YellowRead

YellowRead: Pay Only for What You Read In today's world of news paywalls, users often pay monthly subscriptions for publications like NYT or WSJ — but rarely read enough articles to justify the cost. YellowRead changes that. Built as a decentralized pay-per-read news platform, YellowRead ensures that users pay only for the exact articles they consume — not a blanket subscription fee. No idle subscriptions, no wasted money, no content you'll never read. How It Works

Each user connects their crypto wallet to access the platform. When they click to read an article, an off-chain state update records the micropayment (0.001 ETH) via Yellow Network's Nitrolite protocol. As users browse and read more articles, each read triggers an instant off-chain state transition — no gas fees per article. When the user is done reading, they settle once on-chain — paying only for articles actually consumed. Behind the scenes, YellowRead leverages state channels and smart contracts for batched micropayments, minimizing on-chain gas costs while maintaining full transparency.

Core Features

Pay-Per-Article Model: Users pay dynamically based on actual articles read. Wallet-Based Access: Simple MetaMask connection — no credit cards, no recurring fees. Micro-Payment Channels: Powered by Nitrolite (ERC-7824) for instant, low-cost settlements. Smart Contract-Driven Transparency: Custody and Adjudicator contracts handle deposits, state transitions, and disputes automatically. Gas Efficiency: 10 articles = 10 off-chain updates, 1 gas fee. ~90% savings vs per-article transactions.

Tech Stack

Frontend: React.js + Vite with real-time news feed via NewsData.io API. Blockchain: Ethereum Sepolia Testnet (scalable to Polygon/Base mainnet). Smart Contracts: Nitrolite Custody.sol and Adjudicator.sol for secure, off-chain payment channels. Wallet Integration: MetaMask via viem + ethers.js for authentication and EIP-712 typed data signing. State Channels: @erc7824/nitrolite SDK with ClearNode WebSocket connection.

Why YellowRead? Paywall fatigue is real — millions avoid quality journalism because $15/month for one publication doesn't make sense. YellowRead redefines this by making news consumption fair, flexible, and financially efficient. Read 3 articles? Pay for 3. Read 20? Pay only for those. It's the future of digital journalism monetization — on your terms.

YellowRead integrates Nitrolite (ERC-7824) state channels from Yellow Network to enable instant, pay-per-article micropayments. Built with React.js + Vite and viem/ethers.js, users connect via MetaMask to open an off-chain payment session where charges accumulate only as articles are read. Custody.sol (0x019B65A...) escrows deposits, while Adjudicator.sol (0x7c7ccbc...) manages state updates and dispute resolution on Ethereum Sepolia, scalable to Polygon/Base. Each article read triggers createSubmitAppStateMessage() for off-chain state transitions, with createCloseAppSessionMessage() for final settlement. Using ERC-7824's off-chain batching cuts gas costs by ~90%, creating a seamless, low-fee reading experience where 10 articles cost just 1 transaction.