# SOUR: The Civilization Protocol

**Version 4.0 — February 2026**

> *"10,000 years ago, a starter culture built civilization.*
> *SOUR doesn't just make trades — it makes civilization possible again."*

---

## Table of Contents

1. [Abstract](#1-abstract)
2. [The Sourdough Thesis](#2-the-sourdough-thesis)
3. [Problem Statement: Digital Feudalism](#3-problem-statement-digital-feudalism)
4. [The Three Pillars](#4-the-three-pillars)
5. [Pillar I: The Crust — Own Your Reputation](#5-pillar-i-the-crust--own-your-reputation)
6. [Pillar II: The Handshake — Trade Without Walls](#6-pillar-ii-the-handshake--trade-without-walls)
7. [Pillar III: The Harvest — Grow Together](#7-pillar-iii-the-harvest--grow-together)
8. [The Civilizational Flywheel](#8-the-civilizational-flywheel)
9. [Tokenomics: The Starter Economy](#9-tokenomics-the-starter-economy)
10. [Keeper Tiers & Loyalty](#10-keeper-tiers--loyalty)
11. [Revenue Model & Burn Mechanics](#11-revenue-model--burn-mechanics)
12. [Commons Bakery & Governance](#12-commons-bakery--governance)
13. [The Bake Plan (Roadmap)](#13-the-bake-plan-roadmap)
14. [Security Architecture](#14-security-architecture)

**Appendices**
- [A: Deflationary Math](#appendix-a-deflationary-math)
- [B: Reputation Score Formula](#appendix-b-reputation-score-formula)

---

## 1. Abstract

SOUR is a civilization protocol built on Solana. Three pillars — identity, agreements, and shared prosperity — form the foundation for an economy that serves its participants, not its operators.

**What makes SOUR different from every other crypto project:**

- **Your reputation is yours** — on-chain, portable, unsellable, undeletable
- **Trade with anyone, anywhere** — code guards the deal, not a middleman
- **50% of all fees are burned** — permanent deflation, not token inflation
- **30% flows to Keepers** — hold to earn, all in $SOUR
- **20% funds the Commons** — community treasury for collective growth
- **No team tokens. No insiders. No presale.** — 100% community-owned from day one

**We don't pay you to hold. We build an economy where holding has real value.**

---

## 2. The Sourdough Thesis

### How Fermentation Built Civilization

| Era | Innovation | Impact |
|-----|-----------|--------|
| 10,000 BC | Grain fermentation | Invented bread & beer, enabled settlement |
| 3,000 BC | Grain as currency | First money systems, trade networks |
| 1,400 AD | Banking system | Centralized trust, enabled commerce |
| 2009 | Bitcoin | Decentralized trust, eliminated middlemen |
| 2026 | **SOUR** | **Decentralized reputation, eliminated platforms** |

Sourdough starter is the oldest continuously living organism cultivated by humans. It doesn't just ferment — **it transforms everything it touches.** Flour becomes bread. Grain becomes beer. Communities become civilizations.

### SOUR as Digital Starter Culture

- **It's alive**: The ecosystem grows with every Bake, every Handshake, every Harvest
- **It's self-sustaining**: No central authority feeds it — the community feeds itself
- **It transforms**: Strangers become collaborators, skills become capital, reputation becomes value
- **It cannot be killed**: Like sourdough shared across generations, the culture persists
- **It goes into any dough**: SOUR works in any chain, any Oven, any economy

---

## 3. Problem Statement: Digital Feudalism

### You Build. They Harvest.

The internet promised freedom. It delivered feudalism.

| Lord | Your Labor | Their Cut | Your Ownership |
|------|-----------|-----------|---------------|
| YouTube | You create videos | 45% revenue | 0% — leave and lose everything |
| Upwork | You do the work | 20% fee | 0% — reputation locked |
| AppStore | You build apps | 30% commission | 0% — banned at their will |
| Banks | You save money | Inflation eats it | 0% — they print, you lose |
| PayPal | You earn abroad | 5-7% in fees + frozen | 0% — accounts frozen at will |

### The Pattern

1. **Platforms** → You create. They profit. You leave. Nothing remains.
2. **Banks** → You save. They print. You lose. Nothing remains.
3. **Borders** → You earn. They block. You wait. Nothing moves.

### SOUR's Answer

What if your reputation was yours forever? What if agreements were code, not contracts? What if every transaction made the economy stronger for everyone?

**Three pillars. One civilization.**

---

## 4. The Three Pillars

```
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            PILLAR III — THE HARVEST                       │
│   50% Burn · 30% Keepers · 20% Commons Bakery            │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│            PILLAR II — THE HANDSHAKE                      │
│   Smart Contracts · Borderless · Minimal Fees             │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│             PILLAR I — THE CRUST                          │
│   Soulbound Identity · Portable Reputation · On-Chain     │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                     FOUNDATION                            │
│        $SOUR Token · Community Owned · LP Burned          │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

Each pillar feeds the others. Reputation (Crust) enables trust. Trust enables trade (Handshake). Trade generates value (Harvest). Value attracts more participants. The civilization grows itself.

---

## 5. Pillar I: The Crust — Own Your Reputation

### The Problem

On every platform today, your reputation is held hostage:
- 5,000 reviews on Airbnb? Switch to VRBO — start from zero
- Top Rated on Upwork? Leave — your score stays behind
- 10 years on eBay? Your trust dies with the platform

**Your reputation is your most valuable economic asset, and you don't own it.**

### The Crust

Your Crust is your on-chain identity — a soulbound, dynamic record of everything you've built.

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│        🏅 YOUR CRUST                 │
│           @baker_name                │
│                                      │
│  Tier: ████████░░ Golden Crust      │
│  Bakes Completed: 34                 │
│  Keeper Since: March 2026            │
│  Skills: ✅ Verified on-chain        │
│  Oven: Solana (multichain ready)     │
│                                      │
│  ⚡ Portable · 🔒 Unsellable         │
│  🌐 Works in every Oven             │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Key Properties

- **Soulbound**: Cannot be sold or transferred — it IS you
- **Dynamic**: Grows with every successful Bake
- **Portable**: Works across every Oven (chain) SOUR deploys to
- **Undeletable**: No platform can erase your economic history
- **Composable**: Other protocols can query your Crust via API

### The Sourdough Metaphor

*"Every loaf you bake adds to your Crust. The Crust can't be bought — only earned through the work of your hands."*

---

## 6. Pillar II: The Handshake — Trade Without Walls

### The Problem

International trade today:
- Bank wire: 3-5 business days, $25-45 fee
- PayPal: 4.5% conversion + 2.9% fee ≈ 7.4%
- Upwork: 10% platform fee on top of everything
- **Total cost: 15-20% of the payment**

### The Handshake

Two people. One Recipe (smart contract). No middleman.

```
The Handshake Flow:

Baker A (Istanbul) ←→ Baker B (São Paulo)
         │
    ┌────┴────┐
    │ RECIPE  │  ← Smart contract with clear terms
    └────┬────┘
         │
    Code verifies → Escrow releases → Crust updated
         │
    Cost: 1-3% Pinch (not 15-20%)
    Speed: Seconds (not days)
    Trust: Code (not platform)
```

### Key Properties

- **Borderless**: Istanbul to São Paulo in seconds, not days
- **Minimal fees**: 1-3% Pinch vs 15-20% traditional
- **Code-enforced**: Smart contracts replace lawyers and moderators
- **Community-set fees**: The Bakers decide the Pinch rate
- **Chain-agnostic**: Every Oven, every Flame

### The Sourdough Metaphor

*"A handshake between bakers needs no middleman. The recipe is the contract."*

---

## 7. Pillar III: The Harvest — Grow Together

### The Problem

Most crypto projects:
- Give away tokens → dilutes believers
- Promise staking APY → funded by inflation (Ponzi mechanics)
- Have no real revenue → price = pure speculation
- "Decentralized" in name only → team holds the keys

### The Harvest

Every Bake on the protocol generates a Pinch (1-3% fee). That Pinch feeds the entire civilization:

```
Every Bake (Trade/Agreement)
         │
    Pinch (1-3%)
         │
    ┌────┴──────────────────────────────┐
    │                                    │
    ├── 50% → BURN 🔥                   │
    │         Supply shrinks forever     │
    │                                    │
    ├── 30% → KEEPERS 🌾                │
    │         Distributed to holders     │
    │         Tier-weighted              │
    │         All in $SOUR               │
    │                                    │
    └── 20% → COMMONS BAKERY 🏛️         │
              Community treasury         │
              DAO-governed spending       │
    ─────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Key Properties

- **50% burned permanently** — every Bake makes $SOUR scarcer
- **30% to Keepers** — paid in $SOUR, tier-weighted, real protocol revenue
- **20% to Commons** — community treasury for collective growth
- **No inflation** — no minting, no staking rewards, no team unlocks
- **All in $SOUR** — creating real demand for the token

### Why $SOUR, not stablecoins?

Paying rewards in $SOUR creates a virtuous cycle: protocol revenue → buy $SOUR for distribution → price support → Keepers receive appreciating asset → more incentive to hold → stronger civilization.

### The Sourdough Metaphor

*"Feed the Oven, and the Oven feeds you. Every Pinch returned makes the next loaf rise higher."*

---

## 8. The Civilizational Flywheel

```
       ┌─── Bake ◄────────────────────┐
       │                               │
       ▼                               │
    Pinch (1-3%)                  More Bakers
       │                               │
       ▼                               │
  Feed the Oven                   Crust Grows
       │                               │
       ▼                               │
    Harvest ──────────────────────►    │
```

**Step by step:**

1. **Bake** — A transaction happens on the protocol
2. **Pinch** — 1-3% fee is collected
3. **Feed the Oven** — 50% burns, 30% to Keepers, 20% to Commons
4. **Harvest** — Keepers receive $SOUR, supply decreases
5. **Crust Grows** — Participants build reputation
6. **More Bakers** — Better reputation = more trust = more participants
7. **Repeat ∞** — The civilization grows itself

Each step feeds the next. No step requires outside intervention. The flywheel is self-sustaining — just like sourdough starter.

---

## 9. Tokenomics: The Starter Economy

### Token Details

| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Name | SOUR: The Genesis Starter |
| Ticker | $SOUR |
| Chain | Solana |
| Total Supply | 1,000,000,000 (1 Billion) |
| Team Allocation | 0% |
| Pre-sale | None |
| Buy/Sell Tax | 0% |
| LP Status | Burned forever |
| Mint Authority | Revoked |
| Freeze Authority | Revoked |
| Launch | Fair launch on Pump.fun |

### Why Zero Tax?

Buy/sell taxes punish traders and reduce liquidity. SOUR generates revenue from actual protocol usage (the Pinch), not from penalizing token transfers.

### The $SOUR Token's Role

$SOUR is not a speculative token — it is the currency of a civilization:
- **Fee currency**: All Pinch fees flow through $SOUR
- **Keeper rewards**: 30% of all fees distributed in $SOUR
- **Governance**: Voting power in the Bakery DAO
- **Identity bond**: Your Keeper tier is tied to $SOUR holdings
- **Deflationary**: 50% of all fees burned, permanently reducing supply

---

## 10. Keeper Tiers & Loyalty

### The Tier System

The longer you hold without selling, the thicker your Crust — and the greater your Harvest.

| Tier | Requirement | Harvest Weight | Benefits |
|------|------------|---------------|----------|
| 🫓 Fresh Dough | Hold any amount | — | Community access, Baker identity, Crust begins |
| 🍞 Rising Dough | 30 days holding | 1x | Harvest eligibility, reduced Pinch, DAO voting |
| 🥐 Golden Crust | 90 days holding | 1.5x | Sourdough Circle creation, Recipe proposals, minimum Pinch |
| 👑 Eternal Starter | 365 days holding | 2x | Governance veto, Elder Baker status, founding privileges |

### Sell = Reset

This is the core loyalty mechanic:

**Sell your $SOUR → Tier resets to Fresh Dough. Hold timer restarts from zero. Harvest stops. Crust thins.**

The Starter rewards patience. Diamond hands aren't a meme here — they're the economic model.

### Why This Matters

- **Reduces sell pressure**: Selling has real consequences
- **Rewards conviction**: Long-term holders earn disproportionately more
- **Creates stability**: Tier system incentivizes holding through volatility
- **Builds community**: Eternal Starters have real governance power

---

## 11. Revenue Model & Burn Mechanics

### Revenue Distribution

```
Protocol Revenue (1-3% Pinch on every Bake)
         │
         ├── 50% → BURN 🔥
         │         Buy $SOUR from market
         │         Send to burn address
         │         Gone forever
         │
         ├── 30% → KEEPER HARVEST 🌾
         │         Distributed in $SOUR
         │         Tier-weighted
         │         Ongoing rewards
         │
         └── 20% → COMMONS BAKERY 🏛️
                   Community treasury
                   DAO-governed
                   Funds ecosystem growth
```

### Burn Projections

| Monthly Volume | Pinch Rate | Monthly Revenue | Monthly Burn (50%) | Keeper Harvest (30%) | Commons (20%) |
|---------------|-----------|----------------|-------------------|---------------------|--------------|
| $100K | 2.5% | $2,500 | $1,250 | $750 | $500 |
| $1M | 2.0% | $20,000 | $10,000 | $6,000 | $4,000 |
| $10M | 1.5% | $150,000 | $75,000 | $45,000 | $30,000 |
| $100M | 1.2% | $1,200,000 | $600,000 | $360,000 | $240,000 |

### Fixed Supply, Only Burns

SOUR has a fixed supply of 1 billion tokens with **no minting capability**. Every burn permanently reduces circulating supply. There is no inflation mechanism. No staking rewards. No airdrops. No team unlocks.

**The math is simple: as the civilization grows, supply shrinks.** Your share gets bigger by doing nothing — just holding.

---

## 12. Commons Bakery & Governance

### The Community Treasury

20% of all protocol revenue flows to the Commons Bakery automatically. No vote needed to fund it — only to spend it.

### How Funds Are Spent

- **Ecosystem development**: Fund projects that grow the civilization
- **Community grants**: Support Bakers building tools and content
- **Emergency reserves**: Safety net for the protocol
- **Infrastructure**: Cover costs of running the Oven

### Quadratic Voting

```
Voting Power = √(tokens committed)

1 token    → 1.00 votes
4 tokens   → 2.00 votes  
9 tokens   → 3.00 votes
10,000     → 100 votes (not 10,000)
```

A whale with 10,000 tokens gets 100 votes, not 10,000. **Democracy, not plutocracy.**

### Sybil Resistance

- Only wallets with Keeper status can vote
- Minimum token commitment per vote
- Time-weighted voting (longer holding = more effective)
- Tier-gated proposals (Golden Crust+ can submit Recipe proposals)

---

## 13. The Bake Plan (Roadmap)

### First Rise — NOW

**The Starter is Alive**

The genesis moment. $SOUR launches with 100% community allocation. No insiders. No presale. The first culture is born. The Bakers gather.

- ✅ Fair launch — no presale, no insiders
- 🔄 The First Bakers community
- 🔄 SOUR brand & meme culture
- ⬜ Live baking sessions (24/7 stream)
- ⬜ Genesis Keeper recognition

### The Recipe — NEXT

**Writing the Recipe**

Protocol smart contracts. The Crust identity system. Handshake engine for agreements. First Pinch → first Burn. SDK & building blocks. The first Bakeries open.

- ⬜ Protocol smart contracts on-chain
- ⬜ Crust — soulbound identity & reputation
- ⬜ Handshake — P2P agreement engine
- ⬜ First Pinch → first Feed the Oven 🔥
- ⬜ SDK & no-code Bakery builder
- ⬜ The Harvest begins — Keepers earn

### Every Oven — FUTURE

**Every Oven, Every Flame**

Multichain deployment — every blockchain is an Oven. No-code platform builder for everyone. The Bakery DAO with full governance. Global Baker network. The Civilization rises.

- ⬜ Multichain — Solana, Ethereum, and beyond
- ⬜ No-code Bakery builder for all
- ⬜ The Bakery DAO — community governance
- ⬜ Sovereign chain exploration
- ⬜ The Civilization — global economic network

---

## 14. Security Architecture

### Smart Contracts
- Isolated contract per Handshake — no shared pool risk
- Circuit breakers: emergency pause (multisig)
- Open source — publicly auditable
- Bug bounty program

### Treasury
- Squads Protocol 3-of-5 multisig
- 48-hour time lock on transactions > $10,000
- All movements visible on-chain
- Progressive decentralization → full DAO

### User Safety
- Non-custodial — users control their wallets
- No personal information required
- Rate limiting — anti-spam, anti-manipulation
- Soulbound identity — can't be stolen or faked

---

## Appendix A: Deflationary Math

### How Holding Gets Better Over Time

```
Your holding: 1,000,000 SOUR (0.10% of supply)

Launch:  Supply 1,000,000,000 → Your share: 0.100%
Year 1:  Supply   950,000,000 → Your share: 0.105%
Year 3:  Supply   760,000,000 → Your share: 0.132%
Year 5:  Supply   600,000,000 → Your share: 0.167%

Your ownership grew 67% — by doing absolutely nothing.
No staking required. No locking. Just holding.
```

Plus you're earning $SOUR from the Harvest on top of this deflation.

---

## Appendix B: Reputation Score Formula

```
CrustScore = Σ(bake_value × completion × time_factor × tier_bonus)

bake_value   = min(log10(amount + 1) / 4, 1.0)
completion   = { success: 1.0, partial: %, failed: 0 }
time_factor  = e^(-days_since / 365)
tier_bonus   = { Eternal: 2.0, Golden: 1.5, Rising: 1.0, Fresh: 0.5 }

Tiers:
  Fresh Dough:     0-19
  Rising Dough:    20-39
  Golden Crust:    40-69
  Eternal Starter: 70-100

Decay: -0.5 points/month after 90 days inactive
Floor: 0 (cannot go negative)
```

---

## Disclaimer

SOUR is a community-driven experimental protocol. This document describes intended functionality and is not a guarantee of future performance. Smart contract risk, market risk, and regulatory uncertainty apply. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose. SOUR tokens are utility tokens — not securities, not investment contracts, not promises of financial return.

---

*"10,000 years ago, grain fermentation built civilization.*
*Today, three pillars woven into one living protocol build the next one."*

*Built with 🍞 by Bakers, for Bakers.*
*No owner. Just a beginning.*
