2 Jan 2026¶
Weekly Summary
2026/01/02 Co-founder's Summary Letter from Sofia
- Listen to the New Year Special Audio Version
Dear Numbers Community,
Happy Friday! It’s Sofia here with our monthly wrap-up as we head into January.
This first week of 2026 feels special. We just closed a big year for Numbers Protocol, and the momentum is real. In 2025 we proved again why provenance matters for both human and AI content. We grew partnerships, shipped important features, and faced challenges with honesty and speed. Today I want to share a simple story of what we built together, and how we will turn that energy into a stronger 2026.
Highlights from Last Week¶
The final days of December brought strong traction for audio provenance and new collaborations. We worked closely with journalism and AI partners to help creators and communities publish with trust. These efforts also grew our Creative Origin Alliance, an open group that supports ethics and provenance for digital media. It was a calm but productive close to the year, and a good launchpad for January.
Partnerships & Ecosystem Growth¶
Across 2025 we focused on real adoption. Early in the year we teamed up with platforms like Pundi AI to bring verified data into more places, and we saw ARC embrace standards such as C2PA and our ERC-7053 so creators can prove ownership and history more clearly. C2PA is the open standard many publishers use to show where media comes from and how it was edited, which is key in the era of deepfakes. ERC-7053 is our indexing standard that helps apps track the full life of a digital asset across EVM chains.
In the fall, we matched DePIN networks with provenance. For example, Datagram Network brings a global connectivity layer, and together we showed how network data and content truth can meet. We also partnered with Hyra Network to support transparent AI and DePIN use cases in a simple, open way.
We were honored to receive support again from the Google News Initiative to keep building open tools that serve real newsrooms. GNI backs projects that help diverse publishers and innovation in journalism, which aligns well with our mission to protect authentic content on the internet.
Key Product Updates¶
Two launches in November stood out. Our Capture-Certify-Check flow made it easier to register, certify, and verify content in one place. Then the ERC-7053 integration went live, improving search and cross-chain traceability for media history. Together with compliance work aligned to standards like C2PA, these steps made our stack stronger for developers, creators, and platforms.
We also updated our whitepaper and expanded from “Proof of Capture” to broader “Proof of …” methods, reflecting how provenance now serves many formats—images, audio, video, and beyond. Inside the community, bridge testing, buy-back and burn reports, and DAO work all helped grow real on-chain activity and utility for $NUM.
Learning from July¶
On July 20 we faced a security incident linked to an X backdoor. It was a hard moment, but we responded fast, tightened defenses, and used it as a clear lesson: security is not a one-time task. It is daily work. This mindset will guide us in 2026.
Looking Forward to January (and the Year Ahead)¶
We start the year with a clear plan:
Stronger security. We will add multi-layer defenses, AI-assisted monitoring, and regular third-party audits. Our goal is simple: zero major breaches this year, with shared tools so the community can help keep the network safe.
More partners, more use. We will double the Creative Origin Alliance and bring provenance into more ecosystems—media, AI, DePIN, and RWA. Expect deeper work with audio and video, and more cross-chain integrations that make provenance part of everyday apps.
Technology that feels easy. We will ship automated AI labeling and real-time checks powered by ERC-7053, plus a $1M developer grants program in $NUM to inspire builders. Our target is more new dApps by year-end, all aligned with global standards like C2PA and the latest policy guidelines.
Community and token utility. We will regularly host AMAs, run hackathons, and refresh rewards for verifiers and contributors. On tokenomics, we plan quarterly burns tied to on-chain use and introduce staking yields for provenance validators. The aim is a healthier, more useful $NUM.
Global adoption and education. We will bring provenance to the mainstream—plugins for social apps, open demos, and a Provenance Summit in Q3. Our goal is 1M+ active users and a 5× lift in daily provenance registrations by making trust simple to use and easy to see.
A Clear Promise for 2026¶
In short, 2025 made Numbers Protocol a trusted layer for digital truth. In 2026, we will scale that trust. We will keep our English simple, our products open, and our actions transparent. We will listen, we will ship, and we will grow.
Thank you for standing with us. Your support and feedback are the reason we can build with courage and care. Let’s make January a strong start and the new year a turning point for digital trust.
Cheers, and have a lovely weekend there!
Sofia Yan
Co-founder & CGO, Numbers Protocol