The problem SIGNET solves

📌 SIGNET — Blockchain-Based Content Authenticity Verification

Trust as a Service for a World Flooded With Deepfakes

🌍 The Problem

The rise of AI-generated media has made it increasingly difficult to distinguish real content from fabricated misinformation. Deepfake videos, synthetic images, and manipulated documents have already caused global confusion and economic impact — from the deepfake of President Zelensky urging Ukrainian troops to stand down, to the fake Pentagon explosion image that temporarily caused the stock market to dip.

Misinformation isn't just noise anymore. It's a global threat with real-world consequences.

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🚀 SIGNET: The Cryptographic Proof of Content Authenticity

SIGNET provides an immutable and trustless method for verifying the authenticity of digital content. Using Perceptual Hashing (pHash) and blockchain-backed storage with gasless meta-transactions, SIGNET ensures that any image or video can be cryptographically verified even if it has been slightly modified (compression, cropping, format conversion).

✔ How SIGNET Works

1. Content Registration (Two Modes):

   • Gasless Mode: User signs an EIP-712 typed message with their wallet, backend relayer submits the transaction via MinimalForwarder (EIP-2771) - user pays no gas

2. Perceptual Hashing:

   • Images: 16x16 pHash (256-bit) after resizing to 128x128 using LANCZOS
   • Videos: pHash of middle frame to resist padding/trimming attacks

3. Blockchain Storage: Hash stored in SignetRegistry smart contract on LISK Sepolia testnet

4. Verification: Upload content → Generate pHash → Compare with blockchain-indexed hashes using Hamming Distance

If an organization faces a hoax, they can respond instantly with:

"This content is fake — here is the original on-chain hash proving it."

SIGNET provides mathematical, perceptual-based truth, not pixel-perfect matching.

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🔒 Why Perceptual Hashing + Blockchain?

• Tamper-resistant: Detects modified content even after compression/cropping (unlike SHA-256)
• Immutable: Stored hashes cannot be modified once recorded on blockchain
• Decentralized: No single entity can modify or delete authenticity records
• Trustless: Anyone can verify authenticity by comparing perceptual hashes
• Gasless: Publishers don't pay gas fees thanks to EIP-2771 meta-transactions
• Privacy: Only the perceptual hash is stored — original files never leave the user's environment

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🧩 System Architecture

Content File → Perceptual Hash (pHash) → Gasless Meta-Transaction → SignetRegistry Contract → Event Indexer → PostgreSQL Database → Verification API

Core Components

Backend: FastAPI with perceptual hashing (pHash 16x16), dual-mode registration (gasless EIP-712/EIP-2771), blockchain event indexer, PostgreSQL database

Frontend: React + Vite with Wagmi Web3 integration, protected publisher routes, public verification page, admin panel

Smart Contracts: SignetRegistry (content storage, publisher management) + MinimalForwarder (meta-transaction relayer)

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💼 Business Model — "Trust as a Service" (TaaS)

Enterprise API

Target: Governments, media, social platforms, fact-checkers
Features: High-throughput registration, gasless transactions, private API keys, SLA

Professional Dashboard

Target: Journalists, photographers, legal teams, investigators
Features: Wallet auth, gasless registration, verification, tiered usage limits

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🏗️ Tech Stack

Backend: Python + FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Web3.py, imagehash/Pillow/OpenCV
Frontend: React 19 + TypeScript, Vite, Wagmi, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion
Blockchain: Solidity on LISK Sepolia, EIP-712/EIP-2771 standards

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📊 Key Technical Innovations

pHash vs SHA-256: Perceptual similarity matching survives compression, cropping, format changes
Gasless Transactions: Users sign EIP-712 messages, backend relayer pays gas
Publisher Authorization: Contract owner controls who can register content

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🌐 Vision

In an era where AI can generate convincing fake content at scale, verifying authenticity becomes essential. SIGNET aims to become the global trust infrastructure for digital content — offering a future where truth is verifiable, immediate, and decentralized, even when content undergoes normal transformations.

We're building the perceptual trust layer of the internet.

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