Introducing the newest tool for the CanYa ecosystem, CANSign. CANSign allows anyone to prepare a contract, host it on IPFS and then request signatures from other parties, which is then signed irrefutably and stored on the blockchain. To unpack that sentence; a contract you can always access, hosted on a global file storage system with a signature that cannot be altered to destroyed. This is the future of file hosting, and record keeping and CanYa is making sure you have all the tools you require to make your business as streamlined as possible.

How does it work, and what problem does it solve?

Despite the obvious benefits of operating as a sole trader or small business, without the correct supporting cast, small business owners can get into situations of non-payment and non-compliance with little grounds for recourse. This is due to a myriad of reasons, including a lack of resources, lack of understanding of the law, not understanding the terms of the contract or in some exasperating situations losing the contract altogether.

CANSign essentially removes all of these vulnerabilities and does so with an intuitive interface and no logins. It is an easy to use dApp that actually uses blockchain technology in a meaningful way — with obvious utility. All transactions will be done on Ropsten Ethereum to save our users money whilst the Ethereum network is expensive.

What is Ropsten Ethereum?

Ropsten Ethereum, also known as “Ethereum Testnet”, are as the name implies, a testing network that runs the same protocol as Ethereum does and is used for testing purposes before deploying on the main network (Mainnet).

Ethereum has several networks. Your Valuable ETHs are on the Main Net. The rETHs (fake ETH) are on the Ropsten one. You can get Ropsten Eth (fake eth) here:

faucet.metamask.io

It is useful to have Ropsten Ether to interact with other testnet dApps, so follow the steps on the faucet.

Application Flow

A contract would be uploaded to IPFS using CANSign, and then a hash would be generated representing the content of that file. This hash is then stored in the CANSign smart-contract and also then sent to the relevant party(s) so they can access the contract on IPFS. Once the parties are ready to sign the contract, their signature will be represented by a transaction on the Ethereum network. Proof that the contract was signed by both parties is then stored in the CANSign smart contract with perpetuity.

Future Iterations

Currently the signing of our contracts is done using a transaction that is associated with your Ethereum Address. Moving forward we will have visual representations of your signature, that will also be immutably attached to the contract by smart-contract.

We are also actively researching integration of the ERC-725 ID standard for future versions. ERC725 is a proposed standard for managing identity on the blockchain from Fabian Vogelsteller, who was also the creator of the ERC20 standard.

In essence, it is a smart-contract that forms the basis for managing identity and trust that allows smart-contract agreements to execute with surety. Simplified further, it is an identification mechanism that brings greater ID certainty to digital contracts.

Once we are able to help you store a visual representation of your signature, as well as a secured record of your digital identity, we will have enabled a completely self-sovereign legal contract system.

An ERC725 integrated CANSign will undoubtedly be the premier contract application in the world. This in itself is an incredible achievement, but here at CanYa it is just another one of our CANApps to help users get the most value from our ecosystem of services.

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