Whitepaper Introduction

Whitepaper v1.1 — Comprehensive Edition

Decentralized Web Interaction Layer for AI Agent

Executive Summary: The Web Paradigm Is Shifting

The internet is entering its third fundamental revolution.

First Revolution (1990-2010): Humans read the web. Browsers displayed HTML documents, users clicked hyperlinks, and information was consumed. The winners of this era were Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

Second Revolution (2010-2025): Programs communicated with the web through APIs. RESTful APIs, GraphQL, and SDKs enabled applications to exchange data. This era produced the SaaS economy and platform businesses.

Third Revolution (2025-): AI agents act on the web. Beyond reading data or calling APIs, agents navigate websites like humans, make decisions, and perform real actions. This will create an autonomous economy measured in trillions of dollars.

But this revolution faces a fundamental barrier.

The Core Problem: AI’s Last-Mile Barrier

Current AI technology has reached remarkable capabilities. GPT-4 passes legal examinations, Claude writes complex code, and Gemini analyzes hundreds of pages instantaneously. The AI agent market reached $5.4 billion in 2024, with projections indicating growth to $52.6 billion by 2030.

Yet all this intelligence remains constrained by a fundamental limitation: disconnection from the web.

What Current AI Cannot Do

Scenario 1: E-commerce Automation

Consider building an AI agent with LangChain that executes “Find and purchase the cheapest AirPods on Amazon.” In practice, this agent will:

Encounter Cloudflare bot detection blocking Amazon access
Struggle to convert HTML product listings into structured data (LLMs generate inconsistent JSON schemas)
Fail to perform complex interactions like login, cart addition, and payment processing
Cannot cryptographically prove the actual purchase price was $199

Scenario 2: Financial Data Verification

Suppose a DeFi protocol wants to verify user bank balances for uncollateralized lending:

AI agents cannot log into banking websites (2FA and CAPTCHA barriers)
Retrieved balance data cannot be proven to originate from actual bank servers
Screenshots can be manipulated, HTML sources can be forged

This is a trust problem. Without trust, high-value industries like finance, legal, and healthcare cannot utilize AI agents.

Scenario 3: Regulatory Monitoring

Imagine a law firm operating AI agents to track regulatory changes across 150 countries:

Inconsistent government website structures prevent uniform parsing
Website UI changes immediately break scrapers
Centralized services like Browserbase can be censored in specific countries

This is a scalability and resilience problem.

Sela’s Solution: Three-Layer Architecture

Sela Network solves these problems through three innovative technical layers.

Layer 1: Distributed Browser Network - Solving Access

Problem: Centralized headless browser services are expensive (thousands of dollars monthly), create single points of failure, and remain vulnerable to bot detection.

Sela’s Innovation: A DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) model leveraging real user browsers distributed globally as nodes.

Why this is revolutionary:

Authentic Browser Environments: Centralized services run Chromium on cloud servers with synthetic fingerprints. Modern bot detection systems identify these patterns. Sela nodes use actual Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers from real users, making bots indistinguishable from humans.

Geographic Distribution: Korean Coupang data is processed by Seoul nodes, US Amazon data by New York nodes. This minimizes latency and enables access to region-restricted content.

Censorship Resistance: Central servers can be blocked by governments or corporations. A distributed network of 100,000 nodes (target) cannot be blocked.

Infinite Scalability: Centralized services impose concurrency limits. Sela’s processing capacity increases linearly with node additions, implementing horizontal scaling principles perfectly.

Layer 2: Semantic Interpretation Engine - Solving Understanding

Problem: The web consists of HTML and CSS, but AI requires JSON. LLM-based HTML-to-JSON conversion generates inconsistent schemas, exhibits schema compliance rates below 40%, and costs $0.03-0.15 per page.

Sela’s Innovation: A hybrid approach combining Vision Language Models with DOM parsing, capturing advantages of both methods.

Why this is breakthrough:

Hybrid Efficiency: 99% of cases are handled by fast DOM parsing (approximately 200ms, $0.0001), with VLM (2-4 seconds, $0.01-0.05) used only for complex UIs. This results in 70-80% cost reduction versus centralized solutions.

Consistent Schemas: Adherence to Schema.org and JSON-LD standards ensures identical URLs always return identical JSON structures. AI agent development becomes dramatically simpler.

Self-Healing: Advanced VLM technology enables visual UI element recognition. When Coupang changes button CSS classes, Sela still identifies “the large orange button in the lower right.” Internal testing demonstrates 98.5% automatic recovery success rate.

Layer 3: Zero-Knowledge Verification - Solving Trust

Problem: Web data is unverifiable. Screenshots can be manipulated, API responses are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, and no method exists to cryptographically prove data provenance.

Sela’s Innovation: World-first application of zkTLS (Zero-Knowledge TLS) protocol to web data verification.

Why this is a game-changer:

Cryptographic Proof: Multi-Party Computation during TLS handshake mathematically proves data originated from the actual server. Manipulation or forgery is impossible.

Selective Disclosure: Zero-Knowledge Proof technology conceals sensitive information while proving necessary facts. Examples: “This user’s bank balance exceeds $50,000” (exact amount private), “Age 21+” (exact birthdate private).

Legal Validity: Like blockchain-based anti-counterfeiting technologies, Sela’s proofs can serve as digital evidence in legal proceedings. Applications include financial audits, compliance reporting, and legal proceedings.

Privacy Preservation: zkTLS is the only method that proves data provenance while protecting privacy. Unlike centralized oracles, it protects data from prover, server, and verifier.

Market Opportunity: Trillion-Dollar Untapped Market

Explosive AI Agent Market Growth

Market research forecasts indicate rapid sector expansion:

2025: $7.06B
2028: $25B (projected)
2032: $93.20B
CAGR: 44.6%

These are conservative estimates. Industry statistics show AI agent startups raised $3.8 billion in 2024 alone, nearly triple the 2023 figure.

More critically, adoption rate demonstrates that 85% of enterprises plan AI agent implementation by end of 2025. All require web interaction infrastructure.

Sela’s Total Addressable Market

AI agents accessing the web must utilize infrastructure like Sela. Industry analysis indicates web interaction capabilities represent 15-25% of total AI agent market value.

Conservative Estimation:

AI agent market 15-25% = web interaction infrastructure demand
2030 Sela TAM: $7.5B - $13.2B
Annual growth rate: 40%+ sustained

This substantially exceeds the web scraping market ($754M in 2024 to $2.87B in 2034). Sela enables interaction, not merely scraping.

DePIN Market Synergy

Sela is also part of the DePIN market. Current DePIN sector market capitalization reaches $30-50 billion, with projections to $3.5 trillion by 2028.

DePIN currently represents less than 0.1% of the $1 trillion global infrastructure market, demonstrating massive growth potential.

Sela’s Positioning: We occupy the unique intersection of AI agent and DePIN markets. Filecoin decentralized storage, Render decentralized computing, Helium decentralized wireless. Sela decentralizes web access.

Why Sela: Technical Moat

1. Industry’s Only Cryptographic Verification System

Competitors: Browserbase, BrightData, Apify provide only session replays or logs. These cannot serve as legal evidence.

Sela: zkTLS based on TLSNotary protocol proves:

Data provenance (which server originated it)
Data integrity (unaltered)
Timestamp (when collected)
Transmission path (route traveled)

This justifies a 10-100x value premium. Verifiable data is mandatory in finance, legal, healthcare, and compliance industries.

2. AI-Native Design

Competitors: Existing tools were built for human developers. Puppeteer requires CSS selector authoring, Selenium demands complex wait logic management.

Sela: Designed from inception for AI agents:

Native integration with LangChain, AutoGPT
Consistent JSON-LD output (Schema.org standards)
Resolves LLM hallucination problems
Complex web interactions in three lines of code

3. Decentralization = Censorship Resistance + Infinite Scaling

Competitors: Centralized server models face risks:

Sudden service interruption from provider policy changes
Access restrictions from country-specific regulations
Complete business paralysis from server failures
Hard concurrency limits (Browserbase: 50-100)

Sela: DePIN model’s inherent advantages:

Performance improvement with node additions (network effects)
Individual node failures do not impact overall system
Uncensorable (distributed across 150+ countries)
No concurrency limits (P2P principles)

Competitive Advantages

vs. Centralized Solutions (Browserbase, BrightData)

Factor	Browserbase	BrightData	Sela Network
Architecture	Central Cloud	Central Proxy Network	Distributed P2P Nodes
Cost (1M requests)	$4,000-6,000	$15,000	$1,200-2,000
Bot Bypass Rate	~95% (Stealth Mode)	~95%	98.7% (Real Browsers)
Data Verification	Session Replay	None	zkTLS Proof
SPOF	Yes	Yes	None
Concurrency Limit	50-100	Plan-Based	Unlimited
AI Integration	Manual (Playwright/Puppeteer)	Manual	LangChain Native

Cost Simulation (1M monthly requests):

Browserbase:
- Browser time: 50,000 hours × $0.10 = $5,000
- Proxy: 2,500GB × $10/GB = $25,000 → negotiated $2,000
- Total: $7,000/month

Sela Network:
- Token usage fee: $1,500-2,000/month
- Savings: 70-75%

vs. Open Source Tools (Puppeteer, Selenium, Playwright)

These tools are excellent, but infrastructure management complexity is problematic:

Factor	Direct Build (Puppeteer/Selenium)	Sela Network
Initial Setup	2-3 days (server, proxy, monitoring)	5 minutes (API key)
Monthly Operating Cost	$8,500+ (server $3,500 + labor $5,000)	$1,200-2,000
Bot Bypass Success	78.5% (Puppeteer)	98.7%
Parsing	Manual CSS selectors (maintenance required)	Automatic JSON-LD
UI Change Response	Manual fixes (service interruption)	Self-Healing
Scaling	Manual (add servers, load balancing)	Automatic (add nodes)

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): 70-90% reduction with Sela

vs. Search API Providers (SerpAPI, ScraperAPI)

These provide data only for specific websites (Google, Amazon, etc.):

Factor	SerpAPI	ScraperAPI	Sela Network
Coverage	Search engines only	Major sites only	All websites
Cost (1M requests)	$25,000	$12,500	$1,200-2,000
Customization	Impossible	Limited	Full customization
Data Verification	None	None	zkTLS Proof

Technical Differentiation: Unreplicable Combination

Why Competitors Cannot Easily Replicate Sela

1. DePIN Node Network Construction Difficulty

Building a global network of real user browsers requires:

Token economics design (Work Token model)
Community building and management
Node quality assurance mechanisms
Legal/regulatory risk management

Browserbase raised $40M investment but maintains centralized model. Why? Decentralization is an ecosystem problem, not merely technical.

2. zkTLS Implementation Complexity

zkTLS requires:

Understanding of Garbled Circuits and Oblivious Transfer
MPC protocol implementation (TLS 1.3 support added 2024)
Notary network operation
On-chain verification system

This demands years of research and development in cryptographic technology. Sela has already implemented this.

3. VLM + DOM Hybrid Parsing Technical Barriers

Advanced VLM technology with 5B+ parameters achieves leading performance in UI understanding. Sela plans:

Proprietary VLM development (2026-2027, Roadmap Phase 3.3)
1M+ webpage training dataset
Web UI specialized model (85%+ accuracy target)

This requires AI research capability.

Conclusion: Sela combines Web3 (DePIN), AI (VLM), and Cryptography (zkTLS). Teams possessing all three capabilities are extremely rare globally.

Whitepaper Purpose and Structure

Who Should Read

VC Investors: Focus on market opportunity, TAM/SAM, competitive advantages, and tokenomics.

AI Developers: Prioritize technical architecture, API documentation, and SDK integration.

Node Operators: Review reward structure, hardware requirements, and ROI calculations.

Enterprises and Partners: Examine use cases, security, and compliance.

Whitepaper Organization

This whitepaper comprises four parts:

Part 1: Problem and Opportunity

Understanding why web and AI remain disconnected, and why this represents massive market opportunity.

Chapter 1: Executive Summary

Complete problem picture Sela solves
Three-layer architecture overview
Market opportunity and competitive advantages

Chapter 2: Problem Definition - AI’s Last-Mile Barrier

Why AI cannot interact with the web
Limitations of existing solutions (Puppeteer, Browserbase, BrightData)
Verified market data and technical analysis

Chapter 3: Solution Overview - Three-Layer Architecture

Layer 1: Distributed Browser Network (DePIN model)
Layer 2: Semantic Interpretation Engine (VLM + DOM)
Layer 3: Zero-Knowledge Verification (zkTLS)

Part 2: Technical Solution

Explaining how Sela operates and why it is technically superior.

Chapter 4: Core Technologies Deep Dive

Sela Node: Browser fingerprinting, behavioral pattern emulation, geographic distribution
Semantic Interpretation Engine: Vision-DOM hybrid parsing, self-healing
zk-TLS: Multi-Party Computation, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, selective disclosure

Chapter 5: Data Flow and Workflow

Real usage example: “Search Amazon for lowest AirPods price and order”
Step-by-step process (request → execution → verification → response)
Layer roles and interactions

Chapter 6: System Architecture

Horizontal scaling principles
Load balancing and node selection algorithms
Security and isolation mechanisms
Performance optimization strategies

Part 3: Real Applications and Business Model

Demonstrating how technology creates actual value through concrete cases.

Chapter 7: Industry Use Cases

Autonomous Trading Agents: 24/7 market monitoring and automated trading
Cross-Border Arbitrage: Global price comparison and optimal purchasing
Legal Compliance: Regulatory monitoring and document verification across countries
Consumer Automation: Hotel booking, airline tickets, returns processing
Enterprise Automation: Competitor analysis, recruitment monitoring, review collection

Chapter 8: Competitive Analysis - Market Positioning

vs. Open Source (Puppeteer, Selenium, Playwright)
vs. Managed Services (Browserbase, BrightData, ScraperAPI)
vs. API Providers (SerpAPI, ScraperBox)
SWOT analysis and market entry strategy

Chapter 9: Performance Benchmarks

API response time: P50 420ms, P95 1,580ms
Bot detection bypass rate: 98.7% (Cloudflare, DataDome, etc.)
Parsing accuracy: F1 Score 0.980
Cost efficiency: 70-87% reduction versus competitors

Part 4: Economic Model and Future

Explaining token economics operation and how Sela becomes global standard.

Chapter 10: Tokenomics - Sustainable Economic Design

$SELA token utility: Gas, Staking, Governance, Marketplace
Supply and demand dynamics
Burn mechanisms: usage fee burn, buyback and burn, slashing burn
DePIN project benchmarks (Filecoin, Render, Helium)
Investor perspective: valuation, ROI, risks

Chapter 11: Reward System - Participant Incentives

Node operator rewards: base rewards, transaction fees, performance incentives
Developer rewards: marketplace revenue, grant programs, bug bounty
User incentives: points system, early adopter bonuses
Actual revenue cases (versus Apify)

Chapter 12: Development Roadmap - Verified Execution Plan

Phase 1 (2024-2025 Q2): Foundation - beta network, SRE, AI framework integration
Phase 2 (2025 Q2-Q3): Verification - zkTLS integration, Session Cloud, enterprise customers
Phase 3 (2025-2026): Marketplace - Agent App Store, no-code builder, Sela VLM
Phase 4 (2027-2030): Global Standard - 100,000+ nodes, W3C/IEEE standardization

Chapter 13: Vision - HTTP of the AI Era

HTTP connected the web → Sela connects AI-Web
Sela as Layer 0 infrastructure
2030 goal: All AI agents access web through Sela

Transparency Statement

What We Promise

Verified Data Only

All market data, competitor pricing, and technical benchmarks in this whitepaper are cited from public sources. Each claim includes reference links.

Realistic Goals

We do not over-promise and under-deliver. All roadmap milestones are based on actual growth curves from similar projects (Filecoin, Render).

Explicit Risks

We do not present only optimistic futures. The Roadmap’s Risk Management section transparently discloses technical, market, and regulatory risks with response strategies.

Quarterly Progress Reports

After network launch, we will publish quarterly:

Actual node count and geographic distribution
API call volume and processing success rate
Enterprise customer count (anonymized)
Technical milestone achievement status
Token burn volume and treasury usage details

What We Do Not Promise

Token Price Guarantees

All APY and ROI calculations in the whitepaper assume specific token prices. Actual prices may vary significantly with market demand, with possibility of loss.

Fixed Timelines

All roadmap dates are estimates and may change based on technical difficulty, market conditions, and regulatory environment.

Competitor Exclusion

The web automation market is massive and can support multiple solutions. Sela aims to be the best in the AI-Native segment, not to monopolize the market.

Disclaimer

Investment Risk Notice

Important: This whitepaper is for informational purposes and is not investment advice.

$SELA token purchase involves the following risks:

Market Risk:

Cryptocurrency markets are extremely volatile
Token price may converge to zero
Lack of liquidity may prevent sales at desired times

Technology Risk:

Sela Network technology may not operate as expected
Competitors may develop superior technology
Website bot detection strengthening may reduce bypass rates

Regulatory Risk:

Government regulations may restrict web scraping
Tokens may be classified as securities in specific countries
Data protection regulations (GDPR, CCPA) may impact business model

Execution Risk:

Roadmap milestones may not be achieved
Key team member departures may impact the project
Insufficient funding may halt development

Conclusion: Carefully assess your risk tolerance before investing. Never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Securities Law

$SELA tokens are designed as utility tokens. They are means to use Sela Network platform services, not investment products.

However, securities laws vary by country, and some jurisdictions may classify utility tokens as securities. Verify your country’s laws before investing.

Specific Country Resident Restrictions:

US Residents: Compliance with Regulation D, Regulation S
China, Korea: Compliance with respective cryptocurrency regulations
EU: Compliance with MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation

Forward-Looking Statements

This whitepaper contains forward-looking expressions such as “expect,” “goal,” “plan,” “believe.” These statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions, but actual results may differ significantly.

Factors affecting future outlook:

Overall cryptocurrency market conditions
AI technology development pace
Competitive environment changes
Regulatory policy modifications
Emergence of technical challenges

We have no obligation to update forward-looking statements and bear no responsibility if actual results differ from projections.

Document Usage Guidelines

This whitepaper is published under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license:

Freely shareable (attribution required)
Non-commercial citation permitted
Commercial redistribution prohibited
Use that distorts content or causes misunderstanding prohibited

Translation

Official translation languages:

English (primary language)
Chinese - in preparation
Korean - in preparation
Japanese - in preparation

Community translations are welcome, with rewards for quality translations.

Contact and Community

Official Channels

Website: https://selanetwork.io
Documentation: https://docs.selanetwork.io
GitHub: https://github.com/sela-network

Conclusion

As HTTP connected the web, Sela connects AI and the web.

In the 1990s, those who created the HTTP protocol did not anticipate it would generate a multi-trillion dollar economy. But they solved the right problem in the right way.

In the 2020s, Sela Network is doing the same thing. Connecting the last mile between AI agents and the web, performing this in a verifiable and decentralized manner.

This is not merely a technology project. This is:

Foundational infrastructure for a new economy where millions of AI agents operate
A trust layer capable of proving web data authenticity
A decentralized ecosystem where anyone can participate and be rewarded
A new web protocol for the AI era

Let us build the future together.

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” — Alan Kay

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb

Welcome to Sela Network. Welcome to the AI-Native Web.