Introducing nostrbtc.com Directory — Verified Nostr Identities with Reputation You Can Trust

I have been developing nostrbtc.com as a paid Nostr relay — a spam-free, permanent-storage relay funded by Lightning payments. Today, I am launching a new feature built on top of it: a public directory of verified Nostr identities with computed reputation scores.

What is the nostrbtc.com directory? nostrbtc.com Directory is a curated, searchable listing of Nostr profiles. Every listed profile displays the following information: • A reputation score computed from real on-chain social data — not based on follower count or volume of activity, but on how trusted the profile is by other trusted accounts. • NIP-05 verification status — confirming whether the claimed identity actually resolves. • Lightning reachability — indicating whether others can successfully send zaps. • Profile information pulled fresh from the network every 15 minutes. • Follower and following counts, recent activity, and the length of time the profile has been active on Nostr. You can browse the directory immediately at https://nostrbtc.com/directory. Profiles can be sorted by Most Trusted, Recently Active, or Newest, and searched by name or NIP-05 identifier.

How the Reputation Score Works: The directory does more than simply list profiles — it actively computes trust using the EigenTrust algorithm, originally developed for peer-to-peer networks. The core principle is that reputation is not determined by the number of followers, but by the quality and propagation of trust through the social graph. A follow or interaction from a highly trusted account carries significantly more weight than interactions from numerous low-trust or bot accounts. Trust flows through replies, zaps, reactions, and reposts, with the algorithm iterating until the scores converge to a stable value. The reputation score is derived from the following inputs: • Follow relationships — indicating who trusts whom enough to follow. • Replies — measuring engagement with content. • Zaps — weighted by the amount of sats sent. • Reactions — reflecting appreciation of content. • Reposts — showing amplification of content. Scores are updated incrementally every 30 minutes as new interactions occur, with a full recomputation performed weekly. Temporal decay ensures that recent interactions carry more weight than older ones, and per-pair caps prevent any single relationship from disproportionately influencing the result. This approach represents a trust graph rather than a simple popularity metric. It is the first time such a computation has been made publicly available for Nostr identities.

How to Get Listed: There are two ways to appear in the directory: Directory Listing — 1,100 sats (one-time fee) Pay once via Lightning to receive a permanent listing in the directory. Your profile will be indexed, your reputation score will be computed, and you will be visible to all visitors. You may optionally claim a [email protected] NIP-05 identity during signup or at any time afterward. The NIP-05 verification is valid for one year and is renewable. Note that this tier does not include relay access. Your events are not stored on wss://nostrbtc.com, and you cannot publish to the relay. Profiles and scores are derived from public relays, updated every 15 minutes. This option is suitable for anyone seeking a verified, reputable presence in a curated directory. Full Relay Subscription — 2,100 sats per month or 21,000 sats per year This plan includes everything in the Directory Listing, plus full write access to the relay with permanent event storage. Additional features include Auto-Sync (streaming posts from other relays), a dedicated NIP-05 identity, Tor access, encrypted DM support, and a personal dashboard with statistics, backup downloads, and broadcast tools. Relay subscribers receive a visible badge in the directory, signaling full commitment to the platform.

Why This Matters: Nostr faces a significant identity and trust challenge. Anyone can create an npub, and there is no native mechanism to determine whether an account is genuine, active, or trustworthy. While NIP-05 provides domain-based verification, it does not indicate whether the individual behind the account is worth following. The nostrbtc.com Directory addresses this by combining NIP-05 verification with an algorithmic trust score. A profile displaying a high reputation score, valid NIP-05 verification, and Lightning reachability signals that it belongs to a real person trusted by other real participants on the network. For Nostr to scale effectively, new users require reliable tools for discovery. A curated, trust-scored directory serves as that essential resource.

What’s next: The directory is now live, with the EigenTrust computation actively running. The trust graph continues to evolve with every follow, reply, zap, and repost across the network. All reputation data, verification checks, and trust scores are computed from publicly available Nostr events that anyone can independently verify. To join the directory, visit https://nostrbtc.com/subscribe and select either the Directory plan (1,100 sats) or the Full Relay subscription. To browse the directory, simply go to https://nostrbtc.com/directory. No account or payment is required.