A re-architected internet stack.

Proof of Network (PoN)

Validator selection isn't pure proof-of-stake. NPV (Network Position Value) scores nodes on geographic + topological diversity, Sybil resistance, energy efficiency, and predictive traffic adaptation. Higher NPV = rarer position = higher-paying placements. NPV is market-clearing, not a quality grade — operators in oversupplied metros earn less; operators filling gaps earn more.

DEFs — the protocol primitives

A Distributed Execution Framework is a modular protocol extension that runs on The Grid. Each DEF has its own lifecycle (add / activate / deprecate via on-chain governance), its own capability model, its own stake / earnings shape. Real Grid apps are compositions of DEFs.

See the full DEF lifecycle and stake-exposure model in docs/grid-brain/def/. Anyone can propose a new DEF; on-chain governance decides activation.

Sharding & multi-ledger

Regional shards specialize (us-west: gaming + web; us-east: finance + web; eu-central: web + AI; asia-pacific: gaming + IoT). Service shards (DNS, web-hosting, game-execution, economic-settlement) replicate as the workload demands. Three ledger types coexist: immutable (finance), mutable (state), and database-style (def:dsf/state). Cross-shard atomic operations land at epoch boundaries.

Settlement & receipts

Every action that consumes protocol resources produces a signed WorkReceipt. Receipts anchor per-block (cheap state); settlement per-epoch (deterministic from tvo's canonical commit). Two honest nodes running the same code on the same chain state produce byte-identical settlement results — the protocol does not invent payment amounts.

• v1 settlement currency: regulated stablecoin (USDC) via Bridge. GRID is stake/governance only at v1.
• v1 billing model: escrow-prepaid. Postpaid trade credit deferred to v2.
• Reward pool split: 40% consensus block-rewards / 30% NPV-weighted distribution / 20% participation rewards / 10% small-node sub-pool.
• Slashing: stake-backed; on-chain rules per def-lifecycle.

Decentralization is a gradient

v1-beta: The Grid Foundation operates a non-trivial fraction of operator nodes initially. Open invitation to anyone who meets the hardware and stake requirements; gradual decentralization to v2-mainnet where Foundation operations sunset to under-the-line participation. Decentralization is a target state, not a launch claim.