Issuers serve as the contributing party in the protocol, acting as the primary contributors of user-generated data through their own platforms. By issuing Private Data Assets (PDAs), they aim not only to enhance interoperability within their partner ecosystem but also to empower their user community. The onus of maintaining data integrity rests with the issuers, who play a crucial role in setting the gold standard for data submission across the network. Leading issuers can significantly influence data standardization, thereby fortifying the overall robustness and reliability of the network.

Why Be an Issuer?

Issuers Benefit Financially: Every time their Private Data Assets (PDAs) are verified, issuers earn a fee, creating a lucrative revenue stream.
User-Centric Custody: Issuers transfer data custody to users, thereby mitigating their own risks related to data liability and sharing concerns.
Streamlined Compliance: By relinquishing authority over data permissioning to the recipient, issuers can significantly reduce compliance challenges and associated costs.
Enhanced Brand Visibility: Issuers gain increased brand recognition as their PDAs become more frequently requested by verifiers.
Leveraged Distribution: Issuers can capitalize on the protocol's existing distribution network, minimizing the need for outreach and bespoke integration efforts.

Who Can be an Issuer?

Gateway democratizes the role of the issuer, welcoming entities of all sizes—from large-scale organizations with over 100,000 employees to individual users with just an internet connection. If you wish to issue Private Data Assets (PDAs) on behalf of your organization, you can either coordinate with your Org Admin to add you as a member or establish your organization directly through our API. To get started and understand the ins and outs of issuing, simply head over to Gateway's "Issue" section.

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Special Offer: For a limited time, individual users receive 500 complimentary issuances, while organizations are granted 100,000 free issuances!

What Information Should I Contribute?

When determining what information to contribute to the protocol, issuers are encouraged to strike a balance among various factors. Here are some pivotal considerations to guide your decision-making:

Reflect on the data you currently catalog and manage.
Identify which pieces of information would enhance the verification processes for other network partners.
Recognize and segregate information you'd prefer not to retain, reducing potential liabilities.

By weighing these elements, issuers can optimize their contributions for mutual benefit within the protocol.

Responsibilities of an Issuer

Issuers bear the responsibility for maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the data they provide. Continual submission of erroneous information can erode trust among verifiers in the network, leading to decreased consumption of their PDAs.
Issuers are encouraged to actively promote and highlight their participation in the network, informing partners and others about their issued data. By doing so, they can spur verification of their information. Gateway is here to help amplify this message via our Twitter, Docs, and Discord channels. If you're interested in maximizing your visibility, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Issuers hold the responsibility of informing their users when PDAs have been issued, transferring custody of the information to them. To streamline this process, Gateway offers assistance by sending notification emails to the recipients of the PDAs.

Issuance Process

Issuers are paid every time a PDA they issued is used in a Data Proof (was consumed by a verifier). The amount you are paid depends on the data model you issued the PDA from. Let's walk through an example:

Step 1: Selecting a Data Model or Creating Your Own

Data Models are the foundational templates for PDAs. You can begin by choosing an existing data model or create your own. You can discover existing data models through the Gateway Explorer coming soon. For example, we are a music streaming service, TopMusic, and decided to create the Listening History Data Model. Reference the Data Model below:

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Consider creating your own data model only when existing models don't align with your financial, structural, or permission needs. Otherwise, leveraging established data models offers a more efficient verification journey.

The technical implementation for this step is here.

Step 2: Issue PDAs to Users

Upon finalizing their choice of data model, TopMusic commences its monthly routine of issuing PDAs to its users. Leveraging the saved email records, the platform distributes the PDAs, each tailored with individual user information. The established verification fee for each PDA is set at $0.30, as outlined by the chosen data model. Here's a glimpse of a typical PDA sent to a user:

The technical implementation for this step is here.

Step 3: Update PDA (Optional)

TopMusic has the flexibility to refresh the PDA content as needed, ensuring that it remains accurate and up-to-date. Maintaining this data integrity is paramount. For details on what specific information can be modified, please refer to this page.

That's it! Once issued, the PDAs accompany their owners across the web. Verifiers can now seamlessly request information from users on their platforms. And remember, each time a PDA you've issued is utilized in a Data Proof, you earn money. Dive deeper into that in the section below!

Payment Structure

We distribute payments to the issuers mid month for all the fees they generated from the month before. If you are an organization, we will distribute payments to the indicated bank account or wallet in either USD or USDC. We will reach out to finalize this!

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At the moment, only organizations benefit financially from their issuances. But stay tuned—this is set to evolve. Issuers who accumulate fees exceeding $10 in a month will be eligible for payouts.

Start Now

You can begin issuing with the data models available on the Gateway Explorer coming soon. If none of these data models fit your use case or you want to issue programmatically, integrate this directly into your application.