We are excited to launch the alpha version of JPG Canons, an evolution of token curated registries (TCRs). Canons are designed to index a new contextual data layer for the NFT ecosystem that will map relational networks and improve discovery, context, and searchability. 

Within web3, public forums and cultural objects abound. Online communities organize, coalesce, grow, fade, and sometimes dissipate. However, the footprint of these communities (transactions, ERC20s, NFTs) remain, though hidden, lost to the entropic flow of the blockchain and centralized ephemeral platforms alike. As of yet, there has been no community-generated source of truth within the web3 space, perhaps due to an overreliance on blockchain transactions or the meme of the day.

But as we’ve seen the Cambrian explosion of NFTs over the past two years, a very present need for curation and organization has emerged. A need to build a verifiable consensus, which both records and adapts as the NFT ecosystem grows and matures.

Have you ever tried to search for a complete list of NFT projects with CC0 licensing? Or attempted to understand the proliferation of Nouns derivative collections? Between the individual collections one encounters on social platforms and broad categories on marketplaces exists the real substance and networks within this space, but it currently lacks cohesion and visibility. 

JPG was born out of this collective need, from which we have conceptualized the JPG Canons. The Canons are crowdsourced lists of NFTs governed and created by the community, whose actors are bound by a reputation system designed to create a positive sum atmosphere. The Canons are stored on-chain via Arweave, allowing them to become indexed “culture legos” for use as public goods.

JPG Canons are governed by a wallet-signature based voting system tied to the Canonicon NFT in your account, which tracks and displays your participation in the JPG network.

Each Canon consists of a Title, Description, and Criteria, which is used to judge the relevancy of NFT and NFT collection submissions to the canon. Canonicon NFT holders submit NFTs to a specific canon for voting. When a new submission is officially added to a Canon, it is appended to the list as a string including contract address and tokenID(s), accounting for individual NFTs or collections.

Each week, “Active” submissions become canonized, and all existing “Pending” submissions become Active for voting. This regular cadence, in addition to the ability to vote on multiple proposals with a single signature, is designed to allow for maximum participation in the governance of the Canons.

The reputation one receives as a result of voting on proposals is determined by three primary factors: Majority/Minority vote, Difference between Majority/Minority, and Batch/Order of Voting.

Access to Canon governance is enabled via the Canonicon NFT, a nontransferable dynamic NFT that tracks users’ participation. JPG will be rolling out access to the free mint allowlist in a gradual manner in order to limit sybil dynamics, prioritize high value contributors, and allow our dev team to continue improving the experience.

For the initial alpha, the allowlist will consist of existing JPG exhibition curators, SALTV4 holders, and various curators in the community who have expressed interest in participating in this type of infrastructure.

The Canons will serve as a public resource for discovery and indexing of the NFT space, leading them to be highly useful for experts looking to deeply research and newcomers seeking an orientation or interest alike. Our goal in structuring the allowlist will be to maximize curators who believe NFTs are important cultural and experiential objects that need and deserve to be better indexed. These individuals have important expertise to share, and they see the value in contributing to this potential primitive for decentralized curation, verification, and reputation. 

The first canon created will be for Dynamic NFTs, defined as NFTs with the ability to change their appearance, functionality, or metadata. After this initial Alpha, we will continue adding more users to the allowlist, and enter a Beta stage in which the JPG team will create Canons we believe to be particularly useful. Following the Beta period, any Canonicon holder will be able to propose a new Canon to the community.

If you are on the allowlist, you can visit https://jpg.space/canons to mint your Canonicon and begin proposing to the Dynamic Canon. 

We are looking forward to welcoming communities and building the JPG Canons with you! If you have any questions, please feel free to join our Discord and get in touch.