Social Contracts for Web3 Coordination I Tushar Ojha

Sun, Nov 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

Tushar Ojha, founder of True Network, discusses the concept of onchain reputation as a new primitive for Web3 social contracts, arguing that reputation is superior to capital for scalable, trustless coordination. He critiques current blockchain systems that rely on capital staking, highlighting their scalability and centralization issues. Ojha proposes using reputation—earned, non-transferable, and costly to fake—as a portable, plural asset for coordination, governance, and accountability. He references historical uses of reputation in governance (Akbar, Ashoka) and explains how blockchain enables immutable, transparent, and verifiable reputation systems. True Network enables protocols to issue attestations, build reputation models, and leverage reputation as an asset in social contracts, enabling use cases like onchain tournaments, improved governance, and Sybil resistance. He encourages the Web3 community to build on this narrative, sharing examples from ETH India and announcing the Ramen Network testnet. Ojha concludes that the time for onchain reputation has arrived. 00:00 Introduction 00:42 The Value of Reputation in Web3 01:15 What Problem Does Web3 Solve? 02:22 Perspectives on Blockchain: Credible Commitments & Trust 03:23 Coordination Without Trust 04:28 Capital-Based Alignment: Limitations 05:22 The Cost of Capital in Blockchain Security 06:03 Reputation as a New Primitive 07:05 Implementing Reputation: Challenges & History 08:40 Historical Reputation Systems: Akbar & Ashoka 09:07 Why Blockchain Reputation Systems Can Succeed 09:26 Credible Neutrality & Onchain Reputation 09:55 True Network: Architecture & Attestations 10:49 Identity, Credentials, and Reputation Models 11:41 Social Contracts: Programming Reputation 12:42 Formal Definition of Social Contracts 13:41 Use Cases: Games, Governance, and Accountability 15:04 Efficiency and Inclusivity of Reputation-Based Systems 15:51 ETH India: Building the Reputation Narrative 16:14 Example Projects: Fanbase & Placeholder 17:13 Community, Testnet, and Future Vision 17:46 Mission and Closing Remarks 18:08 Conclusion & Call to Action _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *Pragma New Delhi* Pragma New Delhi 2025 was held on September 25th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity New Delhi and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New Delhi YouTube Playlist here: ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Tushar Ojha X: https://x.com/techtusharojha ✅ Follow True Network X: https://x.com/TrueNetworkIO ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _