The Give Hub - Platform Architecture Documentation

System Overview

The Give Hub is a blockchain-enabled crowdfunding platform designed to facilitate secure, transparent, and verifiable donations to social causes in remote regions. Built on a distributed microservices architecture, the platform leverages the Stellar blockchain and Soroban smart contracts to ensure transparency, fund management, and real-time impact tracking.

The architecture combines a robust API gateway, user-friendly frontend, and independently scalable backend services to handle campaign management, user interactions, transaction processing, and continuous project updates. This document outlines each core component, service, and key technical feature, including security, scalability, and disaster recovery strategies.

Core Components

                                      ┌──────────────┐
                                      │              │
                      ┌───────────────┤   Frontend   ├───────────────┐
                      │               │              │               │
                      │               └──────────────┘               │
                      ▼                                             ▼
              ┌───────────────┐                             ┌───────────────┐
              │               │                             │               │
              │    API        │                             │  Auth Service │
              │    Gateway    │                             │               │
              │               │                             │               │
              └───────┬───────┘                             └───────────────┘
                     │
         ┌──────────┼──────────┬─────────────┬─────────────┐
         ▼          ▼          ▼             ▼             ▼
┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│              │ │         │ │         │ │         │ │         │
│  Campaign    │ │ User    │ │ Impact  │ │ Payment │ │ Updates │
│  Service     │ │ Service │ │ Service │ │ Service │ │ Service │
│              │ │         │ │         │ │         │ │         │
└──────┬───────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘
       │              │           │           │           │
       └──────────────┴───────────┴───────────┴───────────┘
                              │
                      ┌───────┴────────┐
                      │                │
                      │   Database     │
                      │   Cluster      │
                      │                │
                      └───────┬────────┘
                              │
                      ┌───────┴────────┐
                      │   Blockchain   │
                      │   Network      │
                      └────────────────┘

Frontend Layer

• Framework: Next.js 14 for an interactive, responsive user experience
• UI Library: Material-UI for modern and accessible design components
• State Management: React Query to manage asynchronous data fetching
• Real-time Updates: WebSocket for live project and donation tracking
• Authentication: OAuth2 and JWT-based sessions

API Layer

• Gateway: Node.js/Express API gateway orchestrates requests across microservices.
• Documentation: OpenAPI 3.0 provides well-documented API endpoints.
• Rate Limiting & Caching: Redis supports optimized query performance and secure request handling.

Service Layer

Each service operates independently as a Docker container, managed by Kubernetes for seamless scaling and deployment.

1. Campaign Service: Handles all aspects of campaign management, including creation, updates, and milestone verification.
2. User Service: Manages user profiles, KYC verification, role-based access, and secure session management.
3. Impact Service: Tracks real-time impact metrics aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to quantify and display project results.
4. Payment Service: Connects with the Stellar blockchain for secure, cross-currency transactions and smart contract management.
5. Updates Service: Manages real-time updates from campaigns, allowing project teams to share progress with donors through verified, multimedia updates.

Blockchain Layer

The Stellar network is central to The Give Hub’s transparency and verification: - Smart Contracts: Soroban contracts automate fund release based on milestone completion. - Multi-signature Verification: Ensures consensus from multiple stakeholders (e.g., project validators) before funds are released. - Transaction Tracking: Blockchain transactions offer immutable, publicly accessible records.

Security Architecture

1. Authentication and Authorization: The platform uses OAuth2 and JWT for session-based authentication and role-based access control, enforced through the API Gateway.
2. Data Security: End-to-end encryption ensures the security of data in transit and at rest. The system adheres to stringent security standards, with regular audits and SSL/TLS applied across all communication channels.
3. Role-Based Access Control: Each user role (admin, project manager, local partner, donor) is limited to necessary permissions, safeguarding sensitive actions and data.

const roles = {
  ADMIN: ['manage_system', 'verify_projects', 'manage_users'],
  PROJECT_MANAGER: ['manage_projects', 'submit_updates'],
  LOCAL_PARTNER: ['verify_updates', 'submit_reports'],
  DONOR: ['view_projects', 'make_donations', 'track_impact']
};

API Documentation

The API follows RESTful design principles, with well-documented endpoints available through OpenAPI 3.0, ensuring seamless integration with external systems.

// Campaigns API endpoint
POST   /api/campaigns           // Create a campaign
GET    /api/campaigns           // Retrieve campaigns
PUT    /api/campaigns/:id       // Update campaign details
DELETE /api/campaigns/:id       // Remove campaign

Smart Contract Integration

Soroban smart contracts execute milestone-based fund releases. An example of the contract logic:

// Milestone-based release contract
contract MilestoneRelease {
    milestone_count: u32,
    total_amount: i128,
    released_amount: i128,
    verified_by: Vec,
    
    fn release_milestone(milestone_id: u32) {
        require(self.is_verified(milestone_id));
        let amount = self.calculate_release_amount();
        self.transfer_funds(amount);
    }
}

Deployment Architecture

1. Development: Local Docker containers and Stellar testnet simulate the production environment.
2. Staging: Kubernetes cluster with Stellar testnet for near-production testing, coupled with a CI/CD pipeline for continuous integration.
3. Production: A multi-region Kubernetes cluster supports failover and replication, leveraging Stellar’s mainnet for blockchain transactions.

Monitoring and Logging

Metrics and Logging

• Metrics Collection: Prometheus gathers system performance data, while application-specific metrics include transaction success rates and donation flow.
• Centralized Logging: The ELK stack aggregates and analyzes logs, offering error tracking, transaction monitoring, and audit trail documentation.

Alerting

Real-time alerts for system anomalies and performance issues ensure high availability and proactive response to potential issues.

Scalability Considerations

The microservices architecture enables each component to scale independently. Key considerations include: - Horizontal Scaling: Kubernetes handles autoscaling, with database sharding and load balancing for improved performance. - Vertical Scaling: Resources are allocated based on need, ensuring efficient usage without compromising performance.

Disaster Recovery

1. Backup Strategy: Regular backups of all databases, transaction logs, and configuration files ensure data resilience.
2. Recovery Procedures: Comprehensive protocols for service restoration, data consistency checks, and smart contract state recovery protect platform stability.

Conclusion

The Give Hub’s architecture is built to deliver a transparent, efficient, and secure platform that uses Stellar and Soroban to empower donors and recipients in remote regions. This architecture supports transparency, scalability, and verifiability—core principles that position The Give Hub as a trusted platform for impactful crowdfunding.