Argus Defense

Argus Defense is a fully decentralized emergency radio streaming platform that merges peer-to-peer networking with blockchain verification. The system allows anyone to broadcast or listen to live emergency radio streams without relying on any central server, database, or intermediary. Each stream exists as a node within a libp2p network, where publishers announce their streams and listeners connect directly through the browser. Discovery, availability, and communication all happen peer-to-peer, making the platform self-organizing, censorship-resistant, and globally scalable.

Ownership and authenticity are guaranteed by Ethereum smart contracts. Every stream is cryptographically tied to a verified on-chain wallet address, ensuring tamper-proof attribution and payments. The StreamRegistry contract acts as the single source of truth, mapping stream IDs to wallet addresses immutably on-chain. This prevents falsified or modified stream data and lays the groundwork for a future self-paying ecosystem where listeners can directly reward publishers and bandwidth providers through automated revenue splits. The result is an open, trustless network where global communication infrastructure can be mirrored, indexed, and supported transparently by the public.

The project combines Ethereum smart contracts, libp2p peer-to-peer networking, and a Next.js frontend into one unified system. On the backend, each node runs a libp2p instance with GossipSub and KadDHT for decentralized message propagation and discovery. Publishers announce live streams via heartbeat messages every 30 seconds, and listeners use browser-based libp2p nodes (WebRTC/WebSockets) to find and connect directly to those streams. The directory protocol automatically prunes stale nodes, ensuring real-time accuracy without centralized coordination.

The blockchain layer was built with Hardhat, Solidity, and OpenZeppelin, deploying the StreamRegistry.sol contract that stores verified stream ownership data. The backend integrates with Ethereum via streamRegistryIntegration.js, verifying each wallet against the on-chain record before exposing it through REST endpoints. Frontend pages (built in Next.js + TypeScript) consume these APIs and render live audio playback directly through peer connections. The project was packaged as a Yarn monorepo with shared workspace commands like yarn dev:full to launch the blockchain, backend, and frontend simultaneously.

Hacky but crucial wins include deterministic wallet generation for streams (via ingest_openmhz.py) and on-chain batch registration for gas efficiency. The app runs fully offline after initialization—frontend deployable to IPFS, backend runnable by anyone as a node—creating a genuinely serverless, unstoppable broadcasting network.