Grant Application: W3b-Stitch

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Project Abstract

W3b Stitch is a decentralized trust engine designed to provide verifiable authenticity for media, credentials, and identity across digital platforms. By combining blockchain anchoring, verifiable credentials (VCs), and decentralized identifiers (DIDs), the project creates a scalable trust layer for the internet. W3b Stitch enables selective disclosure, privacy-preserving verification, and dynamic trust recalculation, helping organizations and individuals prove authenticity without relying on centralized gatekeepers.

The system is built around modular components: media verification, credential provenance, decentralized identity, and cross-ledger anchoring. Its applications range from journalism and content platforms to compliance, enterprise credentialing, and digital communities. By making verification seamless and interoperable with existing web standards, W3b Stitch reduces misinformation, strengthens reputations, and enables a more trustworthy digital ecosystem. This work was filed with USPTO since July 2025. Any related work that was conceived after that date may lack the robust legal protection we have.

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

[github-actions]

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

[rocketjays-cmyk]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[Noc2]

Thanks a lot for the application and for your interest in our grants program. However, the formatting of your application does not match our template. Could you please take a look at it and update the application accordingly? https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program/blob/master/applications/application-template.md Also, teams need to take at least 50% in vested DOTs.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

@Noc2 Hello, thank you very much for taking the time to review my application. I do apologize for any previous formatting issue. In my most recent commit you should find a properly formatted application. I will be proofreading, and I will add another commit accordingly. You can expect responsiveness requested changes will be addressed ASAP.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

@Noc2 Also I wanted to acknowledge the pay plan for 50 percent vested DOT'S.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Updated project abstract paragraph.

[keeganquigley]

Hi @rocketjays-cmyk the application still contains a lot of boilerplate template text. Can you remove the deliverables in the milestone table and replace with your own? Same goes with milestone 2.

[github-actions]

Thank you for submitting a grant application.

We've assessed your submission and have found that it requires a higher level of technical detail in order to be considered for review. We encourage you to expand on it by providing a more precise specification/technical details. The section on project details in the application template is a good reference as to what type of information we expect applicants to provide, and these category-specific requirements contain more precise guidelines depending on what type of software you're building.

An area of the application that we often find to be insufficiently elaborated are the milestone deliverables. At a minimum, please indicate what languages/technologies you will be using to implement each deliverable, and provide a technical summary of its expected functionality. Note that deliverables should be tangible, reusable by other teams and in most cases not already present in the ecosystem. If they are, you will need to provide a comparison to existing implementations and explain why it makes sense to fund your approach. Also see our FAQ for a breakdown of what we fund and what we don't.

Let us know as soon as you're done with your changes, and we'll give your application another look!

[Noc2]

Thanks for the update. Now you are using some of the template, but you should also fill it out. Example, replace Substrate module: Z, etc.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Hello, @Noc2 and @keeganquigley Thanks once again for taking the time to review my application. I have further revised and elaborated on my past grant file. Let me know of any other information you find missing I'll try my best to get it right. I have filled the chart as requested.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

In the meantime, ill proofread and review all knowledge available to the program again. To make sure I am fully grasping the scope.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Updated even further for better clarification. Added another commit better organizing milestones and added a tech stack graph. Hopefully these updates make it more uniform/compliant. @Noc2 @keeganquigley newest draft update 4.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @rocketjays-cmyk looks much better. I will mark as ready for review and ping the rest of the committee. In the meantime, can you please explain more about how this project relates to IP blockchain networks in other ecosystems? For example Story is gaining significant traction on Ethereum for their Programmable IP License (PIL).

Would you also be creating infra for programmable IP and royalty management system or would your project be closer to Bernstein where the focus is only on creating cryptographic hashes to anchor to the blockchain?

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Thank you, @keeganquigley I'm super glad I was able to provide a much better app. To touch on your question W3b Stitch positions itself between projects like Story and Bernstein by combining the strengths of both while addressing their limitations. Where Story is advancing programmable IP licensing within Ethereum, and Bernstein focuses on anchoring cryptographic proofs for intellectual property, W3b Stitch takes a broader, cross-chain approach. We provide the same foundational anchoring of authenticity as Bernstein, but extend it with modular trust workflows that can also support attribution, licensing, and verification across multiple ecosystems. At the same time, we are not limited to one domain like Story, but instead aim to serve media, credentials, and IP alike, giving creators and institutions a flexible trust layer that adapts to many use cases. So to put plainly w3b stitch is much more broad but does combine the strengths of other infrastructure in a novel way.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

I have created a new repo called W3b-Stitch-Dot. Will be used for the MVP of the project so it can be streamlined. Adding details and code to it actively.

[diogo-w3f]

@rocketjays-cmyk Thanks for the grant application. I have a few quick questions:

• What is your team’s software development experience? Any prior work on GitHub or other repos, or professionally shipped software? How do you plan to structure development and delivery?
• Are you aware of KILT and other DID/VC protocols in the Polkadot ecosystem? Do you plan to integrate with them (issuance, verification, revocation)?
• Polkadot plans to add native EVM compatibility, which could enable EVM IP protocols (e.g., Story and Bernstein) to run on Polkadot. How do you view this, opportunity or competition? Any integration/synergy plan?
• What is your go‑to‑market strategy and business model? How will you monetize and make this sustainable long‑term?

Thanks!

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Hello, thank you very much for these questions @diogo-w3f.
Team’s software development experience & delivery structure:
I am the lead developer and have built the current MVP of W3b Stitch (repo: https://github.com/rocketjays-cmyk/W3b-Stitch-DOT. My background is in full-stack development, with experience deploying web and blockchain applications using frameworks like Next.js, NestJS, and Substrate. The MVP already demonstrates anchoring on Westend with JSON receipts and verification via Subscan. Going forward, development will follow an agile, milestone-based approach: clean up and harden the MVP, add automated testing and CI/CD pipelines, and then expand functionality in iterative releases. While I am currently building mostly solo, the project is designed with modular code structure to allow easy onboarding of collaborators as it scales. I am also participating in hackathons, and other programs. Have drawn the provisional patent for the project. That being said I’m in heavy contact with community members, and have someone working on an Ai onboarding service.

Awareness of KILT / DID-VC protocols?
Yes, I am familiar with KILT and related DID/VC standards within the Polkadot ecosystem. W3b Stitch is intended to complement these projects rather than compete. The system focuses on trust anchoring — hashing and immutably recording proof of authenticity — while DID protocols like KILT handle identity, issuance, and revocation. Integration is part of the roadmap: anchoring DID-linked credentials, supporting verification of KILT-issued claims, and adding revocation hooks to ensure lifecycle integrity..

Native EVM compatibility (Story, Bernstein, etc.):
I view Polkadot’s upcoming native EVM support as a major opportunity. Projects like Story and Bernstein show demand for IP anchoring in EVM environments. By supporting native EVM, Polkadot allows W3b Stitch to bridge both Substrate and Ethereum ecosystems. My plan is to build interoperability: enabling users to anchor and verify across Polkadot-native EVM and other chains, rather than siloing functionality. This makes W3b Stitch a “glue layer” for provenance, not just another chain-specific tool.

Go-to-market strategy & business model:
In the short term, W3b Stitch will provide a free public verification portal and SDK to encourage adoption and community trust. Medium-term, the focus is a SaaS/API model for organizations (universities, publishers, startups) that need credential and document verification at scale. Long-term, I envision a marketplace and integration hub connecting DID providers, IP anchoring systems, and enterprises, with monetization through API subscriptions, enterprise integrations, and partnerships. The strategy is to grow adoption first with open tools, then scale into sustainable enterprise offerings, supported by additional grants.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Hello friends, @keeganquigley @diogo-w3f @Noc2. I have updated my application further, enclosed you should find a starkly different app ui just under overview header. This update aims to show progress has been made during this period. Our free onboarding service is also getting closer to completion.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

W3b stitch now lives at app.w3bstitch.com . The repository has a fully functioning production build.

[semuelle]

Hi @rocketjays-cmyk, thank you for your application. I'm curious what your plan with the pallet is. Historically, I would say we have not had much success of getting existing parachains to integrate pallets developed by third parties, and running your own parachain might be a bit overkill for the application. Have you considered implementing the functionality as smart contracts? We have the ink! ecosystem, and it's also possible to deploy Solidity smart contracts.

[rocketjays-cmyk]

Hello, @semuelle i want to thank you for your feedback it is very valuable. I am working on setting up ink smart contract as we speak. I am making great progress with switching over to that system. My goal is to satisfy whatever is necessary for adoption, so that we can be successful. I will update you all once I have fully switched to ink.