Continuity Chain

What is Continuity?

The continuity chain is a hash-linked sequence of receipts that records every attestation, policy decision, and enforcement action. Each receipt includes a reference to the previous receipt's hash, creating a chain that cannot be modified without detection.

Unlike centralized audit logs that require trust in the log operator, the continuity chain can be verified by any party with access to the receipts. Tampering—insertion, deletion, or modification of any receipt—is cryptographically detectable.

Baseline Algorithm

receipt = {
  sequence_number: N,
  timestamp: RFC3339,
  action_type: "ALLOWED" | "BLOCKED" | "ATTESTED",
  action_hash: BLAKE2b(action_data),
  policy_ref: policy_artifact_hash,
  prev_hash: hash(receipt[N-1]),
  signature: Ed25519.sign(receipt_data)
}

current_hash = BLAKE2b(
  sequence_number ||
  timestamp ||
  action_type ||
  action_hash ||
  policy_ref ||
  prev_hash
)

// For all receipts R[i] where i > 0:
R[i].prev_hash == hash(R[i-1])

// Sequence numbers are strictly increasing:
R[i].sequence_number == R[i-1].sequence_number + 1

Chain Structure

Verification Checklist

A verifier checks the following properties to validate chain integrity:

Merkle Root Anchoring

Claims Status

Related Resources