STAN has introduced Photon, a universal attention protocol designed to reward users for participation across digital platforms. The announcement came during India Blockchain Week, marking one of the event’s most notable consumer-internet infrastructure reveals this year.
Photon brings an on-chain settlement layer for digital attention, enabling verifiable tracking of user engagement across apps, games, and online communities. The protocol aims to fix long-standing inefficiencies within the attention economy, where users generate substantial value but receive no direct compensation.
The framework assigns measurable value to actions like scrolling feeds, interacting with creators, playing games, and participating in communities. Photon translates these signals into rewards while offering apps and advertisers authenticated engagement proofs.
STAN developed Photon using insights from more than 150 digital partners across gaming, content, and brand ecosystems. The team identified two persistent challenges worldwide: users remain unrewarded for their time, and businesses lack reliable, privacy-safe engagement signals.
Photon attempts to address both issues by offering transparent attribution, fraud-resistant retention metrics, and real-time reward distribution. The protocol introduces a programmable system that aligns incentives among users, creators, publishers, and advertisers.
“As we build the next major evolution of the internet, users must be at the center of value creation,” said Asad Ahmed, STAN’s Head of Engineering. He said Photon acts as a foundation for a global attention ecosystem where billions of users finally share in the value they generate.
“Backed by Aptos Labs and secured through TEEs, Photon delivers a transparent and privacy-safe attention layer that any digital app or publisher can plug into,” Ahmed added.
Photon runs on the Aptos blockchain to support high-volume consumer applications requiring fast settlement and scalable validation. The protocol uses TEEs to process engagement data securely and records only proof-based attestations on chain.
Aptos Labs CEO Avery Ching said Photon reflects the performance goals of the Aptos Global Trading Engine. He noted strong interest at India Blockchain Week and emphasized the alignment between Aptos’ infrastructure and STAN’s verifiable attention model.
Nazara Games and World Cricket Championship were named as the first partners integrating Photon into their gaming environments. WCC players will earn rewards for gameplay time, skill progression, and meaningful in-game actions under the new model.
Photon’s broader applications extend beyond gaming to social platforms, creator ecosystems, and digital consumer products seeking authenticated user engagement. The protocol signals growing interest in blockchain-verified attention signals as platforms compete for retention and credible attribution.
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