SubNFT: The Subscription NFT Engine

SubNFT is a protocol-agnostic engine for creating time-locked, subscription-based NFTs. Designed specifically for open-source developers and researchers, SubNFT provides a sustainable revenue model by turning digital assets into expiring access keys.

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1. Executive Summary

One-time NFT sales rarely support long-term maintenance. SubNFT introduces Time-Locked Metadata. Developers can issue NFTs that grant access to private GitHub repositories, specialized documentation, or premium Discord channels for a specific duration. Once the "subscription" period ends, the NFT metadata dynamically updates to a "revoked" or "expired" state until a renewal payment is made.

2. The Problem

The "Starving Developer" problem is real in Web3:

• One-and-Done Revenue: Standard NFTs provide a burst of initial liquidity but no recurring support for maintenance.
• Proprietary Gating: Existing subscription tools are often "Black Box" solutions that take high platform fees (10-20%).
• Complexity: Setting up an expiring access system requires complex smart contract logic that many developers don't have time to build.

3. Key Features

• ⏳ Time-Locked Metadata: NFTs that "expire" on-chain, triggering a change in access rights across integrated platforms.
• 🔓 Decentralized Gating: Native integrations for GitHub (via GitHub Apps) and Discord (via Bot) to automate member management.
• 🔄 Auto-Renewal Logic: Optional smart contract hooks that allow users to "top up" their NFT duration using stablecoins.
• 🌌 Multi-Chain Support: Optimized for Stellar/Soroban (using Contract Storage) and EVM (using EIP-5643 or similar standards).

4. Roadmap for this Wave

• Phase 1: Core Subscription Smart Contract for Soroban and Solidity.
• Phase 2: Launch the "Access Watcher" service—a middleware that checks NFT expiration before granting GitHub/Discord access.
• Phase 3: Create a No-Code Dashboard for developers to launch their own Subscription NFT collections.

5. Why SubNFT belongs in Drips Wave

SubNFT is a Sustainability Tool for the public good.

• Empowering Creators: We provide the infrastructure for developers to fund their own work independently.
• Sustainability: We use Drips to stream 15% of our funding back to the NFT metadata standards and decentralized storage providers (like IPFS/Arweave) we utilize.

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🛠 Project Structure (Monorepo)

SubNFT/
├── contracts/
│   ├── soroban/       # Rust-based subscription logic
│   └── evm/           # Solidity (EIP-5643) implementation
├── apps/
│   ├── dashboard/     # UI for creators to manage subscriptions
│   └── watcher/       # Middleware for GitHub/Discord gating
├── libs/
│   └── metadata/      # Logic for generating expiring JSON metadata
└── LICENSE            # MIT Licensed