Pre-registration is a smart contract. It moves the sign-up process on-chain, creating a verifiable, tradable claim on future access or assets. This transforms a simple email list into a composable financial primitive.
decentralized-science-desci-fixing-research
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The Future of Pre-Registration is a Smart Contract
Academic publishing is broken. We propose a first-principles fix: locking hypothesis, methodology, and analysis into an immutable smart contract before research begins. This eliminates p-hacking, ensures provenance, and creates a new standard for on-chain science.
introduction
THE SHIFT
Introduction
Pre-registration is evolving from a marketing gimmick into a core, programmable layer of user acquisition.
The current model is broken. Centralized platforms like Gleam.io or manual spreadsheets create data silos and opaque allocation. An on-chain registry provides transparent, immutable proof of user intent and timestamp.
Protocols like EigenLayer and friend.tech demonstrate the demand for provable, early participation. Their points programs are primitive forms of pre-registration, lacking standardization and liquidity.
Evidence: The $2.3B Total Value Locked (TVL) in EigenLayer restaking shows users will commit capital for future rewards, a behavior a standardized pre-registry will abstract and expand.
thesis-statement
THE ARCHIVAL STANDARD
The Core Argument: Immutability as a Scientific Primitive
Pre-registration's future is a smart contract because it provides a globally-verifiable, immutable audit trail that traditional databases cannot.
Pre-registration is a data integrity problem that legacy journal databases fail to solve. Centralized servers are mutable, creating a trust deficit in the scientific record. A smart contract on a public blockchain provides a canonical, timestamped ledger for research commitments that cannot be altered post-hoc.
Immutability creates a new scientific primitive. It transforms a pre-registration from a private note into a publicly verifiable state transition. This is the difference between a Word document and a transaction on Ethereum or Arbitrum—the latter provides cryptographic proof of existence at a specific point in time.
The counter-intuitive insight is cost. While blockchain transactions have fees, the cost of scientific fraud and irreproducibility is orders of magnitude higher. Protocols like Arbitrum Nitro enable batch submission, reducing the cost of anchoring a study's design to fractions of a cent.
Evidence: The replication crisis is a $28B annual problem in biomedical research alone. Immutable pre-registrations attack this problem at the root by eliminating outcome switching and HARKing, forcing methodology to be locked before data collection begins.
key-trends
FROM ABSTRACTION TO EXECUTION
Key Trends Driving On-Chain Science
The next wave of user-centric infrastructure moves beyond simple transaction batching to intent-based systems where users declare outcomes, not commands.
01
The Problem: The User is a Signing Monkey
Users manually navigate fragmented liquidity, approve infinite allowances, and pay for failed transactions. This is a UX failure that caps adoption.
- Wasted Gas: Users pay for failed tx and MEV on every interaction.
- Cognitive Overhead: Managing dozens of chains, tokens, and dApps is a full-time job.
- Security Risk: Constant wallet pop-ups and blind signing are phishing vectors.
~40%
Failed Tx Gas
10+
Avg. Approvals
02
The Solution: Intents as a Declarative Layer
Users submit signed declarations of desired outcomes (e.g., 'Swap X for Y at best rate'). A network of solvers competes to fulfill it optimally.
- Abstracted Complexity: Solvers handle routing, liquidity, and execution across chains (see UniswapX, CowSwap).
- Cost Efficiency: Solvers absorb gas costs and MEV, often refunding users.
- Guaranteed Outcomes: Transactions only succeed if the intent's conditions are met.
$1B+
Monthly Volume
-99%
Revert Risk
03
The Infrastructure: Programmable Pre-Registration
A smart contract becomes the user's persistent agent, holding conditional logic and funds, activated by off-chain attestations or on-chain triggers.
- Persistent State: Contract stores user preferences, allowances, and whitelists.
- Composable Logic: Can integrate with Gelato for automation or Safe for multisig.
- Verifiable Execution: Every action is a provable fulfillment of the user's pre-set rules.
24/7
Uptime
0-Click
Final Execution
04
The Future: Autonomous Agent Economies
Pre-registered smart contracts evolve into non-custodial agents that act on behalf of users, creating a market for solver services and reputation.
- Solver Competition: Drives better prices and faster execution (see Across, 1inch Fusion).
- Reputation Staking: Solvers bond capital to guarantee performance, slashed for misbehavior.
- Cross-Chain Native: Intent fulfillment abstracts chain boundaries, making LayerZero-style messaging a commodity.
$10B+
Solver TVL
~500ms
Quote Latency
PRE-REGISTRATION MECHANISMS
The Cost of Bad Science: A Comparative Analysis
A comparative analysis of research pre-registration methods, evaluating their effectiveness in preventing p-hacking, data dredging, and publication bias.
| Feature / Metric | Traditional Journal Pre-Reg | Centralized Registry (e.g., OSF) | On-Chain Smart Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
Immutable Timestamp Proof | |||
Censorship Resistance | |||
Public Verifiability (No Paywall) | |||
Methodology Hash Stored | |||
Analysis Plan Locked Pre-Data | Optional | Optional | Enforced by Code |
Cost per Registration | $0-100 (APC) | $0 | $2-10 (Gas Fee) |
Time to Public Record | Months (Post-Peer Review) | < 1 minute | < 1 minute (Block Time) |
Automated Penalty for Deviation | Possible via Slashing / Staking |
deep-dive
THE BLUEPRINT
Architecture of a Pre-Registration Smart Contract
Pre-registration shifts from a centralized database to a transparent, programmable state machine on-chain.
Core State Machine Logic defines the contract's behavior. The contract holds a mapping of addresses to registration status, with functions for commit, reveal, and finalize phases. This replaces opaque backend logic with verifiable code, similar to Uniswap's immutable AMM curves.
Commit-Reveal Schemes prevent frontrunning. Users submit a hashed commitment of their data, later revealing it to claim their slot. This mechanism, used by ENS for domain auctions, ensures fairness by hiding intent during the critical registration window.
Gas optimization is mandatory. Storing data on Ethereum mainnet is prohibitively expensive. Architectures use Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum or Base for state, or commit hashes to a cheaper chain like Celestia for data availability, settling finality on Ethereum.
Integration with Intent Solvers is the endgame. The contract doesn't execute swaps or bridges itself. It emits intents as events, which off-chain solvers like UniswapX or Across fulfill, abstracting complexity from the user. The contract becomes a coordination layer.
protocol-spotlight
THE PRE-REGISTRATION FRONTIER
Early Movers in the On-Chain Research Stack
Pre-registration is moving from centralized databases to smart contracts, creating a new primitive for verifiable, composable user intent.
01
The Problem: Wasted Intent & Sybil Attacks
Traditional waitlists are black boxes. Projects can't verify genuine interest, leading to >90% churn from unqualified leads. Sybil farmers exploit airdrops, diluting rewards for real users and destroying token economics.
- Inefficient Capital: Marketing spend is wasted on noise, not signal.
- No Composability: Interest data is siloed, preventing cross-protocol coordination.
>90%
Churn Rate
0
On-Chain Proof
02
The Solution: Bonded Intent Smart Contracts
Users lock a small, refundable bond (e.g., 0.001 ETH) to signal serious interest. This creates a cryptographically verifiable proof-of-intent on-chain.
- Sybil Resistance: Bonding capital raises the cost of fake sign-ups.
- Programmable Slashing: Bonds can be programmatically forfeited for no-shows, creating economic alignment.
- Composable Data: Bonded addresses become a high-fidelity dataset for other dApps.
10-100x
Signal Quality
Refundable
User Bond
03
EigenLayer: The Restaking Primitive
EigenLayer didn't invent pre-registration, but it perfected the bonded intent model for cryptoeconomic security. Its ~$15B+ TVL waitlist proved the demand for programmable trust.
- Market Validation: Demonstrated massive capital willingness to lock funds for future utility.
- Blueprint for Apps: Showed how to bootstrap a high-quality, economically-aligned user base from day one.
$15B+
TVL Validated
Blueprint
For Apps
04
The Future: Pre-Registration as a Protocol
Standalone smart contracts will evolve into full-stack protocols like EigenLayer or Babylon. They will offer standardized SDKs for projects to launch bonded campaigns.
- Cross-Chain Intent: Bonds placed on one chain can signal interest for apps on another (via LayerZero, Axelar).
- DeFi Integration: Bonded capital could be automatically deployed in yield-bearing strategies while idle.
- Reputation Graphs: A persistent, portable record of a user's committed intent across Web3.
Multi-Chain
Native
Yield-Bearing
Capital
counter-argument
THE COMPLEXITY TRAP
Counter-Argument: Isn't This Overkill?
Smart contract pre-registration introduces new attack surfaces and complexity that may outweigh its benefits for most applications.
Smart contracts are attack surfaces. Adding a pre-registration layer creates a new, stateful component that requires auditing and maintenance. This is a non-trivial security burden that protocols like Uniswap avoid by using simple, stateless permit signatures.
The UX friction is real. Users must approve two transactions (register, then execute) instead of one. For common swaps, this doubles the failure modes and gas costs compared to a direct call to a DEX aggregator like 1inch.
Most intents are simple. The majority of user transactions are single-chain swaps or deposits that existing EIP-712 signatures or session keys solve efficiently. The complexity of a generalized intent contract is overkill for these cases.
Evidence: The dominant cross-chain solution, Stargate, uses a simple liquidity network model, not a generalized intent settlement layer. Its success shows that reliability and simplicity often beat maximalist architectural purity.
risk-analysis
THE SMART CONTRACT FRONTIER
Risks & Implementation Hurdles
Migrating pre-registration logic on-chain introduces novel attack vectors and scaling constraints that must be solved.
01
The Oracle Problem is a Centralized Kill Switch
On-chain eligibility checks require real-world data (KYC status, credit scores). A single oracle failure or manipulation compromises the entire system.
- Single Point of Failure: Centralized oracles like Chainlink introduce trust assumptions antithetical to decentralization.
- Data Latency: Real-world verification can take minutes, breaking UX for sub-500ms blockchain transactions.
- Cost Proliferation: Each data fetch adds $0.10-$1.00+ in gas, making micro-transactions non-viable.
1
Failure Point
$0.10+
Per-Check Cost
02
State Bloat Cripples Layer 1 Scalability
Storing millions of user eligibility proofs as permanent on-chain state is economically unsustainable.
- Storage Cost: 1 KB of data on Ethereum L1 costs ~$100+ to store perpetually, scaling linearly with users.
- Sync Time Burden: Full nodes must download and validate this non-financial state, harming network decentralization.
- Solution Path: Requires validity proofs or off-chain storage with zk-SNARK verification, akin to zkSync's state model.
$100+
Per KB Storage
1M+
User Records
03
Regulatory Arbitrage Creates Fragile Systems
A global smart contract must navigate conflicting jurisdictional rules (e.g., EU's MiCA vs. US's SEC guidance).
- Upgrade Dilemma: Immutable contracts cannot adapt to new laws; upgradeable proxies introduce admin key risks.
- Geofencing Complexity: On-chain IP or GPS checks are trivial to spoof, requiring trusted hardware attestations.
- Legal Liability: Protocol developers may face liability for facilitating non-compliant registrations, a lesson from Tornado Cash.
200+
Jurisdictions
0
Spoof Cost
04
The MEV & Frontrunning Attack Vector
Public mempools expose pre-registration intents, allowing bots to extract value or deny service.
- Priority Gas Auctions: Bots can outbid legitimate users for limited registration slots, as seen on Ethereum during NFT mints.
- Censorship Risk: Malicious validators can reorder or censor transactions based on revealed user data.
- Mitigation Required: Needs Flashbots SUAVE-like private mempools or CowSwap-style batch auctions to neutralize MEV.
>90%
Bot Traffic
$M+
Extractable Value
05
Key Management is a UX Dead End
Requiring users to sign complex eligibility proofs with EOA wallets results in catastrophic failure rates.
- Signature Complexity: ZK proofs or policy signatures are incompatible with most MetaMask users.
- Loss & Recovery: $10B+ in crypto is permanently lost due to private key mismanagement; adding critical identity keys worsens this.
- Mandatory Shift: Requires embedded ERC-4337 smart account wallets with social recovery, like Safe or ZeroDev.
$10B+
Assets Lost
>50%
Drop-off Rate
06
Interoperability Fragmentation Across L2s
A registration on Arbitrum is meaningless on Base. Siloed state defeats the purpose of a universal identity layer.
- Bridging Latency: Moving attestations across rollups via LayerZero or Across adds ~20 minutes of delay and trust assumptions.
- Canonical State Problem: No rollup-native solution for a globally consistent, real-time eligibility state.
- EigenLayer Potential: A universally shared AVS (Actively Validated Service) for identity could emerge as a cross-chain primitive.
20min
Bridge Delay
10+
L2 Fragments
future-outlook
THE CONTRACTUAL LAYER
Future Outlook: The Reproducibility Premium
Pre-registration will evolve from a database entry into a programmable, on-chain smart contract that captures and monetizes transaction flow.
The pre-registration contract becomes a financial primitive. It is a verifiable, tradable asset representing future transaction rights, enabling new markets for flow derivatives and MEV protection.
This creates a reproducibility premium. A signed, on-chain intent from a high-volume user is more valuable than probabilistic future behavior, shifting value from prediction to contractual certainty.
Protocols like UniswapX and Across demonstrate the model, where signed orders are the asset. The next step is standardizing these intents as ERC-721 or ERC-1155 tokens for secondary markets.
Evidence: The 90%+ fill rate for intents on CowSwap and Across proves the market pays for guaranteed execution, a premium that will be directly captured by the pre-registration contract itself.
takeaways
FROM GATEKEEPER TO GUARANTOR
Key Takeaways for Builders and Funders
Pre-registration is shifting from a centralized marketing tool to a foundational, programmable primitive for on-chain coordination.
01
The Problem: Fragmented, Unenforceable Commitments
Current pre-registration is a marketing black hole. Lists are siloed, promises are non-binding, and user intent is lost. This creates zero composability and high user acquisition costs with no guarantee of conversion.\n- Data Silos: Intent captured on a landing page doesn't flow to the protocol.\n- No Skin in the Game: Users have no cost for signaling, leading to low-quality leads.\n- Broken Funnel: No automated path from signal to on-chain action.
<5%
Typical Conversion
$0
Commitment Value
02
The Solution: Programmable Intent as a Smart Contract
Embed pre-registration logic directly into a smart contract that acts as a coordination layer. This turns a mailing list into a verifiable, on-chain state. Think of it as a pre-launch bonding curve for user attention.\n- Composable Signals: Intent data becomes a public good for integrators like LayerZero or Hyperliquid.\n- Credible Commitment: Users can stake (even micro-amounts) to prove seriousness.\n- Automated Execution: Triggers airdrops, allowlist minting, or fee discounts upon mainnet launch.
100%
On-Chain Verifiable
Programmable
Outcome
03
New Business Model: Pre-Launch Liquidity & Data Markets
A smart contract registry creates entirely new monetization and valuation vectors before a single line of mainnet code is deployed. This flips the traditional funding model.\n- Liquidity Preview: Aggregate pre-staked funds can be used in Aave or Compound for yield pre-launch.\n- Data Derivatives: Projects like Space and Time could index intent graphs for predictive analytics.\n- VC Signal: A $10M+ pre-registration TVL is a stronger signal than a deck, de-risking early funding rounds.
$10M+
Potential Pre-TV
New Asset Class
Intent Data
04
Architectural Imperative: Minimize Friction, Maximize Proof
The winning implementation will abstract away wallet complexity while maximizing cryptographic proof of unique humanity. This is a UX and Sybil-resistance battle.\n- ERC-4337 Account Abstraction: Sponsor gas for users to sign up with a social login.\n- Proof of Personhood Integration: Leverage Worldcoin, BrightID, or Proof of Humanity to filter bots.\n- Cross-Chain by Default: Deploy on an L2 like Base or Arbitrum, with state attestations to Ethereum.
<30s
Target Sign-Up
~$0.001
User Cost
05
The Risk: Regulatory Gray Zone & MEV
Tokenizing pre-launch user intent walks into untested legal territory and creates new attack vectors. Builders must design with these threats first.\n- Howey Test Trigger: A staked pre-registration with expectation of profit could be deemed a security.\n- MEV Extraction: Frontrunning allowlist spots or snapshot timing becomes lucrative.\n- Data Privacy: On-chain intent is public; consider Aztec or FHE for private signaling cohorts.
High
Legal Complexity
New Vector
MEV
06
The Meta-Game: First-Mover Protocol Dominance
The standard for on-chain pre-registration is up for grabs. The winner becomes the LayerZero of intent capture—a critical middleware infra piece.\n- Network Effects: The first protocol to attract major launches (e.g., a zkSync ecosystem app) will become the default.\n- Standardization: An EIP for intent signaling could emerge, akin to ERC-20.\n- Acquisition Target: This is prime Coinbase or a16z portfolio territory for vertical integration.
Winner-Take-Most
Market Dynamic
Infra Play
True Value
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