How proof works
When you contribute to a project on Takeyard, your work is permanently recorded in a way that anyone can independently verify — without trusting any company, including us.
Upload your work
Add a file to a project — a beat, a vocal, artwork, anything.
Fingerprint generated
A unique code is calculated from the file's exact contents.
Anchored to blockchain
Timestamped and written into Bitcoin's public record.
Download your proof
Get a .ots proof file you can verify anywhere, forever.
What is a fingerprint?
When you upload a file, Takeyard reads every byte of that file and runs it through a mathematical formula called SHA-256. This produces a short, unique code — the fingerprint(also called a “hash”). Think of it like a digital thumbprint: even changing one pixel in an image would produce a completely different code.
This fingerprint is calculated right in your browser before the file leaves your device. Takeyard never needs to see the file to verify it — the fingerprint alone is enough.
What is a timestamp?
A fingerprint proves what you made, but not when. To prove the timing, Takeyard sends your fingerprint to the OpenTimestamps network — a free, open-source service that bundles fingerprints together and writes them into the Bitcoin blockchain.
Why Bitcoin? Bitcoin's blockchain is a public record that no one controls and no one can edit. Once your fingerprint is anchored there, anyone in the world can verify that your file existed at that point in time. No company needs to stay in business, no server needs to stay online — the proof lives on Bitcoin's network permanently.
What is the .ots file?
The .ots fileis your proof receipt. It's a small file that contains the mathematical path from your file's fingerprint to its anchor point in the Bitcoin blockchain. You can download it from your proof ledger at any time.
With this file, anyone can independently verify your proof using the free OpenTimestamps verification tool — no account needed, no trust in Takeyard required.
How to verify your proof
- Go to your profile and open Verified contributions.
- Find the contribution you want to verify and click the download icon next to the .ots proof.
- Visit opentimestamps.org and drag in your original file and the .ots file.
- The verifier will confirm: your exact file existed at that exact date and time, as proven by the Bitcoin blockchain.
What this proves — and what it doesn't
It proves: that a specific file existed at a specific time, and that it was uploaded by your account. This is a verified record of activity.
It does not prove: legal copyright registration. Copyright law varies by country, and formal registration is a separate process. However, a timestamped, blockchain-anchored proof of your original file is powerful evidence in any dispute about who created something first.
Why you should care
In music, disputes about who wrote or produced what happen all the time — often years after the fact. Emails and DMs get deleted. Hard drives crash. Memories fade. Takeyard's proof system gives you a permanent, tamper-proof record that you can pull up at any time to show exactly what you contributed and when.
Every upload. Every contribution. Permanently proven.