Understanding the CRUX Economy

Introduction to CueCrux and Crux Proof Credits

CueCrux is a platform designed to make the evidence behind answers verifiable and transparent. To achieve this, it uses an internal credit system called CRUX (Credit Resource Unit eXchange) (sometimes written in older notes as “Credited Resource Usage eXchange”). CRUX credits are verified knowledge credits, not coins or shares.

You earn them when the evidence you provide helps produce cited answers (via QUORUM (MiSES)) or powers AI agents, and you spend them on higher-fidelity queries, audit requests and extra storage. This system rewards verifiable contributions rather than speculation; there are no tokens to trade, no hidden equity, and no promise of financial return.

Why a Credit System?

In a traditional search engine, content providers have little control or reward. CueCrux flips this model by giving contributors a way to see how their evidence is used and to be rewarded when it is useful. The Crux economy has three main goals:

1. Build a trusted evidence corpus. The platform aims to fill its knowledge base with sources that have clear licences and verifiable provenance so that the QUORUM (MiSES) evidence selector can cite them confidently.
2. Encourage participation without bloat. A healthy ecosystem requires many contributors, but it must avoid spam and duplicate uploads. System targets include thousands of link suggestions and uploads while ensuring that at least a third of answers use user‑contributed evidence.
3. Promote quality and speed. Verified answers should include at least two independent citations where possible, and the system must remain responsive; audited proof paths should return within roughly 160 ms (scope-dependent), and receipts must be replayable.

By tying rewards to measured impact rather than mere uploads, CueCrux ensures that only useful evidence earns Crux.

Purpose and Core Principles

The Crux economy is built on a set of simple but strict principles:

1. Proof over opinion. Every reward is anchored to a CROWN receipt a cryptographic proof (using BLAKE3 hashes and ed25519 signatures) that shows how your artefact was used.
2. Cost‑based value. Crux is not a speculative token; it represents metered compute and storage capacity. Each credit roughly corresponds to the cost of processing a verified query or storing data.
3. Fair capture. Only the first verifiable capture of an artefact earns the full reward. Later uploads of the same content either earn a reduced bonus or nothing at all.
4. Transparency by design. Every mint (earning) and spend of Crux is recorded in an append‑only ledger, with public receipts showing a hash and reason code.
5. Non‑financial utility. Crux credits grant participation rights only. They are non‑transferable, do not confer ownership, equity or dividends, and have no cash value outside the platform.

These principles ensure that the credit system is both fair and auditable. By making every reward traceable, CueCrux can prevent speculation and maintain trust.

What Does Crux Represent?

Crux credits measure the internal compute and storage resources used on the platform. They are pegged to the average cost of running a verified query or storing data on CueCrux infrastructure. Key parameters include:

These rates are reviewed quarterly to align with actual operating costs; they are not tied to profit, revenue or the total supply of Crux.

Legal Nature, Ownership and Licensing

Crux credits are participation units, not currency or securities. They cannot be traded or transferred and carry no expectation of financial return. CueCrux may adjust or retire the system at any time.

When users upload or optimise content, they retain their intellectual‑property rights, but they grant CueCrux a perpetual, worldwide, royalty‑free, non‑exclusive licence to use, analyse and redistribute that content within the platform. This licence allows the system to operate without transferring legal ownership. Rewards in Crux are recognition for verified impact, not royalties or wages. In other words, you own your uploads, but you allow CueCrux to reference and redistribute them on your behalf.

Roles and How Participants Earn Crux

CueCrux recognises different types of contributions. Each role has specific actions and corresponding rewards:

Trust Score vs. Crux

A separate Trust Score sits alongside your Crux balance:

• Signals: domain diversity, freshness, contradiction rate, licence hygiene, successful audits, dispute resolution time.
• Effects: raises or lowers queue priority (within plan caps), adjusts Marketplace entitlement boosts, and influences how much of your earned Crux can be redeemed for fiat.
• Decay: inaction, stale artefacts, or moderation strikes steadily reduce Trust Score, which in turn increases Crux burn for future work.

Trust is therefore a measured metric inside the economy it does not mint credits, but it decides how efficiently you can turn Crux into work (or cash).

How Crux Is Earned

Base Rewards

The system rewards actions that add verifiable value. At a high level you can earn Crux by:

• Linking sources that are later cited in answers.
• Uploading artefacts such as PDFs or text and having them pass scans (antivirus, optical character recognition and personal‑data checks).
• Seeing your artefacts reused by other users or agents, each reuse multiplies your reward by +5 Crux, with diminishing returns for reuse within the same organisation.
• Submitting audit receipts that verify answers; successful audits earn 15 Crux.
• Curating collections that other users find helpful; reused collections earn 2 Crux.

First‑Capture Bonuses and Derivatives

CueCrux tracks the digital fingerprints (hashes) of every artefact. When you upload something that has never been captured before, you receive a five‑times bonus on the base reward. This encourages users to find and contribute genuinely new sources. If someone uploads the same artefact again, the system recognises the hash and simply records the new URL as an alias with no new reward.

Sometimes an artefact is nearly the same but not identical. CueCrux uses similarity detection (e.g., SimHash) to determine whether it is a near‑duplicate. If the similarity is 95 % or higher, it records a new ledger entry with a link to the original artefact and awards a reduced bonus (10–30 % of the base). A similarity below 95 % counts as a distinct artefact and is eligible for the full capture reward. The ledger tracks a canonical ID and similarity score for every artefact to maintain this lineage.

Derivative/Refresh Rewards

Updating an artefact with fresher metadata or a new URL can also earn Crux. If the system detects that the content is largely the same but includes improvements (e.g., a more recent PDF of a report), you may receive between 10 % and 30 % of the base reward. This incentivises keeping content up to date.

QUORUM (MiSES) and Agent Reuse

After your artefact is added to the corpus, QUORUM (MiSES) or AI agents may cite it in answers. Each cross‑domain citation earns you 5 Crux multiplied by the number of reuses. Citations within the same organisation are damped by 50 % to discourage gaming the system. The reward is only minted when the answer’s provenance passes audit and there are no contradictions.

How Crux Is Spent

Spending Crux allows you to access higher levels of reliability and priority. The default costs are:

• Verified query: 1 Crux. This runs your query in verified mode, retrieving evidence with full provenance.
• Audit query: 5 Crux. This runs a counterfactual check and provides a signed receipt, allowing you to verify that an answer is reproducible.
• Priority queue (fast lane): 2 Crux. Paying this ensures your query jumps ahead of non‑paying requests.
• Storage: 1 Crux per 10 MB per month for hot storage beyond the free tier.

Additional services, such as OCR scans, may cost fractions of a Crux as add-ons.

Rewards, Fiat Redemption & Guardrails

1. Mint sources: Subscriptions/top-ups and verified contributions are the only ways Crux enters circulation no treasury minting, no speculation.
2. Redemption scope: Fiat payouts are allowed solely for Crux earned from verified answers, reuse receipts, or accepted artefacts. Promotional bundles and unverified earnings stay non-redeemable.
3. Validation: WatchCrux replays every receipt referenced in a payout request; OpsCrux checks balances and applies the Proof Cost Index (PCI) rate minus the operating reserve.
4. AML/KYC: All payout requests undergo identity/business verification, sanctions/PEP screening, and suspicious‑activity checks. We only redeem CRUX earned from verified contributions to the corpus; subscription or promotional credits are non‑redeemable. First‑time payouts may be subject to a 7–14 day hold; rolling limits vary by plan tier and Trust Score.
5. Formula:

   Redeemable_Fiat = Verified_Crux × PCI_Rate × (1 - Operating_Reserve)
   

   Copy
   If Redeemable_Fiat would drop the reserve below zero, or compliance checks remain open, the payout is deferred until new cash enters and reviews close.

Balancing the Books

CueCrux keeps the economy solvent with a straightforward ledger:

Minted_Crux = Cash_Funding + PCI_Adjusted_Rewards
Gross_Burn = Verified + Audit + Storage + Marketplace
Redeemable_Crux = Minted_Crux - Gross_Burn - Operating_Buffer

• Cash_Funding = subscriptions + top-ups.
• PCI_Adjusted_Rewards = verified contributions minted after deducting infra/model costs.
• Operating_Buffer = reserve for infrastructure, support, compliance, and risk (plan-specific, e.g., 25%).
• Constraint: Redeemable_Crux must stay ≥ 0. If it approaches zero, PCI increases burn rates or slows payouts.

Contributors who fund artefacts earn re-use rewards only after the buffer is taken, ensuring the platform can always honour cash-back requests without creating a bubble.

Flow of Credits

flowchart LR
    subgraph Funding
        A[Subscriptions / Top-Ups]
        B[Verified Contributions]
    end
    subgraph Pipeline
        C[Ingestion & QUORUM (MiSES)]
        D{Trust Metrics\nPCI + WatchCrux}
    end
    subgraph Usage
        E[Verified/Audit Queries]
        F[Marketplace Tiles]
        G[Hot Storage]
    end
    subgraph Rewards
        H[Re-use Credits]
        I[Fiat Redemption\nVerified-only]
    end

    A --> C
    B --> C
    C --> D
    D --> H
    H --> B
    D --> I
    A --> E
    A --> F
    A --> G
    E --> D
    F --> D
    G --> D

flowchart LR
    subgraph Funding
        A[Subscriptions / Top-Ups]
        B[Verified Contributions]
    end
    subgraph Pipeline
        C[Ingestion & QUORUM (MiSES)]
        D{Trust Metrics\nPCI + WatchCrux}
    end
    subgraph Usage
        E[Verified/Audit Queries]
        F[Marketplace Tiles]
        G[Hot Storage]
    end
    subgraph Rewards
        H[Re-use Credits]
        I[Fiat Redemption\nVerified-only]
    end

    A --> C
    B --> C
    C --> D
    D --> H
    H --> B
    D --> I
    A --> E
    A --> F
    A --> G
    E --> D
    F --> D
    G --> D

This loop shows how cash and contributions feed ingestion, trust metrics govern rewards, and only verified re-use can exit as fiat.

AML Signals & WatchCrux Alerts

WatchCrux surfaces “AML flags” to operators when:

• High velocity patterns emerge (rapid earn→redeem cycles, payout bursts).
• Circular reuse graphs appear (tight clusters of accounts citing each other).
• Multi‑account IP/device overlap suggests sockpuppets.
• Excessive same‑domain citations attempt to game diversity rules.
• Payout account mismatches (name/beneficiary) or high‑risk geographies are detected.

Flags route to OpsCrux casework with automated holds applied until review completes.

Decay and Cold Storage

To discourage upload bloat, Crux credits earned from uploads (not from link contributions) can decay. There is a 90-day grace period after which unused uploads lose 10 % of their earned Crux every 30 days. After 180 days without reuse, the artefact moves to cold storage. Cold-stored artefacts are no longer searchable but can be rehydrated for 5 Crux per GB. Link-only contributions never decay. WatchCrux monitors bloat and issues warnings at 30, 14, 3 and 1 days before an upload decays, so repeatedly dumping low-value data will literally drain your balance.

Anti‑Gaming Policies and Fairness

CueCrux includes several safeguards to prevent abuse:

• Licence and robots checks are mandatory. The platform respects robot.txt files and requires a valid licence on commit.
• Similarity detection (e.g., SimHash ≥ 0.98) suppresses spurious re‑uploads.
• Same‑organisation reuse rewards are damped by 50 %.
• Throttles limit how many first‑capture submissions a user or organisation can make.
• WatchCrux audits duplicate rates and issues PASS/WARN/FAIL flags, halting jobs that exceed Crux allowances.
• No transferability of Crux between users prevents speculation and collusion.
• Contradictions in cited evidence reduce Trust Scores, and rewards are only minted if provenance checks pass.

These measures ensure that Crux flows only when contributions are genuinely useful and licenced appropriately.

Transparency and Metrics

Every time Crux is minted or spent, CueCrux generates a public receipt containing a cryptographic hash and a reason code. These receipts are stored in an append‑only ledger and can be replayed by an independent service called WatchCrux to verify their integrity. This transparency makes it possible for anyone to audit the system and see exactly why and how credits were issued or burned.

Operational dashboards (OpsCrux) display metrics such as Crux earned versus spent, reuse rates, duplicate ratios, and first‑capture totals. Keeping these metrics public ensures that the system remains balanced and that no single participant can dominate issuance. Policies for Crux issuance are reviewed quarterly to maintain a fair balance between user rewards, operational costs and the total supply.

Pricing Plans and Entitlements

CueCrux offers tiered plans that bundle Crux credits, storage and other entitlements. The starter tier is free and includes a small Crux allowance and limited storage. Paid plans (Pro, Team and Enterprise) offer larger bundles of Crux, increased storage, and additional features such as audit‑mode access, shared pools and single sign‑on. Add‑ons like extra verified queries or OCR scans can be purchased à la carte. These plans are ex‑VAT and may vary in local currencies.

User Experience and Participation Features

To encourage engagement, CueCrux integrates prompts and dashboards throughout its interface:

• Trust Meter & Impact Panel: Shows your Trust Score, Crux balance, reuse count and recent receipts.
• Inline Calls‑to‑Action: After each answer, users are invited to “Have a source? Suggest a link,” making it easy to contribute evidence.
• Bounties: Weekly topics (e.g., legislation updates or technical codes) offer bonus Crux rewards to incentivise timely contributions.
• Leaderboards: Highlight top contributors by domain, weighted by reuse, to showcase trusted contributors.
• Shareable Receipts: Public proof pages allow users to share audit receipts and embed badges like “Verified on CueCrux”.
• Onboarding badges: Early curators receive badges that temporarily boost their rewards, encouraging early adoption.

These features make the platform feel interactive and rewarding, encouraging both novices and experts to participate.

Data and Platform Architecture (Simplified)

Under the hood, CueCrux operates through a series of API endpoints and database tables. Users can suggest links, upload artefacts, create collections, submit audit requests and track their Crux balance through these endpoints. Key tables include:

• crux_transactions: Records every mint or spend, along with the related artefact and reason.
• crux_balances: Materialised view of Crux balances per user and organisation.
• upload_usage: Tracks how often each upload is included or cited.
• agent_usage: Stores receipts from AI agents using evidence.
• collections and collection_items: Manage curated bundles of artefacts.
• bounties: Records special reward opportunities.

These structures ensure that all actions are traceable and that rewards and costs are computed fairly.

Timeline and Roadmap

The initial rollout of the Crux economy follows a 90‑day plan:

1. Weeks 1–3 (Core Credits & UI): Introduce the Crux ledger and balance endpoints, Trust Meter, link‑suggest call‑to‑action and an early version of collections.
2. Weeks 4–6 (Rewards & Decay): Enable rewards tied to QUORUM (MiSES) reuse, apply reuse multipliers, and implement unused‑decay and archive flows. Add operator dashboards for decay, archive and contradiction monitoring.
3. Weeks 7–9 (Agents & Bounties): Launch the SDK for Agent Usage Receipts, micro‑rewards and a bounties board with weekly challenges and leaderboards.

Exit criteria include verified retrieval performance, successful receipt replay, a stable contradiction rate and at least 30 % of weekly active users earning Crux. Beyond the first 90 days, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) track participation rates, quality metrics (domain diversity, contradiction rate and provenance success), economic balance (Crux minted vs spent) and agent usage.

Risks, Mitigations and Fair Governance

The Crux economy anticipates several risks:

• Upload spam or bloat is mitigated through scan quotas, deduplication via BLAKE3 hashes, unused‑decay, archiving and throttles.
• Licence errors are prevented by requiring licences at commit and gating public reuse on licence status; receipts carry licence metadata.
• Reward gaming and collusion are countered by diminishing same‑organisation reuse rewards, contradiction penalties and strict audit requirements.
• Cost spikes from audits or large language models are controlled through budgeted burns and higher prices for expensive queries.
• User experience confusion is addressed with clear copy like “Earn Crux / Spend Crux,” impact panels and single‑click actions.

Governance policies are reviewed quarterly to balance user rewards with operational costs and to ensure the total supply of Crux remains manageable. Discretionary impact bonuses may be funded from platform revenue as marketing rewards, but these are not dividends or profit shares.

Summary

CueCrux’s Crux economy is a transparent, fair and cost‑bounded system that rewards verifiable contributions. It ties digital credits to the actual costs of retrieval, audit and storage, ensuring that rewards reflect real utility rather than speculation. By anchoring every credit to a cryptographic receipt and requiring proper licences, the platform fosters trust among contributors and users.

For someone new to CueCrux, the key takeaways are:

• Crux are internal credits, not money or tokens, used to pay for higher‑fidelity queries and storage.
• You earn Crux by providing evidence that helps answer questions or powers agents verified usage is required for rewards.
• First captures and truly new sources earn more, while duplicates or near‑duplicates earn less.
• Unused uploads decay, so contribute relevant, reusable content.
• Everything is auditable, from the provenance of evidence to the issuance and spending of credits.

By following these guidelines, contributors help build a high‑quality evidence base and earn fair recognition for their work. The Crux economy ensures that resources are allocated where they provide the most value verifiable, licensed knowledge powering reliable answers.