CiteChain is a decentralized, blockchain-based platform designed to register, track, and verify scientific citations while rewarding contributors with a native utility token (CITE). This working paper presents the problem statement, proposed system architecture, tokenomics model, and development roadmap for the CiteChain protocol. Current academic citation systems (Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) suffer from centralized control, manipulation, lack of incentives for researchers, and slow updates. CiteChain addresses these issues through a combination of smart contracts on an EVM-compatible blockchain (Ethereum/Polygon), decentralized storage via IPFS/Filecoin, ORCID-based researcher identity verification, and a community-driven citation validation mechanism with economic incentives and anti-abuse slashing penalties. The CITE token (ERC-20, fixed supply of 1 billion) rewards researchers for submitting papers, validating citations, and reporting fraud. Governance is managed through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The protocol is designed to be open-access, permissionless, and censorship-resistant. Keywords: decentralized science, DeSci, blockchain, citation network, smart contracts, tokenomics, ORCID, IPFS, academic integrity, open science, Polygon, ERC-20.
Jdidou et al. (2026) studied this question.