A falsifiable mapping of the Nostr ecosystem. Evaluating financial concentration via human grantees, tracking technical dependency weight, and documenting the timeline of capital deployment.
Top 5 human recipients vs the rest of the sample.
This visualization maps the true Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for network control. The vast majority of end-user Nostr applications completely depend on a handful of core SDKs, effectively concentrating technical power (and structural risk) into the hands of just 5-6 LTS grantees.
Tracing the flow of capital alongside the structural evolution of the OpenSats board. The data highlights a pattern of overlapping industry roles, the use of abstracted LLCs for board seats, and critical unresolved governance gaps.
OpenSats is founded. Ben Price and Lisa Neigut are listed as directors. In Dec 2022, Jack Dorsey deploys 14.17 BTC directly to Fiatjaf, sparking dedicated Nostr development.
Jack Dorsey gifts $10M ($5M to Nostr). NVK and Gigi join the board. First major Nostr grant wave hits in July. By September, minutes reveal discussions about "setting up LLCs for board members."
In March, the board unanimously approves 9 LLCs (Freedom Tech LLC, Orange Coin Good LLC, etc.) as board members. May brings another $21M #startsmall gift ($5M to Nostr). Long-Term Support (LTS) rolls out.
Nostr LTS retains 12 of 13 people. In September, an unidentified board member auto-recuses from ALL Nostr applications, dropping the approval threshold to 4/8. The reason and identity remain unknown.
Following 3,000+ application evaluations, James O'Beirne resigns in June while his grant plan is discussed. The board votes to restructure back to "natural persons". NVK's tenure ends in August.