decentralized blockchain platform to crowdsource and ... · decentralized blockchain platform to...
TRANSCRIPT
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DecentralizedBlockchainPlatformtoCrowdsourceandCrowdfundHumanitarianInvestigations
August2019
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AbstractGotEMisadecentralizedblockchainplatformtosearch,sourceandfundspecificmissionstomeettheobjectivesofourglobaldefense,securityindustry&humanitarianefforts.Itempowersindividuals,communities,industries&statesallovertheworld.Byallowinguserstodiscover,access,hireinvestigatorsorsecurityforaspecificmissionandfundthemtoexecutethemissionandbringoutthedesiredoutcomes.FundsforcasesandmissionscanbecrowdfundedandPrivatecontractorscanapplytotakeoncasesormissions.Contributorstomissionswillutilizeavotingsystemtodecidewhichcontractortouse.UnethicalandIrrelevantmissionsnaturallydrawlessincentivefromcontractorsthepublic.Votingandratingsystemsdemocratizestheeecosystem.Duetothelargediscrepancyandlackingofrecourse,theplatformwouldacttoinsureprotectionandsafetythroughadecentralizedpeer-to-peerplatformthatallowscrowdfunding,votingandstaking.
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TableofContentsIntroduction
Genesis
PlatformUse-caseAGrowingMarketDemand
CyberSecurityPrivateInvestigationsHumanitarianPrivateSecurity
CurrentMarketDeficienciesTheMarketTheCustomerMarketInadequaciesMarketOpportunity
MarketSolutionBlockchainMarketplaceUsecaseexample:OpenbazaarBlockchaintoeliminatefraudulentchargebacks
UsingthePlatformUploadingtheMissionCrowdsourcedCase-fundingCrowd-basedvoting Selectingacontractor ReviewingMilestones Releasingfundsinescrow
ContributorvotingforcontractorAcceptanceOfferandDeliverablesExecutingtheSmartContractRetainerMaximumsReputationsontheblockchain
MarketplaceEcosystem DetectiveandCyber-InvestigatorNetwork PrivateSecurityNetworkPlatformTechnologies
BlockchainSmartContractsPaymentsandEscrowReputationManagement
TokenUtility GTXToken
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IntroductionThebirthoftheInternetresultedinaglobalizedworld.Adigitalrevolutionthatevenedtheplayingfield.Information,communication,andhumannetworking,alldemocratized.Theaccessofinformationandcommunicationhasneverbeencheaperorconvenient.ConvenienceandqualityoflifehaveallgrownwiththeaidoftechnologyandtheInternet.Though,theInternethasresultedinadouble-edgedsword.Convenienceandknowledgegrewexponentiallyonaglobalscale,whileontheotherhand,we’vewitnessedanunprecedentedgrowthincrimeandfraud.TheevergrowingdecentralizednatureoftheInternetandtheTORnetworkhavemadeitincreasinglydifficultforpeopleandgovernmentstopursuedigitalcrimessuchasdigitaltheft,identitytheft,digitalmoney-laundering,andallformsofillicithacking.Theworldneedsasystemofchecksandbalances--anetworkwhichthegeneralpopulouscanrelyontoeventheplayingfield.GotEMssolegoalistobecomeaplatformfortalentedwhitehathackers,privatedetectives,andprivatesecurityforcescanplayaroleinpreventingfuturecrimesorsolvingsimpletocomplicatedcasesfromallovertheworld.Theplatformwouldactasasafemediumforthegeneralpopulationtocontractafreelancingspecialisttoassistwiththeircaseormission.
GotEMsOriginGotEMwaspreviouslyastartupcalledMeetMySpy.Foundedin2015asaglobalmarketplacetoconvenientlycontractprivateinvestigatorsandprivatesecurity.Theplatformgeneratedorganictrafficandtractionwiththousandsofsignupsfromdetectivesinovereightycountries.Thousandsofrealcasessubmittedbypeoplefromover60countries.
PlatformUse-caseUsetheGotEMplatformtoposturgentcasesrelatedtoprivateinvestigations,defense,cybersecurity,andhumanitarianaid.Thesiteallowsforanyonetosearchforandhireprivateinvestigators,privatesecurity,andcyberdetectivesfromallovertheworldremotely.Ordinarypeopleandlicensedinvestigatorsarealsoabletoprovideinvestigationservicesorassistinfindinginformationorsolvingproblems.AnyonewithadequatetoextensiveInternetresearchingskillswillfindthattheycanhelptosolvemanyproblemsthatpeoplehave,astherearepeopleallovertheworldinneedofparticularinformationaboutaperson,organization,ortangiblegood
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GrowingDemandforPrivateInvestigationsandSecurityTheMarketThedemandforprivateinvestigatorsandsecurityhasneverbeengreater,astheInternethasglobalizedtheworldbylevelingtheplayingfieldandmakingiteasytoconnectwithanyoneintheworld.TheInternethasmadeitincrediblyeasytomeetpeople,butthisconveniencehasmadeiteasyforpeoplewithmaliciousintentionstoharmpeopleallovertheworld.Cyber-hacking,digitalblackmail,catfishing,onlineimpersonation,digitalfraudandthefthasneverbeeneasierwithconvenienceoftheInternet.Therearenocurrentaffordableandaccessiblesafeguardsforsuchthreats.
Privateinvestigatorsareknownfortakingridiculousretainersupfrontranginginthethousands.Moreover,theymakenopromiseofobtainingresults.ThereisastandardpracticefromDetectivestorequireanon-refundableretainerpriortobeginninganinvestigation.Aclientwouldbeoutofluckintheeventacasegetscompletedornot.Thedemandforprivateinvestigationsisgrowingatanexponentialpace,andiscurrentlyoneofthefastestgrowingindustriesintheworld.Eventhoughthereisagrowingdemand,therearecurrentlynoaffordablechannelstomeetthisdemand.CyberSecurityPrivateInvestigationsHumanitarianPrivateSecurityTheUserHiringaprivatedetectiveisriskybusiness,asmanysecuritycontractorsmakeemptypromisespriortobeginningacase.Itistimeconsumingtocontactanddiscusswithaninvestigator,andmanywillrequireyouvisittheminpersonforalengthydiscussionregardingyourcase.Afterdivulgingprivateinformationtosaiddetective,wouldyouthenbequotedaballparkfigureofwhatyourinvestigationwillcost.Typically,you’llberequiredtoplacedownnon-refundabledeposits.Industrystandarddepositsaveragebetweenone-thousandstofive-thousanddollars,alongwithastandardhourlyrate,rangingfromaslowasfiftyhourlytoupwardsoftwo-hundred-fiftydollarsperhour.Manyindividualshavebeenburnedbydetectives,asresultsareneverguaranteedanddepositsaregenerallynon-refundable.DuetohighentrycoststohireaDetective,couplewiththegeneralperceptionofdetectives,thegeneralpublicfindsithardtofindadetectivetheycantrust.
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MarketInadequaciesPrivateInvestigationsareexpensive.Man-hoursareneededtoconductmundanein-personsurveillance,investigativeskillsetsandlargeandprivatedatabasesareusedextensivelybyinvestigators.Therearetimeswhereitcanbedifficulttoquoteacase,asthenumberofhoursneededtocompleteaninvestigationcanbeindefinite.PricingamongstinvestigatorsthroughouttheworldarehighlyunbalancedanddonotfollowaproductivepricingequationinrelationtoacountriesGDP.Researchhasfoundthatregardlessofwhichcountry,therearedetectivescharginganywherefrom$50to$250hourlyonaverage.Manyhavedetectivesasrequireahighdepositminimum,whichdiscouragesconsumersfrommovingforwardwithadetective.Detectivesrequirelargedepositsbecausethereisacommonmistrustbetweenboththedetectiveandconsumer.Thedetectivesareafraidthatclientswillnotpayiftheresultsdonotfallintheirclientsfavor,andsometimesitcanbehardtodeterminetheendresultofaninvestigation.Consumersfindithardtofindadetectivetheycantrust,asmajorityofcasesareurgent,anditcanbedifficulttodeterminewhichdetectiveisbestforyourcase,asidefromgoingoffofintuitionorgut-feelingofadetectivetheyinterview.MarketSolutionAreformoftheinvestigationsindustryisneeded.Whereagovernedglobalmarketplaceutilizingpublicledgerandblockchaintechnologycanfacilitateandregulatepayments,deliverables,andreputationsofcontractors.Thismediumwouldallowforuserstouploadretainersandpaymentssotodemonstratetrustbetweenthemandtheircontractor.Ontheotherhand,theexchangewouldactasamediumtoinsurethataDetectivelivesuptotheirpromiseddeliverables.Byallowingdepositstobeuploadedtotheblockchainviaescrow,itwouldenableaSmartContractbetweentheuseranddetective.Oncesaiddeliverableshavebeenaccomplished,thedetectivecancheckofftheboxandsubmitevidencetohaveportionsoftheescrowreleased.Ratingsandreviewsbyuserswouldaidintheproficiencyofthedetectivenetworkinthelongterm.OpenBazaarasaUseCaseOpenBazaarisadecentralizede-commerceplatformwhereonecanbuyorsellgoodsoveritsplatform.UsersarenotanonymousontheplatforminOpenBazaarsnetworkrecordseachusersIPaddress1.Anodecanbeabuyerseller,ormoderator.ItusesaKademlia-styledistributedhashtabledatastructure.Asellermusthostanodeandkeepitrunninginordertomakeitemsvisibleonthenetwork.Thismethodpreventsaccountspammingbyusingtheproof-of-workconsensusprotocol.Italsopreventsratingsandreviewspambyutilizingproof-of-burn,CHECKLOKTIMEVERIFY,andsecuritydepositconsensusprotocols.2BuyersandsellersuseBitcoinasitsformofcurrencyontheplatform.Abuyercanaddamoderatorwhilemakingapurchase.Themoderatorisresponsibleforresolvingadisputeifanythinghappensbetweenthebuyerandtheseller.Anyonecanbeamoderatorinthenetwork.Moderatorsearncommissionbyresolvingdisputes.
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenBazaar
2Prusty,Narayan(2017-04-27).BuildingBlockchainProjects.PacktPublishingLtd.ISBN9781787125339.
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SubmittingaMissionHiringadetectiveusedtobeahitormiss.You’dfindadetectivebyarecommendationorgeneralsearchontheInternet.Afterpayingyourdetectiveaheftnon-refundabledeposit,thefateofyourcasewouldbeleftinthehandsofthedetective.Moreoftenthannot,adetectivewouldrequireadditionalpaymentformorehoursneededtocompletetheinvestigation.Andasalways,resultsarenotguaranteedbyyourdetective.ThatchangeswiththeGotEMplatform.Userssubmittheircasetothesite,andbasedonyourbudgetandrequirementsofyourinvestigation,you’dbematchedwithasuitabledetectivethroughtheplatform.Afteragreeingtoacounterquotefromyourdetective,youcanchoosetoacceptandthenuploadfundstotheescrowviatheblockchain,whichwouldenableaSmartContractbetweentheuseranddetective.TheHiringProcessUploadingyourcase
Submityourcasedetails,suchasthetypeofcaseitis,thelocation,yourgeneralbudget,andwhatyouwouldlikeyourinvestigatortoachieveduringtheinvestigation.
Contributor-votingforContractorBasedonyourrequirements,amatchingalgorithmwillmatchyouwiththemostsuitabledetectiveinrelationtoyourcaselocation,budget,andexperiencerequirements.
AcceptanceOfferYourDetectivewillreplywithasetupdeliverablesandtermsforyoutoagreeto.Reviseandcometoagreementstothetermspriortobeginningthecase.
LoadingFundsUploadthebalanceofyourcaseusingyourdebitorcreditcard.FundswillbebeheldinescrowandconvertedtoGTXtokens.Theplatformallowsamaximumof20%ofyourcasebalancetobeadvancedtoyourdetectivetocovercosts.Remainingpayoutsareonlyreleasedwhendeliverablesatmetbyyourassigneddetective.
ExecutingSmartContractAfterfundshavebeenloaded.FundswillbeconvertedtoGTXtokenstoexecuteaSmartContractontheEthereumblockchain.TheSmartContractwillinsurethatyourdetectivesubmitsevidenceperdeliverablepriortoreleasingoffunds.Onceyou’vereceivedevidencepermilestone,you’llbeabletouseacheckboxtoreleasefundsinrelationtodeliverablesfromyourDetective.
ReputationSystemWhentheinvestigationconcludes,you’llbegiventheoptiontoleavearatingandreviewofyourDetectivesperformance.Yourreviewandratingwillhelptobuildastrongerdetectivenetworkandinsurethatcontractorsontheplatformare
CrowdfundingaMissionUsershavetheoptiontoselffundacaseaswellasopttopulladditionalfundingbyinitiatingcrowdfunding.Usersintheecosystemcanfundamissiontillitsreachesitstargetamount.Allparticipantsinacasewillhavevotingrightstoselectwhichcontractor(s)aretopartakeinthemission,whethertoapproveadisapprovemilestonesreached,andwhetherornottoreleasefundsinescrow.SubmittingBidstoMissionsContractorscansubmitbidstoexistingcasesandmissionswithintheecosystem.Contractorswillhaveageneralratingthatallowsforuserstodeterminetheirsuccessrateandexperiencelevel.
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PlatformEcosystemTheecosystemwillconsistofanetworkofcybersecurityspecialists,privateinvestigators,andprivatesecurityfromalargevarietyofcountries.Privateinvestigatorsandprivatesecuritywillberequiredtoholdlicensesincountriesthathavelicensingrequirementsandregulations.Forcountriesthathavelittletonoregulationsfortheindustry,theGotEMplatformwillactasaregulatorforcontractorswithinthosecountries.ThedecentralizednatureoftheplatformwouldutilizetheGTXtokenforpaymentsandforexecutingSmartContractsbetweentheuserandcontractor.Ratingsandreviewswouldremainpermanentandtamper-proofonEthereumsblockchain.
PlatformsTechnologyStack
GotEMsback-endforpayments,escrow,smartcontractsandreputationsystemwillutilizetheEthereumblockchain.Smartcontractsontheplatformallowuserstomanageagreementsbetweenuserswhoutilizeacontractor’sservices.Reviewsandfeedbackwouldbestoredonthetamperproofblockchaintomaintainthereputationofthedetectivesonthenetwork.Blockchain-basedMarketplace
Marketplacescantrulybenefitfromthepowerofblockchainasit’sbuildtocreatetrustandtransparency.Oneofthebestthingsabouttheblockchainisthat,becauseitisadecentralizedsystemthatexistsbetweenallpermittedparties,there’snoneedtopayintermediaries(Middlemen)anditsavesyoutimeandconflict.Blockchainshavetheirproblems,buttheyarerated,undeniably,faster,cheaper,andmoresecurethantraditionalsystems,whichiswhybanksandgovernmentsareturningtothem.Backendforpayments,escrows,SmartContracts,andreputationmanagementutilizeEthereumblockchain.Ethereumisanopensoftwareplatformbasedonblockchaintechnologythatenablesdeveloperstobuildanddeploydecentralizedapplications.Ethereumsdistributedpublicblockchainnetworkiscompletelydecentralized,whichsuitswellwiththedecentralizedpeer-to-peervisionthatGotEMisaimingtoachieve.
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SmartContractTechnologyDigitallysignedsmartcontracts.Contractsareunbreakable.Nointermediariesrequired,assmartcontractsareexecutedautomatically.ASChasastate–permanentlystoredinBlockchainstoragevariables.ThemaincharacteristicoftheSCsisthattheyruninanisolatedenvironment.Theprogramresultsmustbethesamewhat-evernodetheyrunin,so,theycannotaccesstheexternalworld(thatchangeswithtime);theycanonlyaccessandsendmessagestotheBlockchainitself(thatisimmutable)3.Onthecontrary,computerprogramscontinuouslyinteractwiththeexternalworld.Moreover,onceaSCisdeployedontheBlockchain,itisthereforever–itcannotbeundoneorerased.Herewepresentasimplifiedversionofthevotingsystem,asanexampleofthefirststepsoftheproposedprocess:Step1.Goalofthesystem.Tomanageremotevotingincorporateassemblies,includingverificationofthelegalnumber,andproxydelegationmanagementStep2.Actors.Thesystemhasbasicallytwoactors:Corporateadministrator:managesthesystem,managestheshareholdersandtheirshares,convenesassemblies,callsforvoting.Shareholder:participatestoassemblies,castshisvotes,delegatesparticipationtoanassemblytoanothershareholder.
Step3.UserStories.Fig.3showstheactorsandtheUSstheyareinvolvedin,usingaUMLUseCasediagram,wheretheusecasesareinfactUSs.NotethattheseUSsjustspecifythevotingsystem,anddonotdependonthespecifictechnologyusedtoimplementit.TheywouldberightalsoiftheimplementationdidnotuseaBlockchain. 3MicheleMarchesi,LodovicaMarchesi,RobertoTonelli,AnAgileSoftwareEngineeringMethodtoDesignBlockchainApplications,Oct2018. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1809/1809.09596.pdf
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Peer-to-peerVoting Votinghascurrentlyremainedthepopularwaytoarriveatagroupdecision-making.Simplevotecountingmakesiteasiertousethemajoritytoascertainresult.Itisverysimpletounderstandandimplementthisparticularscheme,buttheconcerniswhetherthemostimportantthingisdoneinthemostsuitablemanner.Thisincludesthefactthatthemainpurposeofthedecision-makingschemeofagroupistodiscovertheresultthatissatisfactorytotheentiregroup.Practically,issuesoccurduetothefactthatonlyfewgroupmembersarepartofthedecisionmakingofthegroup,especiallywhenavoteiscast.Theperspectiveofthissmallerpartisresponsiblefordecisionsorageneralpreferenceonthebasisoftheirvalues,eveniftheyarenotawareofthemostsuitableoptionfortheirvalues.Thisisusuallycausedbylittleornoknowledgeandtimerequiredforaninformeddecisiontobemade.
DelegativeDemocracy4isanidea,ratherthananimplementedsystem,proposedbyBryanFord.Thissystemoffersvotersthechoiceofbeinganactivedelegateorapassivedelegator.Inthefirstcase,theyexercisetheirvotingpowerontheirown,alongwithanydelegatedtothem.Inthesecondcase,theyselectoneotherpersontowhomtheydelegatetheirfullvotingpower.Thesystememphasizesexerciseofvotingstrengthratherthanthecurrentparadigmofwinningorlosingaseat.Eachpersonisinitiallygiventhesamevotingweight,andthefinaldistributionofweightsformembersofthepopulationdependsuponthetrustnetwork.Itisunderstoodthattheprivacyofnon-voting(delegating)individualsisprotectedbythissystemsothattheycannotbecoercedintogivingtheirvotetoparticulardelegatesandthattheprivacyofvoting(delegated)individualsiswaivedsuchthattheyareheldaccountabletothosewhosevotingpowertheyhold.
AVotingSystemforInternet-BasedDemocracy(LiquidDemocracy)
LiquidDemocracy5focusesonaniterativevotingsysteminwhichvoterscanchangetheirvotesatanytimeinordertoshowtheirapprovalordisapprovalofanideaorpolicy.Thissystemisbaseduponasocialgame(i.e.,theprisoner’sdilemma)inwhichvotersidentifythemselvesaspartofthegroupornot.Votingisperformedwithtransitivedelegation(whichisdomain-insensitive),butisresolvedasaseriesofvotingvectors.Apersonhasatotalof+votingpower,butcanassign−1or+1toallmeasuresbeingvotedupon(suchthatthesumofallvotestotalsto+1),andthevotingisarbitratedinordertoensuremaximumhappinessforthegroupbaseduponallvotingvectors.
4BryanFord.DelegativeDemocracy.2002.5StefanDirnstorfer.AVotingSystemforInternetBasedDemocracy.2010.
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Peer-to-peervotingscheme
Indesigningourschemeweapproachedtheissuefromtheotherdirection.Weseevotingasexpressingtheopinionsofpeople.Whennoteverybodyvotes,thequestioniswhataretheopinionsofnon-votersandhowcanweincludetheseopinionsinthefinalresult.Currently,incommonly-usedvotingschemestheiropinionsaresimplydiscarded.Weapproachedtheissuefromamachinelearningperspective,seeingthisasapredictionproblem.Wehaveasetofknownvalues(votes)andwouldliketoinfertheunknownvalues(non-voteropinions)fromthem.Whendecidingwhichdatatousewedecidedtousesocialnetworkandtrustrelationshipsbetweenpeople.Thisisbasedonouranecdotalobservationsthatpeopletendtoasktheirfriendshowtovotewhentheythemselvesdonothaveafirmopiniononanissue.Inourscheme,weformalizethisandmakeitexplicit,thussimplifyingandstreamliningtheprocess,makingitscalableandlesstime-consuming.6
Wepresentsomeexamples.Wehavethreemembers,Alice,BobandCathy.Alicecandecidetodelegatelikethis:
(Alice,∗)
Thisisadefaultwhichmeanshervotecountsonlyifshecastsavote.
(Alice,∗),(Bob,0.4),(Cathy,0.6)
IfAlicedoesnotcastavote,hervoteisinferred0.4fromBoband0.6fromCathy.Ifshecastsavote,onlyhervotecounts.
(Alice,0.9),(Bob,0.04),(Cathy,0.06)
Ifshecastsavote,then0.9ofhervoteiscounted,butstill0.04and0.06isinferredfromBobandCathy,respectively.Ifshedoesnotcastavote,thenhervoteisinferredfromBobandCathyin0.4and0.6shares.
Theseweighteddelegationedgesdefinea(social)networkbetweenmemberswhichisakindof“weboftrust”or“trustnetwork”.Wecanseeitasadirectedgraphbetween(hopefully)everybody.Wecallthisa“delegationnetwork”7.
6https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Peer-to-Peer_Voting_Scheme7https://mitar.tnode.com/post/73983101095/peer-to-peer-voting-scheme
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Whenadecisionisneeded,votesarecast.Thisisthesecondstageoftheprocess.Thisisdoneinanymannersettledonbythemembersandcanbethesameasintraditionalvoting.But,itisnotrequiredthateverybodycastsavoteandmissingvotesarenotsimplydiscarded.Forthosewhodonotcastavote,theirvoteisinferred.Thisisdonetransitively.Sointhefinalexampleabove,ifBobdoesnotcastavote,thenBob’s0.4shareofAlice’svoteisinferredfromBob’sowndelegations.InthecasethatnoneofBob’sdelegates(transitively)castsavote,thenAlice’svoteiswhollyinferredfromCathy’svote.
EthereumDLTVotingSystemVotingonDistributedLedgerTechnology(DLT),orblockchain,providesaninfrastructurethatcanfacilitatetrustlessandsecuretransactions,orvotes,onanetworkthatuserscanreachanywhere.Tocreatesuchadecentralizedvotingapplicationthatreachespeople,wewanttoleverageanexistingblockchainnetworkthatpeoplecanreachwithouttherequirementofbecomingablockchainnode.Ethereumprovidestoolstoaccessblockchainnodeswithouttheuserbecominganode,specificallytheMetaMaskbrowserplugin8.
EthereumFeaturesEthereumcaterstoavarietyofdifferentusecasesbyassessingthecomputationalpoweroftransactionsviagas,awaytoaccuratelydefinethecostofvariousandcomplextransactionsoccurringonthenetwork.GasismeasuredinGwei,whichyoucanthinkofasanano-Ether,or10-9ETH[2].Thisallowsthenetworktocalculatetransactioncostsatanano-Etheraccuratelevel.Forourvotingplatform,thismeansourtransactionsareeligibletobereflectedinablockviagas.TheEthereumVirtualMachineanditssupportofSmartContractsbuiltonSolidityallowustofulfillthefullstackdecentralizedapplicationwedesire.ThisnetworkisahavenfordAppdevelopersenteringintothenewageWeb3.0.9
8https://srs.tcu.edu/media/uploads/2018/COSC2018REDDICK19284.pdf9https://mitar.tnode.com/post/73983101095/peer-to-peer-voting-scheme
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PaymentsandEscrow
Usinglocalethereum.com,anordinarytradeworkslikethis:
1. Thebuyerandsellerconfirmandagreeonthetermsofthetrade.2. Thesellerplacestheetherintothesmartcontract(withoneclick).Thisprovidesproof-of-fundsandallows
foramuchsafertrade.3. Thebuyermakespaymentdirectlytotheseller.4. Either:
a. Thesellersuccessfullyconfirmsthepayment,andreleasestheescrow.Tradecomplete!b. Apartyraisesadispute,andbringsinathird-partyarbitrator,givingthemthekeystodecryptthe
messagesandworkwithbothpartiestomakearesolution.
Everyescrowfirstrequiresasignedinvitationfromlocalethereum.com,whichisjusttokeepthecontractclean.Thesellercanrequestoneofthesesignaturesfromlocalethereum.com’sAPIwhenthey’rereadytoplacetheiretherinescrow.Thetemporaryinvitationcontainsasignatureofthetrade’sproperties,including:
1. Thebuyer’saddressusedtointeractwiththeescrowandreceivefunds2. Theseller’saddressusedtointeractwiththeescrow,andreceivereturnedetherincaseofacancellation3. Thesizeofthetradeinether4. Localethereum.com’spercentage5. Thepaymentwindowinseconds(exceptforcashtrades)
CreatinganescrowrequiresmakingacalltotheexternalcreateEscrowfunctionwiththeseparametersandthesignedinvitation,andpayingthefullbalanceup-front.Thefunctioncanbecalledfromanyaddress—theetherdoesn’thavetobesentfromthesameaddressastheseller,andittypicallyisn’t.Wemakefundingeasybylettingsellerschoosetousetheirencryptedin-browserwalletwithone-click,butthereisalsotheoptiontosimplycopythenecessarydatavaluetoinitiatetheescrowfromanexternalwallet.10
Thesmartcontractallowsuserstosafelyexchangeetherwithoneanother,andtonameatrustedthird-partytomediateatradeifadisputearises.Currently,thetrustedmediatorisalwayslocalethereum.com,butthecontract
10https://blog.localethereum.com/how-our-escrow-smart-contract-works/
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willbeadaptedinthefuturetoswitchovertoareputation-baseddistributedarbitratorpool.Thispostgoesoverthefirstversionofoursmartcontract,whichweexpecttobereplacedoneday.Paymentsareinstantanddon’trequireanyintermediary.
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ReputationManagement-InkProtocol
Dataisimmutable,soitcan’tbedeletedorchanged.Validationbynetworkpreventsfraud.DuetoInkProtocol’sdecentralizednature,sellerscanbringtheirreputationwiththemtosellonmultiplemarketplacesatthesametimeormovefromonetoanotherwithouthavingtorebuildtheirreputation.Thisisagreatbenefitcomparedtocentralizedmarketplaces.
InkProtocolisprovidingbothaprotocolfordecentralizedreputationsbutalsoforpayments.So,itcomeswithbuildinescrowcontractsinordertoconfidentiallypayafterreceivingthedesiredgoods.
Thereputationsystemitselfusesproofofpayment.AftereverycompletedInktransaction,thebuyercanleavefeedbackfortheselleraboutthecompletedtransaction.Feedbackconsistsofaratingandacommentaboutthetransaction,whicharestoredasdataontheEthereumblockchain.ThefeedbackentryreferencestheidofthetransactionthatthesellerwasinvolvedinandcanbeseenbyanyonewithaccesstothepublicEthereumblockchainandInkSmartContract11.Anypersonormarketplacewillthenbeabletolookupthefeedbackhistoryforaspecificsellertodeterminetheirtrustworthinessbeforechoosingtobuyfromthatseller.
11 https://cryptopotato.com/ink-protocol-decentralized-reputation-payments-p2p-marketplaces/
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GotEMTokenUtilityTheGTXtokenwillbeusedtoaccessGotEM’sfutureservicesonitsplatform.Servicesincludeprivateinvestigations,cyberinvestigations,privatesecurity,cybersecurity,andgeneralinvestigativeservicesprovidedbycontractors,freelancers,andsecuritygroupsontheplatform.TheutilityofthetokenbeingthatitisusedtoexecuteaSmartContractbetweentheuserandcontractor.GTXTokenThenatureoftheGTXTokensistwofold:theyareutilitytokenthatcanbeusedtobuypremiumservicesandhiretalent,andtheyarealsorewardtokensthatincentivizescommunitymembersforusingandgrowingtheplatform.TokensareonlyvaluableinthesensethattheyarerequiredtoaccessandusetheservicesofferedbytheGotEMplatform.
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