Image source: @coderjourney 13. Protocol Features

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a) Simple and easy to register: Any user can create a pair of public and private keys without registering through a domain name or social account. Nostr's signature and verification algorithm is not the commonly used ECDSA, but the schnorr signature algorithm, which means that if the user already has the private key of Bitcoin and Ethereum, it can be used on the Nostr network, but because of the different encoding forms, The display form of the private key may be different on different networks, which requires a conversion.

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Image credit: @coderjourney 1

b) Decentralization of information transmission and storage: It does not depend on any trusted centralized server, and the information published by the client can be stored in multiple relay terminals, so it is less dependent on a single relay terminal and more quickly recoverable .

c) Reduce trust risk: messages have public key identification, and the verification of messages is completed by the client. The relay end is only responsible for storage and transmission. Users do not need to trust the relay end, which further reduces the risk of signing through the Web3 wallet. trust risk.

e) Combination with Lightning Network: Nostr's developer fiatjaf is also the developer of Bitcoin and Lightning Network, so Nostr natively supports Lightning Network. The lightning network is very fast and has very strong performance, which can carry high concurrent applications on Nostr. The Nostr-based client Damus has built-in Bitcoin Lightning Network function, which can directly call third-party Lightning Network wallets for payment. On February 3, 2023, Damus stated that it will randomly distribute small amounts of Bitcoin to users through the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Comparison of tps between Lightning Network and Solana etc. (Image source: Blockstream)

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2. Performance of Nostr protocol

1. Data performance: According to data from nostr.io, as of February 5, 2023, Nostr has 500,463 public keys, 289 relays, and more than 1.21 million events. Nostr defined three different event types in the original NIP 01: 0: Send metadata about the user, such as username, picture, profile, etc.; 1: Send SMS and basic content; 2: Recommend relay servers for attention The person who created the event connects.

2. Ecological application: Decentralized Twitter is currently the largest use case of Nostr, but its application is far more than a simple social product. Anigma.io similar to Telegram, novote, an alternative to Reddit, Sendtr, an end-to-end encrypted text sharing tool, Jeste, an online chess game, etc., have been established based on Nostr.

Nostr ecological application function comparison

Data source: https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr

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Currently, some representative social protocols have emerged, including federated network social protocols ActivityPub, Matrix; peer-to-peer social network protocols Secure Scuttlebutt, Lens Protocol, etc. There is a view that Nostr is more like Bitcoin and Farcaster is more like Ethereum. Both aim at creating a decentralized social network, but they differ in their implementation paths. Next compare the two:

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In comparison, Nostr is a very lightweight open protocol, pursuing a simple and neutral style, and seems to follow the spirit of cypherpunk and Bitcoin, while Farcaster is following a more traditional start-up technology company model . For developers, the simplicity of the protocol allows them to quickly reach a consensus on open standards and put all the complexity on the client side, so that developers can quickly develop iterations on client programs and use any available relay compatible. Currently, Nostr's telegram community has attracted more than 6,000 members for lively discussions.

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In December 2022, Twitter founder Jack donated 14.17 BTC (approximately $245,000) to Nostr to further fund Nostr's development. On February 1, 2023, Jack released the news about the launch of Damus in the Apple App Store and Google Play, and then it exploded instantly. In just half an hour, the number of Damus users increased by nearly 100,000. In my opinion, in addition to Jack’s celebrity effect, the reason why Damus is out of the circle is that there have been new projects in both the decentralized protocol layer and the application layer before, but because the protocol layer is far away from C-end users, it is not conducive to Understand, and there are not many applications with scale effects, so most people are always in a state of anticipation and confusion about how decentralized social networking will be implemented. Therefore, the emergence of Damus, a mobile decentralized product, will Everyone's expectations were crystallized.

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Damus is an application based on the decentralized social protocol Nostr. It will be positioned as "The social network you control", which means that users can control their own social network, reflecting the spiritual core emphasized by Web3.0. As far as product functions are concerned, users can publish content, send messages and chat privately, and make lightning network payments in the square.

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2. Product Features

a) No need to register: users only need to fill in their nicknames to generate a pair of public and private keys without registering and logging in with email addresses. The user can then search for friends to follow based on the public key.

b) User-owned: With anti-censorship features, users can control their own data.

c) Encrypted dialogue: end-to-end private message transmission.

d) No server required: Messages are distributed through distributed relays without running any infrastructure and without a single point of failure. Each post has a unique Note ID, which can also be entered directly on the search page after copying.

f) Earning income: Users can use the Bitcoin Lightning Network function to pay and tip. Currently supported lightning consumer payment platforms include Strike, Cash App, Muun, Blue Wallet, Wallet of Satoshi, Zebedee, Zeus LN, LNLink, Phoenix, Breez, Bitcoin Beach, Blixt Wallet, River.

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In terms of function, Damus does not break through the imagination of users too much, and it is still a preliminary version that needs to be optimized. Many functions are still not perfect, such as the content editing page cannot be typeset, cannot be canceled after likes, and publish content It cannot be deleted, etc., but its entry threshold is low, and it has a mobile terminal, so users can easily download and use it. Damus's concepts of user ownership, encrypted conversations, and lightning network payments have inspired discussions among users and the encryption community.

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Whether it is the Lens Protocol developed by the founder of Aave before or the Damus supported by Jack now, it seems that the explosion of social products is inseparable from the "calling orders" of influential people in the industry. However, due to users' habits of using social products Solidification, and user data is difficult to migrate, making most of the emerging social products are just a flash in the pan, how to retain users is still a very difficult problem. Even though decentralized social networking is not an easy task, fortunately Damus completed the cold start relatively smoothly and gained a lot of attention. Judging from the content of the current posts, Chinese users are very active, and everyone has spontaneously organized various communication groups.

5. Problems in the Nostr protocol 1. Incentive problems at the relay end

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Although anyone can build a relay terminal, there are currently only 200+ public relay terminals in the world, because there is a threshold for building, which requires better processing performance and network, as well as certain technical and operation and maintenance capabilities, but The relay terminal lacks revenue, so how to attract more relay terminals to join is a problem. If the infrastructure is built on a fragile "voluntarism" foundation, it will be difficult to grow into a powerful social network. However, if there are incentives, you will face the dilemma that most of the incentives will gradually be in the hands of a few people, unable to form effective incentives, and vulnerable to attacks. Regarding the issue of incentives for running repeaters, the developers believe that first of all, it should not be assumed that the operators of the repeaters will provide free services. Even without the so-called "incentives", the DHT nodes in the p2p network are still in continuous operation.

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source:https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr

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At present, the data is mainly stored on the relay end, but this is not a permanent storage. Once the user changes the client, the information will be cleared. The relay end is used for lack of incentives, and there is not enough motivation to store user data, so there is also the possibility of the relay end actively or passively deleting data. In the future, Nostr may provide incentives for storage functions, making data more available while ensuring decentralization and ease of use.

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Overall, Nostr is a very simple and highly interoperable protocol, which presents the possibility of emerging after the interweaving of decentralized social protocols and free value transfer. The combination of client and relay end makes the release and transmission of information more anti-censorship, which is consistent with the spiritual core advocated by Bitcoin. In addition, the closer integration of Nostr and the Lightning Network provides the possibility for native integration of social applications and Bitcoin. Perhaps what we need at this stage is not a replica version of the Nostr-based Web2 application, but a well-designed infrastructure to solve the problem of Lego blocks, and then let the secretive super developers build a super-imaginable and extremely Products with Bitcoin Core. Nostr has opened a new window for decentralized social networking. Since then, it is believed that large-scale protocols and applications will usher in new breakthroughs. Decentralized social networking, everything has just begun. Decentralized social networking will continue to move forward.

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References

Nostr Github：

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr

What Is Nostr and How Do I Use It?

https://www.btctimes.com/news/what-is-nostr-and-how-do-i-use-it

References

https://coolshell.cn/articles/22367.html

Chat about NOSTR and censorship

https://www.qianba.com/news/p-438799.html

What is the Bitcoin Lightning Network tip supported by Nostr, and how to use it for micropayments?

https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2086905 

Damus: Is Randomly Distributing Small Amounts of Bitcoins to Users Through the Bitcoin Lightning Network

https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2086888 

Nostr's ambition is not just to replace Twitter

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/PfvXWhiTQzLzSc 7 bi 2 WXBw

The New Year of Social Media: Nostr Principles and Key Management Issues

https://www.8 btc.com/article/6801252 

Try Nostr's first client, Damus, the new Web3 social network endorsed by the founder of Twitter

https://www.8 btc.com/article/6801408 

An article comparing the decentralized social protocols Nostr and Farcaster

https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20221226 A 05 A 4 F 00 

about Us

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BinaryDAO is a semi-closed DAO organization that focuses on project research. It originated from the joint investment research of several WEB3 investment institutions. It is mainly for VCs and researchers. It focuses on research projects. Bear markets focus on depth and focus on secondary structural track leaders ; The bull market focuses on breadth and tends to be a first-level trend hotspot.