Anchor · FAQ

Satoshium Anchor · Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ explains Anchor's current post-Suite institutional role, canonical object, integrity-preservation process, authority boundaries, technology position, and development status.

Anchor preserves durable Integrity References. It does not become the authority for the records, claims, trust judgments, or other artifacts it references.

What is Satoshium Anchor?

Anchor is the Suite institution responsible for preserving durable Integrity References for authoritative artifacts and records.

Anchor → Integrity Reference

What is an Integrity Reference?

An Integrity Reference is an Anchor-owned record preserving governed integrity context for a defined representation of an Authoritative Artifact.

Does Anchor own the referenced artifact?

No. The Source Institution retains substantive authority for the external artifact. Anchor owns only its Integrity Reference and Anchor-controlled integrity metadata.

Reference does not transfer authority.

What does Anchor preserve?

Anchor may preserve Source references, Canonical Representation, Representation Boundary, Integrity Value, algorithm metadata, timestamps, signatures, Verification Material, external commitments, and Anchor metadata.

What is a Canonical Representation?

It is the exact governed representation used to generate or verify an Integrity Value, such as canonical JSON, a defined file, or another reproducible artifact representation.

What is a Representation Boundary?

It defines exactly what content the Integrity Reference covers and what surrounding or derived material is excluded.

Why not simply hash a file?

A hash is meaningful only when a later reviewer knows exactly which artifact, representation, boundary, algorithm, and Source Institution produced it.

Define the representation before generating the integrity value.

What is Integrity Verification?

Integrity Verification compares a reviewed artifact representation against its Integrity Reference to determine whether the representation remains consistent with the anchored state.

Does integrity prove truth?

No. A record can retain perfect cryptographic integrity and still contain incorrect information.

Integrity ≠ Truth

Is Anchor a certification system?

No. Certifier remains authoritative for Certification Packages and certification decisions. Anchor may preserve integrity for Certifier artifacts.

Integrity Verification ≠ Certification

Does Anchor determine trust?

No. Attestor owns Trust Statements and trust judgments. Anchor may preserve the integrity of a Trust Statement representation.

Integrity ≠ Trust

Does Anchor calculate reputation?

No. Anchor may preserve reputation-related artifacts, but it does not score, rank, aggregate, or maintain reputation.

How does Anchor fit within the Suite?

Atlas → authoritative intelligence
Certifier → Certification Package
Registry → Satoshium Registry Entry
Chronicle → Chronicle Entry
Anchor → Integrity Reference
Beacon → Discovery Signal / Metadata
Attestor → Trust Statement
Navigator → Workflow Definition

Each institution remains authoritative for its own canonical object.

Is Anchor an identity system?

No. Anchor may preserve identity-related attribution such as Source Institution, signer, signing key, producing system, reviewer, or role, but it does not issue identities or credentials.

What happened to the old identity/trust pages?

Their routes remain for continuity, but their roles were narrowed to attribution metadata and the integrity of externally governed claim, attestation, reputation, and trust artifacts.

Does Anchor use blockchain?

Anchor is implementation-neutral. Hashing, signatures, timestamping, Merkle structures, transparency logs, distributed systems, or other commitment mechanisms may support it.

Will Anchor use Bitcoin?

Possibly. Bitcoin may later serve as an external commitment layer for proof-of-existence, timestamp anchoring, Merkle-root commitments, batch commitments, or long-term public integrity checkpoints.

What happens if a Source Artifact changes?

The earlier Integrity Reference remains evidence for the earlier representation. A later Source Version may require Reverification, a new Anchor Version, or a new Integrity Reference.

What is an Anchor Correction?

An Anchor Correction fixes Anchor-owned information such as a wrong Source reference, digest, representation boundary, timestamp, or Verification Material.

Correct forward. Preserve backward.

Is Anchor in production?

No. Anchor is currently in Foundation Reconciliation. No production Integrity Reference has yet been issued.

What remains before production?

Identifier architecture, Controlled Values, schema, Verification, Validation, Publication, Lifecycle, Versioning, Corrections, Maintenance, production procedure, and the first real Integrity Reference.

What comes next?

Complete Foundation Reconciliation → Define Identifiers → Define Controlled Values → Define Integrity Reference Schema → Define Verification / Validation → Define Publication / Lifecycle → Define Versioning / Corrections → Define Maintenance → Define Production Procedure → Create First Production Integrity Reference

The dependency order may change if production design reveals a better structure.

Reference does not transfer authority.