Fast and Cheap, Open source, Censorship resistant VPN
About the Project
Sentinel is an open-source framework designed to build a network of nodes that support Decentralized VPNs (dVPNs) and other Web3 services. The core objective of the Sentinel ecosystem is to provide universal access to the internet in a secure and verifiable manner. By leveraging Sentinel’s Cosmos-based blockchain, organizations and individuals worldwide can construct decentralized, scalable, and distributed networking solutions in a cost-effective way. Sentinel acts as the foundation for a diverse array of independent dVPN applications, inviting established VPN companies, startups, and individual developers to build upon its open-source code, which is transparent and readily available to the public.
Sentinel's integration into the Cosmos ecosystem further enhances its capabilities. Cosmos, known for its scalable and interoperable network of independent parallel blockchains, provides Sentinel with significant advantages. Sentinel’s blockchain benefits from Cosmos’ robust Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithms, ensuring high security and reliability. This allows for seamless cross-blockchain communication and decentralized exchange (DEX) capabilities, exemplified by platforms like Osmosis. By being part of the Cosmos ecosystem, Sentinel exemplifies the collaborative and decentralized ethos, enabling true interoperability and advancing the decentralized internet.
Use Case
The primary use case of Sentinel lies in its decentralized virtual private network (dVPN), which offers a significant improvement over traditional, centralized VPN services. With a dVPN, there is no single centralized authority controlling the network. Instead, authority is distributed across the blockchain to various node owners, stakers, application developers, and validators. This decentralized approach eliminates the need to trust a central entity with user data, enhancing privacy and security. Users can achieve anonymity, alter their geographic location, and secure their web surfing without relying on centralized organizations that may log user activity or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Sentinel’s open-source nature ensures that its code is continuously reviewed and improved by a community of knowledgeable individuals, reducing the risk of security breaches. Additionally, Sentinel’s no-log policy guarantees that user activity is not tracked or stored, making it impossible for the network to log data even if it wanted to. By distributing power across multiple relay nodes owned by different individuals, Sentinel ensures that no single entity has complete metadata of user requests, further enhancing privacy. This decentralized infrastructure makes Sentinel an ideal choice for those seeking a trustworthy, secure, and transparent VPN solution in the Web3 era.
Tokenomics
The DVPN coin, integral to the Sentinel Network, operates as a governance coin and plays several crucial roles within the ecosystem. Firstly, DVPN coins serve as a means of payment for bandwidth, allowing users to purchase access to dVPN services offered by the network's nodes. Users can pay for bandwidth directly to the node host or through periodic subscriptions where fiat payments are converted to DVPN on their behalf. Additionally, the DVPN coin facilitates revenue sharing, enabling stakers to receive 20% of the earnings from dVPN node owners, supplementing the usual Proof of Stake (PoS) staking rewards. DVPN coins are also essential for staking within the network, where validators and delegators secure the network and participate in consensus, earning rewards in return. Governance within the Sentinel Network is another key function, as DVPN holders can vote on proposals affecting the protocol's future, ensuring a decentralized decision-making process.
The Sentinel Network's tokenomics model is designed for sustainability and transparency, focusing on long-term value creation and community engagement. The DVPN coin's supply and inflation management follow a structured approach, beginning with a genesis rate of 49% and reducing by 6% every six months until reaching a stable annualized inflation rate of 13%. This mechanism, akin to a halving process, aims to foster stability and growth within the ecosystem. As of now, the total supply of DVPN coins stands at 28.53 billion, with 19.03 billion circulating and 9.40 billion vested. The community pool holds 103.04 million DVPN coins. This well-thought-out approach ensures that the Sentinel ecosystem remains robust, with mechanisms in place to manage inflation and encourage equitable participation from all stakeholders.