What is PolySwarm? A Guide to the Threat Detection Marketplace
PolySwarm is a decentralized cybersecurity platform designed to detect malware and emerging cyber threats. The project uses a marketplace model to incentivize independent security experts and software tools to detect and report threats with rewards in the native NCT token (Native Coin Token).
1. How does PolySwarm work?
Instead of relying on a single antivirus vendor, PolySwarm operates as an open marketplace where multiple participants provide “opinions” on suspicious files. The detection units (called micro-engines) can be cybersecurity companies, AI developers, or independent experts, who analyze files and stake NCT tokens on their results.
If the analysis is correct (the file contains malware or not), they receive a reward.
If they are wrong, they lose their stake, creating an incentive mechanism for accuracy and continuous improvement.
2. The role of the NCT token
NCT is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and is used in the platform to:
Pay for file analysis queries.
Stake on the accuracy of the analysis.
Reward the correct detection engines.
Users can deposit NCT to submit files, URLs or IP addresses for analysis, and receive evaluation results from dozens of different engines.
3. Benefits of PolySwarm over traditional platforms
| Criteria | PolySwarm | Traditional platforms |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Emerging detection | High, due to competition between engines | Limited, dependent on 1 provider |
| Real-time updates | Yes | Yes, but slower |
| Incentives for innovation | Yes – via staking & rewards | No or limited |
| Multiple detection sources | 30+ micro-engines | 1-5 fixed sources |
4. Who is PolySwarm for?
Cybersecurity enterprises who want to compare detection engines.
Security researchers who want to check suspicious files.
Blockchain/Web3 companies that need to protect smart contracts, decentralized applications (dApps).
Individual users who want more tools to prevent malware.
5. Development status and partners
PolySwarm has partnered with many organizations and is integrated into tools such as:
MISP – threat intelligence sharing platform.
Maltego – open source forensic analysis tool.
Directly accessible via web interface or API.
6. How to use PolySwarm
Go to: [https://polyswarm.io](https://polyswarm.io)
Upload a suspicious file or URL.
Top up NCT tokens to receive analysis from over 30 different security engines.
Track detailed results and detection history.
7. Conclusion
PolySwarm represents a new approach to cybersecurity, combining decentralization, artificial intelligence, and reward mechanisms based on results. Instead of relying on traditional antivirus vendors, it leverages the competition of expert communities and engines to detect modern cyber threats more quickly and accurately.