge proofs. You write that you would "develop a ZKP system", but I don't see anything in this regard in your team's portfolio/background. Some details about this proposed system would be nice as well.

[amiyatulu]

@semuelle We will be using risczero. Its pretty straight forward to use without need of use of circuits. An anonymous account creation demo code here, that will be used in shivarthu for secret voting. ZKP are slow for larger computation, so will use it minimal where privacy or secrecy is important.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @amiyatulu question regarding "staking coin management". Is this referring to the escrow mechanism? Or do you plan to allow native staking of the token in addition to the escrow system? Could you maybe flesh this section out a bit?

[amiyatulu]

Ya, allow native staking of the coin, in addition of escrow system.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @amiyatulu what does native staking mean in this case? The DOT would be staked to the network and earn rewards as usual? What is the greater purpose for having the ability to stake on the platform?

[amiyatulu]

Native token I mean, token of the parachain, not DOT. Stake allows earning rewards with which users can buy the article before it is open access, also there are plans in future, some part of the reward is given as interest rates to bring more users.

[keeganquigley]

Do you foresee any challenges in building a Rust front-end instead of React or some other TS framework?

[amiyatulu]

Subxt works seamlessly with the Rust WASM (Leptos) framework for interacting with Substrate chains. Furthermore, one can use JavaScript packages through WASM Bindgen if necessary. Rust crates or packages are growing rapidly to meet almost all needs. Therefore, I don't foresee any challenges in using a Rust-based frontend. It is also easier to train newcomers, as they only need to learn and work with a single language—Rust for substrate and frontend development. The compile-time checks in Rust contribute to a more stable frontend when using the Rust framework.

[keeganquigley]

Could you integrate the use of RiscZero into the deliverables here? That way its basically locked into the contract, and also makes it clear to other evaluators that you are using an existing ZK system instead of creating your own from scratch.

[amiyatulu]

Added RiscZero into deliverables.

[keeganquigley]

What happens on the occasion that the token value doesn't increase? :) Also, what are your plans for the token sale? Please note our guidelines when it comes to on-going token sales.

[amiyatulu]

A minimal token value is required for maintenance, even if it doesn't increase. In worst case with 1% inflation, $1 million trading volume per year can pay a full time developer. It depends on some marketing work. We don't have on-going token sales. Token sale will only be done after the project is ready and tested in testnet.