NFTs counterfeit or plagiarized NFTs are a serious and growing problem. The developers of the proposal reported that in January, Opensea.io, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, admitted that more than 80% of the NFTs minted with its free minting service “were plagiarized works, fake collections, and spam.“.
ArgusNFT is an AI-powered counterfeit NFT detection protocol created to address this issue. Its core protocol employs artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to verify the minting history of NFTs, providing stakeholders with the information they need to determine whether an NFT is an original or a copy.
It monitors all NFTs minted on Cardano, detects any NFTs that contain identical or similar images and/or metadata, and assesses the likelihood that similar NFTs are counterfeits.
Argus, the project’s flagship protocol, is made up of two main components:
- Artificial intelligence models to identify whether NFT images are copies.
- A custom machine learning model that evaluates the similarity of images and other data to refine Argus determinations to achieve the highest level of accuracy possible.
ArgusNFT recently partnered with JPG Store, the leading NFT marketplace on Cardano, to help the store protect its inventory from counterfeit NFTs.
The problem of NFT scams and plagiarism cannot be comprehensively addressed by ArgusNFT alone. No matter how scalable Argus is, or how extensive its market penetration, there will always be plenty of digital images and NFTs beyond its reach that can be exploited by bad actors.
That is why the ArgusNFT team considers a breakthrough development with a DId protocol.
ProofSpace x ArgusNFT: Foundation for a Comprehensive Solution
ProofSpace is an interoperable identity network with tools for issuing and verifying reusable identity credentials. Decentralized identity solutions can be built, validated, and extended with any number of credentials and stakeholders.
Argus can determine with great accuracy whether a given NFT is a fake or a copy of another NFT within its scope, but for a more complete solution it is also necessary to assess the legitimacy of an artist or team behind a given NFT collection, and there arises in the digital field, Self Sovereign Identity (SSI).
The solution proposed by the ProofSpace team can provide a 360° solution to plagiarism and NFT scams, when combined with key tools like Argus.
Using DId, proof of ownership of multiple accounts, whether it be an email account or an account on Twitter, Artstation, etc., can include an encrypted identifier that proves that the same person, or entity, that owns these accounts, either register a collection of images with IPFS (in preparation for minting them as NFTs), or register such a collection with an NFT minting platform.
In addition to proving ownership of multiple accounts proving creative legitimacy, artists and project owners can attach a verifiable credential to this identifier, showing that they scanned their collection on Argus and that Argus found it likely to be an “original.” .
The ArgusNFT and ProofSpace teams propose the development of a Proof of Concept (PoC) that demonstrates the integration of a number of verifiable credentials, including one issued by the ArgusNFT platform (NFT minting history verification).
The teams believe that NFTs + DIds + Credentials, such as Argus verification of mint history, will become an industry standard and mark a key step in the maturing of the NFT space.
By combining the DId protocol from ProofSpace and Argus, Cardano will create the most scalable and comprehensive solution in the industry for verifying the legitimacy of NFT projects and the authenticity of NFTs.
The Roadmap
Deliverables and milestones:
- June – July: Workflow design and Implementation R&D (70% complete)
- September: Social Accounts, email, phone Verifiable Credentials issuing. (ProofSpace)
- October: Integration with ArgusNFT via webhooks. Flow setup and testing.
- November: Public credentials RnD, and integration with Minting Platform via webhooks. Flow setup and testing.
- December: Integration with Marketplace via webhooks. Flow setup and testing.
The success of this project is considered to be:
- Completing the PoC that combines ProofSpace’s codeless DId platform with the Argus API, in a way that conforms to any NFT/DId standards that emerge from ongoing conversations between the SSI and NFT communities of Cardano.
- End with a presentation demonstrating the potential benefits of this PoC and how it could be incorporated by project owners and NFT markets.
- Introduce the PoC to the NFT guild and the Cardano SSI alliance, as well as the Cardano NFT community via social media, Q&A, Twitter Spaces, etc.
The Budget
Total Project Budget: USD 37,411
Breakdown
Proof Space Deliverables
- Workflow design, R&D USD 1,837
- Social Accounts, email, phone Verifiable Credentials issuing. (ProofSpace) USD 5,175
- Integration with ArgusNFT via webhooks. Flow setup and testing. USD 1,339
- Public credentials RnD USD 673
- Integration with Minting Platform via webhooks. Flow setup and testing. USD 1,339
- Integration with Marketplace via webhooks. Flow setup and testing. $997
- ProofSpace Subscription (Validate Package) $2,277
- ProofSpace Support (15hrs at $140/hour) $2,100
Proofspace Subtotal $ 15,736
*Writer’s Note: Should be “Proofspace Subtotal $ 15,737”
ArgusNFT Project Budget
- Workflow Implementation R&D $725
- Handle onboarding flow (api/webhook and persistence) 2 weeks USD 4,250
- Handle Authenticity Flow (approx. 3 weeks) USD 7,450
- NFT Minting (develop in-house or outsource DId minting platform integration) USD 5,000
- ArgusNFT support USD 1,500
- Project Coordination and Admin USD 2,000
- Outreach presentations and Q&A’s following completion of PoC USD 750
ArgusNFT Subtotal USD 21,675
The Team
The ArgusNFT team claims to have a combined development experience of over 40 years.
The members of the team developing this proposal are:
- Giovanni Gargiulo – CTO. Principal Software Engineer with over 15 years of business experience. DevOps advocate with strong experience in Machine Learning, distributed systems and cloud. Cardano Plutus Pioneer, Stake Pool Operator and Open Source Developer. Linkedin
- Anthony Capitan – CBDO. Entrepreneur with 7 years of experience in business development, 15 years of experience in sales, marketing and project management, mainly in financial services and real estate. LinkedIn
- Jaime Caso – Full Stack and Mobile Engineer – Stake Pool Operator and Cardano Wallet Developer. Linkedin
- Kurt Hartmann – Kurt Hartmann has over 20 years of experience as a developer and architect working as an IT consultant for companies in the financial, healthcare and retail industries. His areas of expertise include modernizing and integrating legacy systems, ETL batch jobs, creating API data sources, and implementing workflow patterns using microservices and messaging. He also has a strong background in database design and web services. He participated in the Cardano Plutus Pioneer Program (cohort #1) and spent a lot of time learning the Haskell programming language. Github
You can read the original proposal on Catalyst: ProofSpace x Argus – IDs 4 NFTs
