The problem PayPerSecret solves

PayPerSecret — Anonymous Information Marketplace
Sell what you know. Buy what others won't say publicly.

PayPerSecret lets anyone monetize sensitive information without revealing their identity. Powered by Semaphore zero-knowledge proofs, x402 payments, and Fileverse decentralized storage — no accounts, no KYC, no trace.

The Problem
Valuable information exists everywhere — but sharing it is risky:

• A DeFi researcher spots a whale about to dump tokens. Posting it publicly on Twitter means everyone front-runs it and the alpha is worthless.
• A security researcher finds a vulnerability in a protocol. Responsible disclosure gets them nothing; selling it is legally grey.
• A company insider knows about an upcoming partnership. They can't tell anyone without exposing themselves.
• A journalist has a leaked document. Publishing it reveals their source.
• Today, people either share alpha for free (losing value) or stay silent (information dies). There's no safe way to sell information anonymously.

Real-World Use Cases

Crypto / DeFi Alpha

• Whale wallet movements before they hit CT
• Upcoming token listings, airdrops, or delistings
• MEV opportunities and mempool insights
• Protocol vulnerabilities (responsible disclosure marketplace)

Business Intelligence

• Competitor strategy leaks
• Upcoming M&A or partnership announcements
• Internal metrics that move markets

Journalism & Whistleblowing

• Leaked documents sold to verified journalists
• Government or corporate misconduct evidence
• Source protection through ZK anonymity

Security Research

• Bug bounties for protocols that don't have programs
• Zero-day vulnerability marketplace
• Audit findings sold to affected parties

Sports & Betting

• Insider injury reports before public announcement
• Team strategy leaks
• Transfer news before official confirmation

What's NEVER stored on Fileverse or on-chain:

1. Telegram usernames or chat IDs
2. Wallet addresses
3. IP addresses
4. Any personally identifiable information

What IS stored (ZK-safe):

1. Semaphore identity commitments (sem_...)
2. Purchase nullifiers (zkn_...)
3. Encrypted secret content (Fileverse handles E2E encryption)
4. SHA-256 content hashes (tamper-proof)

Challenges I ran into

• Semaphore's generateProof() requires the scope to be under 32 bytes. My scope was purchase:{secretId}:{txHash} — way over 32 bytes. The proof generation crashed with bytes32 string must be less than 32 bytes. Fixed by SHA-256 hashing the scope and truncating to 30 characters before passing to Semaphore.

• The biggest architectural challenge: ZK privacy means no raw identities are stored on Fileverse, but the server needs Telegram chat IDs to send notifications. Solution: volatile memory mapping (commitmentToChat Map) that exists only while the server runs. After restart, old sellers/buyers can't receive notifications — this is by design. Privacy > convenience.