Asset Paywall

Decentralized content monetization with onchain access control, multi-payment support, and DID-authenticated delivery.

Overview

The Asset Paywall service allows creators, businesses, and developers to register an digital content delivery contract. It is designed to support:

• Digital content sales (media, PDFs, files, videos, audio, images)
• Knowledge & research monetization
• Premium memberships
• One-time or tiered access models
• Onchain payment validation
• DID-authenticated access

The Asset Paywall integrates deeply with the SafePulse ecosystem, using:

• DIDs for identity/authorship

It works fully wallet-first, ensuring users retain local control while publishers remain sovereign owners of their content. Issuers wont share ownership, they register an content delivery contract, customers approve the contract by payment and receive content identifier.

Context & Problem

The Problem

Most content monetization platforms:

• Require central hosting
• Control creator accounts
• Can censor, block, or shadowban
• Offer weak content protection
• Depend on fragile credential-based logins

Creators need trustless payment and ownership without relying on intermediaries.

The Solution

SafePulse’s Asset Paywall:

• Uses smart-contract payments
• Deliver content identifier after payment
• Stores protected assets via decentralized links or secure URLs
• Uses DID, not centralized accounts
• Runs entirely from the user's wallet (no platform custody)

Key Features

💸 1. Multi-Asset Payments

Publishers can charge:

• Stablecoins
• Other chain-native assets (where supported)

🎫 2. Flexible Access Models

• One-time purchase means approve contract

📍 3. Onchain Proof of Purchase

Proofs are stored as lightweight logs and anchored to the buyer’s DID.

Use Cases

1. Content Creators & Educators

• Paid course videos
• Premium guides and PDFs
• Photography, digital art, designs
• Locked newsletters or research papers

3. Media & Journalism

• Pay-per-article
• Premium investigations
• Subscriber-only content

4. Businesses & Enterprises

• Shared documents
• Monetized research reports

Step-by-Step Tutorial

A. Creating a Paywalled Asset

• Upload or host file on an centralized or decentralized storage

1. Open the wallet

2. Tap Asset Paywall

3. Choose the asset type

4. Choose your payment configuration

   • Issuer DID
   • Network and token
   • Price
   • Asset Name

5. Confirm onchain deployment

6. Asset Paywall contract is deployed

7. Share the asset DID

B. User Purchasing Access

1. Open wallet
2. Scan Paywall QR or paste DID
3. View content preview + price
4. Tap Purchase
5. Wallet executes payment contract
6. On success, wallet receives access token bound to DID
7. Content unlocks automatically

C. Managing Asset

At Contract organization there is options for freeze/unfreeze asset, collect payments or delete asset.

Real-World Examples

Example 1 — Paid PDF Guide

A researcher sells a 200-page PDF on IPFS via paywall. After paying, users get a DID-bound decryption key.

Example 2 — Video Course

Teacher uploads course videos behind a paywall with 30-day access.

Example 3 — Premium Article

A journalist publishes a pay-per-article story with a one-time purchase.

Example 4 — Photography Pack

A designer distributes a set of high-resolution files, protected by the paywall.

Benefits

For Creators

• 1% platform fees
• No censorship
• Automated payments
• Privacy first, no KYC

For Users

• No centralized accounts
• Portable access
• Verifiable proof of purchase
• Zero-knowledge access control

For Businesses

• Internal distribution
• Contract-based licensing
• Easy integration

Drawbacks / Considerations

• Requires gas fees on deployment
• Content hosting costs depend on storage provider
• Price changes may require redeployment (contract-defined)
• Users must protect local wallet keys for access retention

Best Practices

• Always encrypt sensitive files before uploading
• Offer low-cost preview content to improve user trust