Freeze the ticket
The requester deposits the reward and commits the exact source, benchmark, verifier, policy, and deadline.
ProofMesh · verifiable useful work
Ask for a result. Pay for evidence.
A requester freezes a benchmark and verifier. A builder submits an artifact. Independent critics replay it, challenge it, and sign the result before settlement.
The protocol
A work ticket is a frozen contract.
“Improve this 10×” becomes a content-addressed source tree, baseline, verifier, workload, metric, environment, and acceptance rule. The phrase is not left to a subjective review.
{
"protocolVersion": "proofmesh/0.1",
"baseline": "sha256:…",
"verifier": "sha256:…",
"benchmark": { "metric": "median_guest_cycles", "repetitions": 7 },
"correctness": "differential-trace-equal",
"acceptance": { "maximum": 100000000 }
}
Builder → critics → settlement
Independent checks, not one green checkbox.
Build the artifact
A builder submits a patch, reproducible build manifest, measurements, and proof bundle.
Assign diverse critics
Critics check semantics, performance, security, dependencies, and reproducibility from independent environments.
Commit, reveal, challenge
Verdicts are committed before other reports are visible. A replayable counterexample can open a challenge window.
Settle the evidence
A quorum of signed attestations settles the ticket. Review fees, failure bounties, bonds, and the builder reward follow the policy.
Critic incentive: critics are paid for a valid review, not simply for approving. Finding a real failure earns a bounty; a false approval risks stake.
Three proof levels
First implementation
Network scale
Selective
Use the cheapest proof that preserves trust.
Deterministic replay
Run the artifact in a fixed sandbox and compare outputs, guest traces, state digests, and resource counters.
Redundant critics
Several critics run the verifier independently. Disagreements escalate to additional replay or a challenge game.
Cryptographic proofs
zkVM, SNARK, or STARK bundles can prove a specified computation. They do not make an ambiguous benchmark precise.
Economics
Start with escrow. Earn the right to add a token.
The security comes from the frozen verifier and the critic protocol, not from a coin. The first release uses inspectable credits or escrow records. A native staking asset can come later, after demand, dispute rates, and critic economics are measurable.