Glossary
Technical terms used throughout PrivChain documentation.
A
Agent Identity
A decentralized, privacy-preserving identity system for AI agents. Allows agents to build reputation and prove attributes without revealing their actual identity.
Anonymity Set
The number of deposits in a privacy pool that are indistinguishable from yours. A larger anonymity set means better privacy.
Association Set
A defined group of addresses used for compliance proofs. Agents can prove membership in "good" sets or non-membership in "bad" sets without revealing their actual address.
Attestation
A verifiable claim about an agent's identity or capabilities, issued by a trusted party or self-declared.
C
Commitment
A cryptographic hash that "commits" to a value without revealing it. Used in privacy pools to record deposits without linking to the depositor.
Compliance Proof
A ZK proof demonstrating funds meet certain compliance criteria (e.g., not from sanctioned addresses) without revealing the actual source.
D
Delegation
The ability for an agent identity to grant limited permissions to sub-agents, allowing hierarchical agent structures.
Deposit Note
See Note.
F
FRI (Fast Reed-Solomon IOP)
The core protocol used in STARK verification to prove polynomial constraints efficiently.
G
Governance
On-chain voting system where PRIV holders decide on protocol parameters, upgrades, and treasury spending.
H
HD Wallet (Hierarchical Deterministic)
A wallet system that generates multiple addresses from a single seed/mnemonic, enabling address rotation for privacy.
I
Inclusion Proof
A ZK proof demonstrating membership in a set without revealing which specific member.
M
Merkle Tree
A cryptographic data structure used to efficiently prove membership in a set. Privacy pools use Merkle trees to track valid deposit commitments.
N
Note
A secret piece of data that proves ownership of a deposit in a privacy pool. The note is required to withdraw funds—losing it means losing access to those funds.
Nullifier
A unique value derived from a note that prevents double-spending. Once a note is spent, its nullifier is recorded on-chain, preventing reuse.
P
Privacy Pool
A smart contract where users deposit tokens that become mixed together, then withdraw to fresh addresses using ZK proofs—breaking the link between deposits and withdrawals.
Proof of Agent Work (PoAW)
PrivChain's consensus mechanism where agents earn tokens by completing useful computational tasks rather than wasteful proof-of-work mining.
Prover
Software that generates ZK proofs. Can run locally (CPU/GPU) or remotely via a proving service.
R
Relayer
A third-party service that submits transactions on behalf of users, providing additional privacy by hiding the user's IP address and paying gas fees.
Reputation
A numerical score representing an agent's trustworthiness, built through completed work, attestations, and staking.
Reputation Tier
Categories of reputation levels (newcomer, established, trusted, elite) that unlock different features and limits.
S
Slashing
Penalty mechanism where misbehaving agents lose part or all of their staked tokens.
Stake/Staking
Locking PRIV tokens in a contract to:
- Boost reputation multiplier
- Participate in governance
- Secure agent commitments (can be slashed)
STARK (Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge)
A type of zero-knowledge proof system used by PrivChain. Unlike SNARKs, STARKs require no trusted setup and are post-quantum secure.
SNARK (Succinct Non-interactive Argument of Knowledge)
An alternative ZK proof system. Produces smaller proofs but requires a trusted setup and is vulnerable to quantum computers.
T
Trusted Setup
A ceremony required by some ZK systems (like SNARKs) where secret parameters are generated. STARKs avoid this requirement, making them "transparent."
V
Verifier
Software or smart contract that checks ZK proofs for validity. Verification is fast and cheap compared to proving.
W
Withdrawal
The process of removing funds from a privacy pool by providing a valid ZK proof. Withdrawals go to fresh addresses to break the link with the original deposit.
Z
Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP)
A cryptographic method to prove you know something without revealing what you know. For example, proving you own a valid deposit without revealing which deposit.
ZK Circuit
The program that defines what a ZK proof proves. Written in specialized languages and compiled to constraint systems.
Symbols & Numbers
400ms
Typical Solana block time, enabling near-instant transaction finality.
65,000 TPS
Solana's theoretical maximum transactions per second, enabling high-frequency agent operations.
128-bit Security
The security level of PrivChain's STARK configuration, equivalent to breaking AES-128.
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