tl;dr
- AI tools like Midjourney and Sora make hyper-realistic deepfakes common, spreading misinformation and eroding trust.
- Older generations, especially Boomers, often share fake media on platforms like Facebook, and even tech-savvy figures like Cathie Wood have been fooled.
- Numbers Protocol provides digital authenticity and media provenance, embedding verification at the source.
- Numbers is a decentralized “Git for images”, recording every photo or video with a unique ID (Nid), creator info, timestamps, and edits on-chain.
The Crisis of "Post-Truth" Media
We are living through a post-truth media crisis, and “seeing is believing” no longer holds.
With AI tools like Midjourney and Sora, anyone can generate hyper-realistic images and videos, blurring the line between fact and fabrication. AI deepfakes and synthetic media are now integral to how fake news spreads, eroding trust in what we see online and accelerating misinformation at scale. Research shows that people struggle to distinguish authentic media from AI-generated content without robust provenance data. 
This problem is amplified on platforms like Facebook. On that platform, older generations, particularly “Boomers,” consistently like and share obviously fake photos and videos, unaware they’re fake. Even tech-savvy figures such as Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, were fooled into sharing AI-generated media, illustrating how big the problem has become. 
Numbers Protocol offers a solution by embedding digital authenticity and media provenance at the source, enabling verification before anything goes viral. This restores trust in a world where authenticity can no longer be assumed.
What is Numbers Protocol?
Numbers Protocol is an open, decentralized photo and media network that ensures digital content has a verifiable history from creation to publication.
Think of it as Git for images and videos.
Numbers is a provenance layer where every file carries a traceable record of where it came from, how it changed, and who controls it. This approach tackles misinformation and deepfakes by making digital authenticity verifiable by default.
At its core, Numbers is a decentralized content provenance layer that turns media into traceable on-chain assets. Each photo or video is “assetized” with a unique content ID (Nid), creator identity, timestamps, and cryptographic signatures. Every edit or reuse becomes a new “commit” linked to the original, forming an auditable history graph.
As a decentralized photo network, Numbers uses blockchain with decentralized storage (e.g., IPFS/Filecoin), not a single corporate server. Tools like Capture and ProofSnap enable on-chain registration at the moment of creation, while the NUM token powers verification, licensing, and incentives.
Aligned with the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and implementing the C2PA standard, Numbers embeds compliant metadata and anchors it on-chain. This makes provenance interoperable across newsrooms, creative tools, and AI workflows.
How Numbers Chain Works
Numbers Protocol backs content authenticity with a purpose-built blockchain stack. At its core is Numbers Mainnet, which is designed to record media history as a living, queryable system rather than a one-time mint.
The Numbers Mainnet & ERC-7053
Numbers Mainnet is an EVM-compatible Avalanche L1, running as an Avalanche L1 (formerly called a subnet), purpose-built to serve as the archive and library of media history. Instead of storing static NFTs, it records ongoing digital commitments, which are structured on-chain events that document how a photo or video evolves over time.
The chain uses NUM as its native token and specialized smart contracts for Assets, Commits, and Collections, enabling high-volume provenance tracking with optimized fees.
A key pillar is ERC-7053, a standard Numbers helped author. ERC-7053 defines the Numbers ID (Nid), which is a unique identifier that binds a media file to its on-chain record and its decentralized storage location (IPFS/Filecoin CID). ERC-7053 defines the Numbers ID (Nid) as a content identifier (CID-style) for each media file/version. When a file is edited, the new version gets a new Nid, and the provenance history is linked through on-chain commit records—so anyone can trace derivations and edits across versions.
The 3-Step Process: Capture, Seal, Trace
Capture
It starts at the moment a photo or video is taken. The file is bundled with key context, when and where it was captured, what device was used, and who the creator is. This information is used to generate a unique digital fingerprint that represents the media from that point forward.
Seal
Next, the fingerprint and its metadata are locked in. The media is stored on decentralized storage, and a record is written to the Numbers Mainnet that includes creator signatures and provenance data. This step effectively “seals” the content, making it possible for anyone to later verify that the file hasn’t been altered or misrepresented.
Trace
From there, the media gains a living history. Any edit, reuse, license change, or redistribution creates a new on-chain record linked back to the original. By following this chain, anyone can see the full story of a piece of content, including where it came from, how it changed, and how it’s being used.
The NUM Token Utility and "Provenance Gas"
NUM is the native token of Numbers Mainnet and supports core network and ecosystem functions (e.g., network participation/security design, governance, and payments within ecosystem services). On Numbers Mainnet, transaction activity is denominated in NUM, while applications can abstract the fee experience for end users.
This creates direct, ongoing demand tied to real network usage from creators, enterprises, newsrooms, and AI platforms.
Beyond fees, NUM underpins network integrity. Token holders can stake NUM to help secure and validate the provenance layer, aligning incentives around accurate, tamper-resistant media records. Staking also enables participation in governance, allowing the community to shape protocol upgrades, standards adoption, and economic parameters.
As media registration, verification, and AI dataset demand grow, NUM captures value from every authenticated asset flowing through the network.
The Ecosystem: Tools for Creators and Enterprise
Numbers supports an ecosystem of production-ready tools and APIs for creators and organizations, with documented use cases in journalism and evidence preservation (including publicly referenced work connected to Reuters and projects involving Rolling Stone/Starling Lab).
Capture & ProofSnap (Provenance-First Cameras)
The Capture and ProofSnap App turns a smartphone into a blockchain camera.
When a photo or video is taken, key context, location, time, device data, and creator identity are automatically embedded and sealed on-chain. This happens instantly at capture, creating a verifiable original before the content is ever edited, shared, or published. For creators, it means proof of authorship by default.
For journalists and documentarians, it means trustworthy source material that can stand up to scrutiny. Provenance becomes invisible and automatic, not an extra step. In addition to mobile capture, ProofSnap also extends provenance capture to the browser for verifiable screenshots
Numbers Verify Engine API
For enterprises, Numbers provides an API and search layer that plugs directly into newsroom and editorial workflows.
Media organizations can verify incoming photos or videos by checking their content hash or Numbers ID, instantly seeing origin data and edit history. This infrastructure is already used in real-world journalism contexts, including partnerships tied to organizations like Reuters and Rolling Stone.
By making provenance searchable and machine-readable, Numbers enables fast verification at scale, turning content authenticity into an easy-to-use operational tool.
Real-World Use Cases: Beyond NFTs
Numbers Protocol extends far beyond crypto art, powering real-world applications where trust in media truly matters.
In journalism, verified provenance helps newsrooms and NGOs confirm the authenticity of sensitive photos and videos. Verifying evidence, such as war crime evidence or election imagery, ensures reliable news sources can prove what’s real before publishing or presenting evidence.
For AI training data, Numbers enables clear AI copyright protection by proving that images and videos used to train models are authentic, licensed, and consented. This creates transparent datasets with traceable ownership, reducing legal risk and aligning with emerging AI regulations.
In insurance, provenance-sealed photos of car accidents or property damage can be verified instantly, helping insurers detect fraud, speed up claims, and discourage fraud.
Challenges and Competitors
Despite its strong technical foundation, Numbers Protocol faces real challenges. The biggest is adoption friction. Convincing everyday users and creators to change habits and use a blockchain camera instead of default phone apps can be difficult. Provenance only works at scale if capture tools are widely used.
There are also large-scale standards efforts (e.g., CAI and C2PA) driven by broad industry participation. Numbers aligns with these standards, while differentiating through decentralized anchoring and an open, queryable provenance layer—so verification does not depend on a single vendor’s database.
The long-term question is whether users and institutions will prioritize open, verifiable infrastructure over convenience.
ChainPort and Numbers Protocol
ChainPort and Numbers Protocol share a long-standing collaboration that dates back a few years. Early on, ChainPort supported the NUM ecosystem by enabling the first bridge between BNB Chain and Ethereum, ensuring liquidity and accessibility for the NUM token across major networks.
Following the launch of Numbers Mainnet, the partnership expanded. ChainPort now supports NUM bridging between Numbers Mainnet, Ethereum, and BNB Chain, acting as the official bridge for NUM. This allows users and institutions to move tokens quickly and securely across ecosystems, supporting both ERC-20 NUM and native NUM formats.
By providing reliable cross-chain infrastructure, ChainPort ensures NUM remains usable wherever Numbers Protocol’s provenance and media tools are adopted.
