FAQ

Project Spartacus is a groundbreaking initiative at the intersection of journalism and peer-to-peer technology. It is dedicated to emphasizing the critical importance of freedom in communication. The project revolves around preserving the Afghan War Logs by inscribing them on the Bitcoin blockchain, and inspiring others to use Bitcoin as a publishing tool.

Project Spartacus stands in solidarity with WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange and works to protect press freedom by ensuring the preservation of significant public interest information in an authentic, immutable, and uncensorable state. Read about our mission.

While Project Spartacus stands in solidarity with Julian Assange and supports the preservation of the Afghan War Logs, it is an independent initiative with its own mission.

You can participate as a citizen journalist by collectively publishing the Afghan War Logs to the Bitcoin blockchain. Simply visit the Publish section of the website and follow the instructions to inscribe the logs.

Publishing on Bitcoin involves using the Ordinals protocol, which allows you to inscribe, i.e. add, arbitrary data to the Bitcoin blockchain. This process typically requires encoding your data into a transaction and paying Bitcoin network fees to process the transaction. Project Spartacus aims to demonstrate a new use case for Bitcoin and Ordinals by demonstrating how to publish information, such as The Afghan War Logs, on the Bitcoin blockchain while ensuring its immutability and accessibility.

Participation is free. You will only need to cover Bitcoin network fees. These fees are necessary for a transaction to be submitted to the network and included in a block by miners. However, these fees are typically low.

The inscription cost for publishing data to Bitcoin is estimated based on the total file size and the chosen fee rate in satoshis per virtual byte (sats/vB). This estimate takes into account the size of the data to be inscribed, the demand of the necessary blockspace, and the current bitcoin price.

The low-end fee rate used for the inscription cost estimate is 6 sats/vB. This rate is one of the factors that influence the total cost of inscribing data on the Bitcoin blockchain. The high-end fee rate used for the inscription cost estimate is 33 sats/vB. This rate represents a higher fee level and results in a higher estimated cost for inscribing data on Bitcoin. The lower the fee, the longer it takes to publish the log on to Bitcoin, and the higher the fee, the quicker the log is forever published to the network. If network activity experience drastic changes, these fee rates may adjust accordingly.

The BTC amount for the inscription cost estimate is determined by multiplying the total virtual bytes (vB) required for the inscription by the chosen fee rate (either low-end or high-end). This calculation provides the amount of Bitcoin needed to complete the inscription.

Yes, the inscription cost estimate acknowledges that Bitcoin fees and prices can fluctuate. The provided estimates are based on the assumed fee rates and bitcoin price at the time of estimation. Actual costs may vary if there are significant changes in these factors.

The data being inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain in this project originates from the original database from WikiLeaks, accessed via the Internet Archive. It consists of 76,911 logs with various fields, including a Summary field and a unique Report Key field to identify each log.

The data is presented on the Bitcoin blockchain in a text-based Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) format, which is lightweight and scalable. An SVG generator has been created to transform the logs into images that include the Summary field and the Report Key for each log.

Any excess or donated Bitcoin collected during the publishing process is routed directly to charitable organizations that support press freedom, including Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Information Rights Project and Reporters Without Borders.

Project Spartacus uses a metaprotocol called Ordinals to inscribe data on the Bitcoin blockchain. Each inscription stores one Afghan War Log, making it permanently accessible, immutable, and uncensorable given the security and decentralization of the Bitcoin network.

No, it's a blind inscription process of random order, but you can see the exact file size you're agreeing to inscribe alongside the related fee. Refreshing the website also refreshes the inscription queue.

It's as easy as sending a Bitcoin transaction. Select the number of War Logs to inscribe, provide your BTC address to receive the logs, and pay the invoice presented. Publish War Log.

Yes, you can view the inscribed War Logs in our archive . The logs are publicly accessible on the Bitcoin blockchain and can be viewed in wallets and marketplaces that support the Ordinals protocol.

Once you've inscribed War Logs, they are permanently stored on the public Bitcoin ledger for all to access and will be sent to the elected Bitcoin address. You can choose to publish more logs or consider making a donation to support the charities that are fighting for Julian's freedom.

You can contribute directly to Julian Assange's cause by donating to Project Spartacus. Your donations go in a transparent way to organizations dedicated to preserving press freedom and uncensorable information, such as Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Information Rights Project and Reporters Without Borders.

Your support, in any form, is invaluable to us. Additionally, you can help by sharing our mission on social media and educating others about the importance of press freedom and information preservation.

You can donate to Project Spartacus through the Donation page. all funds raised will go towards these organizations: Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Information Rights Project and Reporters Without Borders.

Project Spartacus is a collaborative effort by a dedicated group of cypherpunk bitcoiners. Our team comprises experts in various fields, including Bitcoin, journalism, and activism. While we prioritize transparency in our mission, we choose to remain anonymous to focus on the project's goals rather than individual recognition.

No, Project Spartacus is an independent initiative dedicated to upholding press freedom and the uncensorable preservation of information. We are not affiliated with any political group or organization.

For the latest updates and news, visit our website at projectspartacus.org and follow the hashtag #IAmAssange on social media.

You can help by sharing our mission on social media, telling your friends and family, and educating others about the importance of press freedom and censorship resistance.

We take your privacy very seriously. Project Spartacus does not require or store personal information during the inscription process. We prioritize the security of your data. See this guide on how to use bitcoin privately.

Confirmation time depends on the fee rate paid and the current state of the network. If the high-end fee is selected, it is reasonable to estimate that the inscription will be confirmed in around 10 minutes. However, confirmation time fluctuates based on the increase or decrease of activity on the Bitcoin network. You can monitor the progress, but please note that confirmation times are only estimates.

We take your participation in this project seriously and hence have extensive error logs that will alow us to address technical errors appropriately and we will make sure the publisher receives their war logs in case of error.

Ordinal inscriptions refer to the unique way in which we index and store data on the Bitcoin blockchain, ensuring its authenticity and accessibility. Read more about the Ordinals protocol.

Ordinals are specific satoshis that we can track using "Ordinal Theory".

Inscriptions are digital artifacts native to the Bitcoin blockchain. They are created by inscribing sats with content using the Ord client, and can be viewed with the ordinals explorer. They do not require a separate token, a side chain, or changing Bitcoin. Inscriptions are created by including content, like an image, text, SVG, or HTML, in an inscription transaction. The content is included in the transaction witness, which normally contains signatures and other data proving that a transaction is authorized.

Digital artifacts are NFTs, but not all NFTs are digital artifacts. Digital artifacts are NFTs held to a higher standard, closer to their ideal. For an NFT to be a digital artifact, it must be decentralized, immutable, on-chain, and unrestricted. The vast majority of NFTs are not digital artifacts.

NFTs as they are commonly understood, are non-fungible tokens generated on a blockchain, usually by smart contracts. NFTs’ content is stored off-chain and can be lost, they are on centralized chains, and they have back-door admin keys. What's worse, because they are smart contracts, they must be audited on a case-by-case basis to determine their properties. Inscriptions are immutable and on-chain, on the oldest, most decentralized, most secure blockchain in the world. They are not smart contracts, and do not need to be examined individually to determine their properties. They are true digital artifacts.

A Parent/Child Inscription is a groundbreaking feature introduced by the Ordinals Protocol. In Project Spartacus, Parent/Child Inscriptions play a pivotal role in preserving the Afghan War Logs on the Bitcoin blockchain. The Parent Inscription bears the project name, and underneath it, all the inscribed War Logs are stored. This innovative approach ensures the secure and organized storage of critical information and verification of the source from which it was published.

For a deeper understanding of Ordinals and blockchain technology, we recommend exploring resources and educational materials related to Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

No, once inscribed, the data is permanent and cannot be removed or altered. This is a key feature of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a digital currency, often referred to as a cryptocurrency, that was created in 2009 by an anonymous entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized form of money that operates on a blockchain, a distributed ledger technology.

Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain. When someone sends Bitcoin to another person, the transaction is verified by a network of computers (nodes) and added to a block on the blockchain by miners. This ensures transparency, trustlessness and security in the system.

The blockchain is a decentralized and immutable ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions. It consists of a chain of blocks, each containing a batch of transactions. Once a block is added to the chain, it cannot be altered, ensuring the integrity of the transaction history.

You can acquire Bitcoin through various means, including buying it on exchanges, receiving it as payment for goods or services, or mining it.

A Bitcoin wallet is a tool used to store, send, and receive Bitcoin. It can be a software application, a hardware device, or even a piece of paper. Wallets come in various forms, offering different levels of security and ease of use.

Bitcoin transactions are pseudonymous, meaning that while they don't directly reveal your identity, they are recorded on a public ledger. With enough effort, someone could potentially trace your transactions back to you. Privacy tools and additional measures can enhance anonymity.

To receive Bitcoin privately, avoid address re-use. If you have a desktop or mobile wallet, generate a new address manually for each sender.

To maximize Bitcoin privacy, use self-custodial solutions and avoid revealing personal information. If you send funds to an exchange that knows your identity, they can link those funds to you and analyze your transactions. Transact in ways that decrease the success of on-chain analysis, such as using CoinJoins, CoinSwaps, or the Lightning Network for Submarine Swaps.

CoinJoins are collaborative Bitcoin transactions where multiple users contribute inputs and outputs to a single transaction. JoinMarket, WhirlPool and Wasabi are examples. CoinSwaps involve trading coins that appear as unrelated on-chain transactions, potentially making any transaction look like a coinswap. These methods enhance forward-looking privacy by breaking the heuristics of coin ownership and transfer.