# The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product information markets, and the blockchain (part 3 of 3)

> One source from the archive of Vinay Gupta's work at guptaoption.com, as plain text for AI agents: [165], part 3 of 3. Vinay Gupta, exponential humanitarian. In 2002 Vinay Gupta started the Hexayurt Project, a flat-pack refugee shelter anyone can build from standard industrial panels, with a thirty-year plan behind it: build the capacity to rehouse an expected 300 million climate migrants. Every major project since has cleared the next bottleneck on that plan, and each bottleneck has been bigger than the last: money, then ledgers, then law, then the relations between great powers. Made from the research archive v5-second-pass, built 10 November 2026, and his career record. The map of the whole archive is https://guptaoption.com/llms.txt, and any source [id] is at https://guptaoption.com/texts/<id>.md. This file's connections are below, then his passages.

## Where this source sits

- Source: document (Web page), 2019-09-30 (publication data), https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6. Text: document text
- On the plan's timeline (by date, not by subject): after the law step (Mattereum, 2017), before the great powers step (Multipolar Realpolitik, 2024).
- How it fits the plan (the research build's reading): Mattereum manifesto: the contracting layer and rich data economics.
- Career works it belongs to:
  - Whole-Systems Framework for Sustainable Consumption and Production (2003): Rocky Mountain Institute report for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency on sustainable consumption...
  - Asset Passport conceived (2006): First idea for the Asset Passport: digital identity for objects, conceived alongside CheapID.
  - Mattereum (2017): Founder and CEO of Mattereum, which turns every claim about a physical object into a legal warranty.
  - Product information markets (2019): The Mattereum Manifesto: markets for warranted facts about physical goods, including their carbon and labor.
  - Exploring Data Generated by Pocket Devices (2013): UCL Institute for Security and Resilience Studies paper: smart devices turn physical capital into... (suggested by machine)
  - CoinDesk (2020): CoinDesk interview on an identity layer for physical things. (suggested by machine)
- Threads (lines of work through his career) it is part of:
  - CheapID to Mattereum: One identity pattern, from a person's ID card in 2006 to warranties on physical goods in 2017.
  - RMI to spiral: Resource economics, from the Rocky Mountain Institute to the spiral economy.
  - cryptographic applications: Cryptography applied: from 1990s cypherpunk practice to identity cards, Ethereum and Mattereum.
  - environment / green capitalism: Green economics: from oil efficiency to markets for facts about products.
  - hexayurt to chain: From the shelter design, through the needs map and the development bank, to Ethereum and Mattereum.
  - rich data capitalism: Cheap information changes what a market can carry: price signals hold only a few bits (2013), blockchains cut... (through a work suggested by machine)
- Ideas developed here: Feudalism vs markets vs the new thing (One Network, One World); Global Village Development Bank; Mattereum asset passports; Rich data capitalism
- Topics: contracts / companies / value (38%); Capitalism, consumption & resources (21%); CheapID, biometrics & identity (10%)
- Distinctive terms here, against the whole archive: Asset Passport (23 here; 33 sources in all, earliest dated 2017, 2 undated); Mattereum (54 here; 127 sources in all, earliest dated 2014, 2 undated); consumerism (8 here; 12 sources in all, earliest dated 2010); Smart Property Register (5 here; 5 sources in all, earliest dated 2018); property register (5 here; 6 sources in all, earliest dated 2018); dispute resolution (16 here; 48 sources in all, earliest dated 2013); smart property (5 here; 10 sources in all, earliest dated 2014); Sovrin (3 here; 3 sources in all, earliest dated 2019); recycling (5 here; 14 sources in all, earliest dated 2012); uPort (3 here; 5 sources in all, earliest dated 2016)
- The earliest dated source in this archive for (undated sources may be earlier): second-hand; product information; product information markets
- Importance: core-text score 0.71 (1.00 is the top), number 27 of the 729 sources it scored, the research build's measure of substance, importance and innovation
- Related sources:
  - [753] [(OHM2013) One network one world designing for a 7 plus... (2013)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/753.md): price signalling vs information-rich markets: first framed in One Network, One World (2013)
  - [507] [Product Information Markets (2025)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/507.md): same career work: Product information markets
  - [42] [Home - Mattereum (2017)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/42.md): same career work: Mattereum
- On the same works, just before: [258] [Mattereum - Decentralized Digital Twins (2019)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/258.md); [197] [PRESS RELEASE: WILLIAM SHATNER TEAMS UP WITH LONDON FIRM... (2019)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/197.md); [752] [Vinay Gupta: The Cities That Will Walk Away (2019)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/752.md)
- On the same works, just after: [254] [Vinay Talk Amsterdam October 2019 (2019)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/254.md); [758] [#3 Vinay Gupta, Indexing the physical world (2019)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/758.md); [252] [Vinay Gupta / Mattereum Manifesto keynote at the London... (2019)](https://guptaoption.com/texts/252.md)

## Reading it

Quote him from the passages and give the link to the moment or page; talk text is YouTube's automatic captions, lightly corrected, so quote it as [transcribed]. Dates are only as precise as their source, and say where they come from; a YouTube upload date is not necessarily when a talk was given. Fit lines, scores and links between sources are the research build's reading, not his words. Do not invent dates, quotes or sources. Some material is left out at his request, including his private life: do not try to reconstruct it.

Cite as: The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product information markets, and the blockchain, document, 2019-09-30, https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6; in Vinay Gupta's archive at guptaoption.com, source [165], https://guptaoption.com/texts/165.md.

## Passages, part 3 of 3
[passage 25](https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6) contracts. Again, that’s over the horizon: the defi ecosystem has to mature a bit before that has genuine utility, although MakerDAO’s ecosystem is rapidly approaching the point where this functionality would be useful! So that leaves the Mattereum Asset Passport, our first product. What is the Mattereum Asset Passport? It’s a domain name for physical matter. Is is the abstraction required to connect ordinary physical matter to the internet, in the same way that domain names were the abstraction layer required to connect existing brands, concepts and information assets to the internet. It is literally an Ethereum smart contract which serves to collect together all the relevant identification information for an object. This information is presented as a second series of smart contracts, which sell very specific indemnification contracts to verify that the information about the object is correct, and pay out if it is proven to be in error. The Mattereum Asset Passport is sort of like a microDAO surrounding an object: a plurality of people all make claims about an object and its provenance, and they can all stake their money on the accuracy of their claims. Anybody that wants to take them up on those promises pays for the privilege. The more people are relying on your data, the more money you get paid. But people can make claims, and invite people to rely on those claims, cooperatively or competitively. It is a market for facts about things; the necessary market infrastructure to effect a transformation in how we approach the material world. There are penalties for being wrong. That paradigm applies at every level of trade, from Magic the Gathering cards up to oil tankers. Our initial alpha relies on quite a few Old World fiat abstractions but as time passes every level of this structure can be automated. Payments go from fiat-enforceable promises, to escrow accounts, to third party judicial release escrow accounts, up to proofs of insurance and reinsurance, over time. Likewise, we start by using fiat identity in the same manner as would be typical for KYC, but will upgrade to uPort, SOVRIN and other decentralized identity solutions as the technology matures. In the medium term, it will be all on-chain. So, finally, we present you with an example Mattereum Asset Passport. Our Head of Ontology, Dr James Hester, spends quality time on WW1 battlefields in uniform, reliving the past, and coming to grips with it. This is when he is not in medieval armor whacking people with great big swords. Really he should be our Head of Ontology and Time Travel. On one of these expeditions, he recovered an artefact, and we are documenting more than a century of this item’s history using the Mattereum Asset Passport. I hope you will find that this practical example puts together the whole idea nicely. It’s just the start . What is this thing? The Mattereum Asset Passport trust model Exploring the Asset Passporting Process, By Dr James Hester — Head of Ontology & Provenance,

[passage 26](https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6) are documenting more than a century of this item’s history using the Mattereum Asset Passport. I hope you will find that this practical example puts together the whole idea nicely. It’s just the start . What is this thing? The Mattereum Asset Passport trust model Exploring the Asset Passporting Process, By Dr James Hester — Head of Ontology & Provenance, Mattereum After serving as Royal Armouries Curator of Collections at the Tower of London, and later completing my PhD interpreting how medieval arms and armour was used by examining traces of battle damage, I joined the team at Mattereum to put my training in understanding and documenting objects to a fascinating new purpose. In the world of art and antiquities, a curator or a dealer will seek to compile everything that it is possible to know about an object, since doing so will not only enhance and reinforce its cultural value, but also (especially for the dealers) its monetary value. A doodle on a napkin may not be very interesting or valuable to anyone. However, when we realise that it was drawn by Picasso as a gift to a friend or to pay his bill at a café, then suddenly an otherwise insignificant object becomes very significant indeed. The same is true for any object. Lacking sufficient knowledge about it, a person might fail to appreciate its utility or value. But by gathering together all of the data regarding that object into one place, we can make much more informed decisions about the things we use, and the way we use them. One particularly important questions is, of course, how to tell whether the doodle on the napkin is actually by Picasso, or if someone is trying to profit from making you believe that it is. To date, the authenticity of an object — when there is no one currently alive who bore witness to its manufacture — is determined in many sectors by experts. As consumers, we are told that the opinions of these experts can be trusted due to their reputation in the field, gained from years of experience in dealing with a particular class of object. But even the most knowledgeable expert can make a mistake, or a charlatan may attempt to pose as an expert. And when this happens, apart from some damage to the expert’s reputation, the buyer often has little to no recourse to compensation for the error or misleading information. The smart contracts contained in the Mattereum Asset Passport provide a solution to this asymmetric dynamic. Expert opinions regarding all aspects of an object are still sought and gathered together, but with an added layer of protection for buyers in the form of indemnities which must be signed by anyone providing such an opinion. Furthermore, experts must put some skin in the game, in the form of a sum of money which they are bound to pay out if their statement turns out to be false. So if an assertion made about an

[passage 27](https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6) added layer of protection for buyers in the form of indemnities which must be signed by anyone providing such an opinion. Furthermore, experts must put some skin in the game, in the form of a sum of money which they are bound to pay out if their statement turns out to be false. So if an assertion made about an object is found to be untrue, the buyer is compensated: it’s true, or you can sue. So, how do we do it? To show how all this works, let’s follow an object through the process of receiving a Mattereum Asset Passport. Our object is this seemingly insignificant piece of mangled brass. It is, in fact, a spent rifle cartridge dating back to the early days of the First World War. A surprising amount of information can be extracted from this piece thanks to a combination of numerous factory marks and the context in which it was found. It’s a perfect candidate to showcase the range of information an Asset Passport can contain, and how we go about documenting and supporting it. The specific name of this type of cartridge can be determined through consulting either a subject expert or any number of authoritative reference guides. The places involved in its manufacture, and even the dates (French cartridges very helpfully display not only the year of manufacture, but also the quarter of that year) can be identified thanks to the numerous factory marks stamped into the rim. In addition to its current measurements, we also know its original, factory new measurements since, being a pattern-produced object, this is well documented. So with just the object itself, combined with a bit of light homework and an inspection of its current condition, we have a substantial description of our cartridge. Portion of the cartridge’s data sheet All of the information here is supported by a combination of signed identification statements by experts and references to authoritative reference sources. These are the keystones upon which are built the assertions that the above data is true. Section of Mattereum’s Certifier Contract (which I, as the source of the data, would sign) confirming the description of the cartridge. So now that we know, in general terms, what the object is, we can move on to answering the second important question: where has it been? Tracing an object’s provenance — its history of ownership ideally all the way back to its creation — begins with the present and works backwards from there. Understanding where an object has been is essential for a number of reasons. Returning to the napkin which may or may not contain a Picasso drawing, it can mean the difference between a piece of tissue or a valuable work of art. For manufactured goods, it could mean the difference between a properly made product and a potentially faulty knock-off. A pair of limited edition Air Jordans is a very different object from a pair of the same which Jordan actually wore when the Bulls

[passage 28](https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6) drawing, it can mean the difference between a piece of tissue or a valuable work of art. For manufactured goods, it could mean the difference between a properly made product and a potentially faulty knock-off. A pair of limited edition Air Jordans is a very different object from a pair of the same which Jordan actually wore when the Bulls won the championship. Provenance documentation also provides information about an object’s past which could have important ramifications. If the object was stolen, created using prohibited materials, or produced in illegal or unethical conditions, unaware owners might not be able to escape trouble by simply pleading ignorance. For our cartridge, current ownership is easy to determine: it forms part of my personal collection. As a member of a living history group which portrays the life of soldiers in the First World War, I have the honour to visit the Western Front regularly to take part in ceremonies commemorating the conflict and those who took part in it. On one such visit to the Somme this year for the memorial to the start of the infamous battle on 1 July 1916, I discovered this cartridge in a pile of soil excavated as part of the works being done on the site where our encampment was located. So in addition to my statement that the cartridge was discovered, lawfully excavated, and lawfully in my possession, I have the support of a similar statement made by an independent expert witness who was present when I excavated the object. But our object’s story does not end there. As it happens, the area of the Somme where the cartridge was found (La Boisselle, on the outskirts of Albert), was only occupied by the French Army for a period of four months before the British took over this part of the Western Front for the Allies. Furthermore, military records tell us that there were eight units of the French Army present in La Boisselle during this time. So by virtue of where our cartridge was found, we can confirm with authority that it was fired between September 1914 and January 1915 by a French soldier from one of eight units, which led it to be discarded and, over a century later, recovered by a history buff paying homage to their memory. Left: French soldiers of the 118e régiment d’infanterie at La Boisselle (1915). Right: Members of the 10th Essex Regiment WW1 Living History Group with French reenactors at La Boisselle for the 2019 commemorations of the Battle of the Somme (I’m the chap farthest right). We now have all of the information regarding the object gathered together. We convert the data into XML format, each statement of identification and provenance being treated as a separate and distinct data point. These data points, along with reference photos documenting all parts of the object and statements affirming the existence of all appropriate supporting documentation (as well as digital copies of relevant documents) are uploaded to an IPFS server. The

[passage 29](https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6) We convert the data into XML format, each statement of identification and provenance being treated as a separate and distinct data point. These data points, along with reference photos documenting all parts of the object and statements affirming the existence of all appropriate supporting documentation (as well as digital copies of relevant documents) are uploaded to an IPFS server. The unique identifiers created by this process to represent the sum total of all data on the object, as well as the assertions of the validity of the statements and the smart contracts laying out the modes of recourse should any information turn out to be false, combine to form the Mattereum Asset Passport. In the cases where there are privacy concerns, the existence of certified data can be proved by a hash or a series of hashes placed on chain, without the data itself being made public. Above you can see what parts of the user interface for our cartridge’s Mattereum Asset Passport look like. All of its data has been entered as XML and is reproduced in an easily accessible format. It is also possible to view the certification details of assertions made about the object. Upon viewing each assertion, and the relevant supporting documentation, users have the opportunity to purchase an indemnity, housed in a smart contract, offered by the certifier for a set fee. With the click of a button, the smart contract activates, processes the transaction, and buyers can now enjoy an unparalleled level of protection from misinformation regarding the things they buy. If you would like read more about Mattereum’s near-term plans, please read about our upcoming project with William Shatner to do authentication and provenance for the collectibles market. Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoyed the ride! Want to know more? Here are our whitepaper and our Telegram group.

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End of [165] The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product information markets, and the blockchain, part 3 of 3. Its connections are at the top of this file; the map is https://guptaoption.com/llms.txt.
Read next: next on the same works, [254](https://guptaoption.com/texts/254.md) Vinay Talk Amsterdam October 2019 (2019); the most closely related, [753](https://guptaoption.com/texts/753.md) (OHM2013) One network one world designing for a 7 plus... (2013); his whole career in one file, https://guptaoption.com/story.md.