FAQ

What does ACTIS prove?

ACTIS proves cryptographic integrity and deterministic replay of transaction evidence: signatures validate, the hash chain is intact, recomputed round and final hashes match the transcript, and (for bundles) core files match the checksum file. The verifier outputs a report with actis_status (ACTIS_COMPATIBLE, ACTIS_PARTIAL, or ACTIS_NONCOMPLIANT). It does not prove fault, trustworthiness, or any business outcome.

What does ACTIS not prove?

Fault, blame, reputation, risk, settlement correctness, or identity beyond what is needed to verify signatures. Adjudication, underwriting, and disbursement logic are out of scope.

Does ACTIS require Pact?

No. ACTIS is an independent standard and does not depend on Pact. Implementations need not use or import any Pact code or services. The specification, schemas, and test vectors are self-contained. A verifier can be implemented from the ACTIS normative documents and the public test vector corpus alone.

Compatibility and conformance

Backward compatibility — New versions that add optional fields MUST preserve compatibility for core semantics. Breaking changes require a new major version.

Conformance — A verifier conforms to ACTIS v1 by: (1) accepting only the inputs and outputs defined in the standard, (2) producing reports that conform to the verification report schema, and (3) passing tv-001 through tv-008. Algorithms are in ACTIS_COMPATIBILITY.md.

Are signatures required?

Yes. The transcript MUST include signature material for each required signer. All required signatures MUST verify for ACTIS_COMPATIBLE. If schema, hash chain, and checksums pass but any signature is missing or invalid, the outcome is ACTIS_PARTIAL. Signatures are over each round’s envelope_hash (64-character hex, UTF-8). Ed25519 is specified for ACTIS v1.

How does replay work?

Replay is hash-chain recomputation: recompute each round hash and the transcript final_hash (if present) and confirm they match the transcript. Implementations SHALL set replay_ok equal to hash_chain_ok. Signature validity is reported separately (signatures_ok). Normative algorithms (canonical JSON RFC 8785, SHA-256, genesis from intent_id and created_at_ms) are in ACTIS_COMPATIBILITY.md.

What is the IP position?

License — Specification and documentation are under Apache License, Version 2.0.

Patent — ACTIS Maintainers make a patent non-assert commitment: they will not assert patent claims necessary to implement ACTIS v1.x against good-faith implementers. The commitment terminates if a party asserts patent claims against an ACTIS implementation. Full text: ACTIS_IP_COMMITMENT.md in the specification repository. This is legal documentation, not part of the normative verification specification.