D

DeBuilds

A Decentralized Software Marketplace for devs/users to sell or buy software with NFT License

The problem DeBuilds solves

  • Selling a software through NFT is very different from selling artwork, images or videos as NFTs. NFTs being non-fungible, will not permit the splitting of ‘ownership’ which, in the case of software, is a requirement. That is where DeBuilds comes in. With the help of DeBuilds Service, the SDK verifies the NFT license purchased by the user, thus authorizing the usage of the software. Not only is this a safety measure against software piracy, but also, a game changing technique of using NFTs.

  • One of our main goals is to make software distribution faster, easier, secure, highly modular – all of this along with lower transaction fee. Using the Polygon Network helps us achieve these goals, thus making our project scalable.

  • Today’s web is centralized and reduces opportunity. By using IPFS we are decentralizing the storage of software and its metadata to save almost 60% bandwidth.

  • Our platform stands out from other software marketplaces in terms of currency. Cryptocurrency can be used world-wide, making global transactions easy. Additionally, usage of NFTs is a new way to prove ownership which makes it less prone to piracy.

Challenges we ran into

  • Creating the DeBuilds Authentication service that runs on the user’s platform was definitely a challenge. Since the main purpose of the SDK is authentication, we had to look into ways that one could actually bypass/reverse applications even if they avoid the SDK. We now have a service that uses web3 to connect to the Polygon Network that cannot be reversed.

  • The smart contract issues unique NFT's to the users which contains metadata about the owner. Although we were able to write a method that can fetch that data, accessing the contract methods from the service was difficult to overcome.

  • Decentralizing data like the software itself, while also ensuring the safety of the product was a major challenge.

  • Designing a User Interface that is appealing, easy to use, responsive and universal was definitely a challenge, especially since the application needs to be constructed keeping all the end-users in mind.

  • Battling against time constraints to complete a large-scale project idea like this within a span of about 8 days was both a challenge and an achievement to us. However, it shall remain a memorable experience.

Plans for future 📈

  • Integrating ChainLink for cross chain transactions.
  • Implementing NFT.storage for safer storage of Apps.
  • Verification of Creators and automated App launch approvals.
  • Support for Time based Licenses using time expiring NFT.
  • Business Model to add Premium feature for Creator accounts.

Discussion