Frequently asked questions

The Grid Protocol is an interactive digital directory connecting Black-owned businesses with their community. Businesses claim a block on a live map, build a storefront, and customers discover them by neighborhood — with real ownership infrastructure built in from day one, not bolted on later.

Yes. Listing is free for your first year — no card required to register, no crypto wallet required either. You claim your block, build your storefront, and go live at no cost.

The Grid and The Block are both for Black-owned businesses. If your business is minority-owned but not Black-owned, you can still back the network as a Community Supporter — see that section below.

The Grid is for businesses with a fixed storefront customers visit — a restaurant, shop, salon, or studio. You claim an actual block on the map.

The Block is for mobile or solo providers — hair, nails, barber, mobile detailing, mobile mechanic — who go to their clients instead of running a storefront. No map block, no address required.

Choose The Grid or The Block, enter your business info, complete a quick ownership & identity verification step, then pick your block on the live map (Grid only) and go live. It takes about five minutes.

A self-attestation, not a biometric or algorithmic check — you confirm you identify as Black/African American, hold at least 51% ownership and operational control, and that your information is accurate, then sign with your legal name. It's cross-checked against your documents by a human reviewer, the same way NMSDC/MBDA/state MBE certifications work.

If you already hold an NMSDC or MBDA certification, enter your certification number during verification for an instant match — it skips the document-upload step. It doesn't skip moderation entirely; your listing still goes through the normal review queue, it just moves faster because a moderator can see it's pre-verified.

Typically 1–2 business days. Your listing is visible on the map and directory immediately after you submit, marked with a "Pending" badge — you don't have to wait for approval to start showing up. Once approved, the badge disappears and everything works as normal. (Rejected listings are never shown publicly.)

Not yet. Card payments are gated behind a launch switch while we finish rolling things out, so checkout, booking payments, and paid subscriptions (Row Premium/Team, Community Supporters, Sponsors) are temporarily unavailable. You'll see a clear message rather than a broken checkout if you try.

So you're ready the moment ordering and bookings flip on. Claiming your block, building your storefront, uploading your catalog or menu, and getting discovered all work today — the businesses set up now are the ones ready to go the instant payments launch.

Soon — check Network News for the announcement when it happens. Fiat/card payments (Stripe) are Phase 02 on our roadmap.

One day a week, network-wide, everyone gets the same discount — currently 15% off, Thursdays from 6AM to 8PM EST. It's a standing reason for customers to show up and a predictable weekly traffic boost for businesses. The specific day rotates each year so it stays fresh.

No — Burstday replaces your own member discount for the duration of the window, it doesn't add on top of it. That keeps the math simple for customers: on Burstday, it's a flat 15% off, period.

No — Burstday applies automatically, network-wide, to every listed business. There's nothing to turn on.

A Grid or Block listing is for Black-owned businesses and includes a block on the map. Community Supporters are minority-owned businesses that aren't eligible for the Black-owned certificate but want to back the network financially. Sponsors are any business or institution — a storefront isn't even required. Neither gets a map block; both get a listing on the dedicated Supporters page.

Community Supporters are $15/month, or a discounted annual option. Sponsors are $150/month, monthly only. (Like other paid plans, sign-up is temporarily paused until payments go live — see the Payments section above.)

A light self-attestation — which minority-owned category applies, and a signed confirmation — no document review. Sponsors don't need any ownership attestation at all, since sponsorship isn't a minority-owned credential.

No. Today, everything — registration, your storefront, your catalog — works with just an email and password. No wallet, no crypto, no blockchain knowledge required.

It's a digital deed to your block — a record that the spot is yours, not rented from a platform that can revoke it later. You don't need a wallet or any crypto experience to have one; it's issued automatically when you claim your block.

The community treasury grows from network activity and, in later phases, unlocks Grid-wide member discounts, on-chain USDC payments, staking rewards, and eventually a community-governed fund that invests directly in Black-owned businesses. See the full six-phase breakdown on the Roadmap — we're currently in Phase 01.

Email Support@TheGridProtocol.com and we'll get back to you.

Email Support@TheGridProtocol.com with the business name and what you found — our moderation team reviews every report.