GetSmart Token

A Peer-to-Peer Credentialing and Debt Relief System

Digital Financial Aid Corporation
January 2026 | Version 1.3

1. Introduction

The global education system faces three interconnected crises that demand innovative solutions.

The Student Debt Crisis: In the United States alone, 40 million people hold $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. This burden limits economic mobility and life opportunities for an entire generation, delaying homeownership, family formation, and entrepreneurship.

The Credentialing Gap: Over 2 billion workers globally lack verified credentials, restricting access to skilled employment despite possessing valuable skills. An estimated 90% of all learning worldwide remains undocumented and unrecognized by formal systems.

The Verification Problem: Traditional credentials are issued by centralized authorities who act as gatekeepers, creating barriers based on geography, cost, and access rather than competence. These credentials are expensive to issue, difficult to verify, and easily forged.

What is needed is an electronic credentialing system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly without needing a credentialing authority.

2. The Problem

2.1 Centralized Authority

Traditional credentials—degrees, certificates, licenses—are issued by centralized authorities. This centralization creates several problems:

• Exclusion: Billions lack access to credentialing institutions
• Cost: Credentials are expensive to obtain and maintain
• Verification: Third-party verification requires trust in the issuing authority
• Fraud: Centralized records can be forged or altered
• Portability: Credentials don’t transfer across borders or systems

2.2 The Debt Burden

Student loan debt is particularly pernicious because it cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, interest compounds making repayment increasingly difficult, and default rates are high among vulnerable populations.

Meanwhile, defaulted student loan debt trades on secondary markets at a fraction of face value—often less than 1 cent on the dollar. This creates an opportunity: if debt can be purchased at net present value, it can be erased at a fraction of the nominal cost.

2.3 The Need for a New System

3. System Architecture

3.1 Blockchain Infrastructure

The GetSmart Token system operates on Base Layer 2, an Ethereum-compatible blockchain that provides low transaction costs (fractions of a cent), high throughput (thousands of transactions per second), and seamless Coinbase integration for wallet management.

3.2 Smart Contract Design

The system uses a single ERC-1155 multi-token standard contract managing both fungible tokens and NFT credentials:

3.3 The Badge Token

Each earned award is represented by a badge token—an ERC-1155 NFT containing four elements:

1. Image: Sponsor-designed graphic stored on IPFS
2. Title: Award name (up to 45 characters)
3. GETS ID: Six-digit alphanumeric code (e.g., A7X42K)
4. QR Code: Links to the award verification page

This creates a double verification mechanism: anyone can scan the QR code or look up the GETS ID—both paths lead to the same verification endpoint, ensuring credentials can be confirmed through multiple channels.

3.4 Server Wallet

The system utilizes a Coinbase-Managed Server Wallet with 2-of-2 multi-party computation (MPC) for security. This central treasury sponsors all transactions (gas abstraction), so users never need to hold ETH or understand gas fees.

4. User Roles

4.1 Earners

Earners are always independent. They require no connection or approval to participate—simply create an account and apply for any public award. When approved, they receive a badge token containing their credential. Wallets are created automatically when needed, and all gas fees are sponsored by the Server Wallet. Earners can spend their tokens at participating merchants or stake them to support debt relief.

4.2 Sponsors

Sponsors are verified entities that create awards. After approval, their name becomes immutable to prevent reputation hijacking. Sponsors can connect to multiple Admins (institutions) and select which Admin’s name appears on each award they create.

4.3 Admins

Admins represent institutions (universities, companies, NGOs) that authorize Sponsors to issue awards under their name. Admins approve or disconnect Sponsors but cannot ban users—all banning is handled centrally by the Super Admin with manual review.

4.4 Sponsor-Admin Connections

5. Award Creation

5.1 Creating an Award

Sponsors click “Create Award” and complete a form with:

• Title: Up to 45 characters
• Issue Under: Select Admin connection or “Independent”
• Description, Criteria, Evidence Requirements: Can use AI assistant
• Image: Uploaded to IPFS
• Token Allocation: Total tokens, per-award amount, number of awards
• Distribution Date: When tokens are distributed

5.2 AI Assistant

Sponsors can use a built-in AI assistant to help write clear, professional award text. The LLM generates descriptions, criteria, and evidence requirements—which the Sponsor reviews and edits before publishing.

5.3 Award Lifecycle

1. Creation: Sponsor fills form, tokens move to escrow + 9 fee to treasury
2. Discovery: Award appears in marketplace (if public)
3. Application: Earners submit evidence
4. Approval: Sponsor approves → badge token minted with unique GETS ID and QR code
5. Distribution: On distribution date, tokens distributed to all approved Earners
6. Verification: Anyone can verify via QR code or GETS ID lookup

6. Token Economics

6.1 Supply Dynamics

6.2 Token Acquisition

6.3 Deflationary Mechanism

Unclaimed award slots are burned along with their associated tokens. If an award has 50 slots but only 40 are claimed, 10 slots worth of tokens are permanently destroyed—creating scarcity as the network grows.

7. Merchant Network

7.1 The Closed-Loop Economy

A token without utility is merely speculative. GetSmart Token creates real demand through a closed-loop merchant network where businesses accept GETS tokens for goods and services. This transforms GETS from a credentialing byproduct into a functional medium of exchange—while every transaction ultimately supports the debt relief mission.

7.2 Why Merchants Participate

7.3 The Book It Model

Remember Pizza Hut’s “Book It” program? Children earned free personal pan pizzas by reading books. Simple, memorable, effective. GetSmart’s merchant network operates on the same principle—earn credentials, get rewards—but powered by blockchain for transparency and global scale.

A coffee shop might offer: “Show your GETS balance, get 10% off.” A bookstore: “Spend 50 GETS, get a free paperback.” A tutoring service: “Earn any coding award, get your first session free.” The mechanics are simple; the mission is profound.

7.4 Merchant Onboarding

Joining the network requires minimal technical integration:

1. Register: Business creates merchant account, verified by nonprofit
2. Set Offers: Define what GETS can purchase (discounts, products, services)
3. Display: Add “We Accept GETS” signage (physical or digital)
4. Accept: Customer shows app, merchant confirms transaction
5. Redeem: Quarterly, merchant redeems accumulated GETS for value

7.5 Redemption Options

When merchants accumulate GETS tokens, they have three redemption paths:

Many mission-aligned businesses choose the donation or staking path, effectively turning every customer transaction into charitable giving.

7.6 Ecosystem Flywheel

The merchant network creates a self-reinforcing cycle:

Each participant—Earner, Sponsor, Admin, Merchant—strengthens the entire ecosystem. Value circulates rather than leaking out, and every loop channels resources toward the core mission: erasing student debt.

8. Student Freedom Fund

8.1 The Opportunity

Defaulted student loans trade at less than 1% of face value because they’re expensive to administer. The Student Freedom Fund exploits this market inefficiency through collective action.

8.2 Staking Tiers

Staking Parameters: 365-day lock, 0% personal yield (altruistic model), all rewards flow to treasury for debt relief operations.

8.3 The Debt Relief Process

1. Stake: Token holders lock tokens for 365 days
2. Accumulate: Treasury grows from minting + merchant redemptions + donations
3. Negotiate: Quarterly bulk debt purchases at NPV (<1%)
4. Select: Algorithm prioritizes by stake amount + vulnerability
5. Relieve: Beneficiary donates 5% → receives tokens → auto-stakes
6. Erase: Debt discharged completely
7. Grow: Network effect accelerates

8.4 Everyone Wins

9. W3C Verifiable Credentials

Every badge token includes a W3C Verifiable Credential 2.0—a standardized digital credential that can be verified globally without contacting the issuer.

9.1 Credential Contents

• Context: W3C credentials/v2 + GetSmart context
• Issuer: Sponsor’s DID (and Admin’s name if connected)
• Subject: Earner’s DID with achievement details
• GETS ID: Six-digit alphanumeric identifier
• Status: BitstringStatusListEntry for revocation support
• Proof: DataIntegrityProof (eddsa-rdfc-2022 cryptosuite)

9.2 Verification Process

Employers verify credentials by scanning the QR code or looking up the GETS ID:

1. Verify W3C VC cryptographic signature
2. Check blockchain record matches credential
3. Verify revocation status via status list
4. Compare hash for content integrity

Verification costs nothing and takes seconds—no phone calls, no waiting, no trust required.

10. Security Model

10.1 Smart Contract Security

• Access Control: Role-based permissions
• Reentrancy Protection: OpenZeppelin ReentrancyGuard
• Pausable: Emergency stop capability
• Overflow Protection: Solidity 0.8+ built-in checks

10.2 Server Wallet Security

• MPC: Keys split between Coinbase and nonprofit
• TEE: Signing in isolated hardware
• API Security: IP whitelisting, rate limiting
• Multisig: 3-of-5 board requirement for major operations

10.3 Banning Policy

All banning is handled centrally by the Super Admin (nonprofit) with manual review. Admins cannot ban users—only disconnect Sponsors from their institution. This ensures due process and prevents abuse of power.

11. Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundation (Q1-Q2 2026)

• Smart contract deployment on Base Mainnet
• Web application with AI assistant launch
• Initial 100M token distribution
• First 1,000 sponsors, 10,000 awards
• Pilot merchant network (10 businesses)

Phase 2: Growth (Q3-Q4 2026)

• Mobile application release
• Merchant network expansion (100+ businesses)
• First debt relief round ($1M target)
• 100,000 earners milestone

Phase 3: Scale (2027)

• International expansion
• Enterprise Admin packages
• National merchant partnerships
• $50M debt relief target
• 1M active users

Phase 4: Maturity (2028+)

• Progressive DAO governance
• $1B+ cumulative debt relief
• Self-sustaining economic model

12. Conclusion

GetSmart Token creates a sustainable ecosystem where:

• Every learner receives verifiable recognition through badge tokens with unique GETS IDs
• Double verification (QR code + GETS ID) ensures credentials can always be confirmed
• AI-assisted award creation helps Sponsors write clear, professional criteria
• Earners remain independent—no connections required to participate
• Sponsors connect to Admins for institutional branding
• Merchants accept tokens, creating real utility and driving demand
• Staked tokens fund collective debt relief at massive discounts
• The cycle accelerates as freed borrowers become stakeholders

“The system creates a sustainable loop where recognition generates value, value circulates through merchants, and pooled resources erase debt while expanding the network.”

The technology exists. The market inefficiency exists. The need is urgent. GetSmart Token provides the infrastructure to connect them—and the merchant network ensures tokens have real utility beyond speculation.