Trust, but verify.

Transferability

Like conveying property, TODA files can be passed from one user to another with complete assurance of authenticity

Permanence

The history of a TODA file's state changes is immutable, providing an unalterable ledger of ownership and changes

Agency & Possession

Retain full control over digital assets, much like owning a piece of property

Why isn’t a database good enough?

  • Databases enable easy updates or deletions of records. While this is beneficial for many applications, it's not ideal for scenarios where historical data must remain unchanged for legal, auditing, or trust purposes. Systems like blockchain or TODA create immutable transaction logs.

  • In a traditional database, altering past records can be done without leaving a clear trail if not properly logged. Cryptographic systems ensure that any alteration would be evident and would require changing all subsequent records, which is practically infeasible.

  • While databases can log changes (audit trails), they don't inherently provide a mechanism for public or third-party verification of data integrity over time. Blockchain and related technologies allow anyone to verify the history of data independently.

  • Simple databases might not manage complex provenance tracking well, especially when data moves across different systems or changes hands multiple times. Systems like TODA can encode provenance directly into the asset, making it follow the data wherever it goes.

  • For applications like micropayments or supply chain tracking where millions of small transactions or records need to be processed with high integrity and minimal delay, traditional databases might not scale as effectively or cost-efficiently as specialized cryptographic ledgers.

  • Database systems rely on trust in the administrator or organization managing the database. Cryptographic systems like blockchain or TODA involve a consensus mechanism where trust is distributed among many participants, enhancing security and reducing the need to trust a single entity.

Economically Efficient and Scalable

TODA is designed for negligible system costs. The computational and energy costs for state changes are borne by the entities making those changes, not with linear cost of the network at large. This means your business won't be bogged down by the high operational costs often associated with blockchain technologies. In an era where every penny counts, TODA’s approach significantly reduces the friction of digital transactions.

Certified by TODA

  • Graph-Based Architecture: Unlike traditional blockchain, TODA uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) for its data structure, which allows for more complex relationships between transactions, enhancing scalability and reducing redundancy.

  • Proven Cryptographic Primitives: TODA employs advanced cryptographic techniques like hash functions, digital signatures, and zero-knowledge proofs to ensure the integrity and privacy of transactions. Each asset is represented by a unique cryptographic token, ensuring non-fungibility and authenticity.

  • Consensus Without Mining: TODA bypasses the energy-intensive mining process of blockchains. Instead, it uses a consensus mechanism based on the validation of transactions by Tiered Integrity Lines without the need for proof-of-work or proof-of-stake, making it more environmentally friendly and faster.

Asset-Centric Approach

Each TODA asset carries its history and rules with it. This means provenance and integrity are an inherent part of the asset's lifecycle, not an add-on.

Developer Friendly

    • Hash Functions: TODA uses SHA-2 by default for creating cryptographic digests of transactions, ensuring data integrity and uniqueness.

    • Digital Signatures: Employs ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) with curves like secp256r1 for signing transactions, which provides a high level of security with smaller key sizes compared to RSA.

  • While not traditional smart contracts, TODA uses "scripts" within transactions which can enforce certain conditions or rules for asset transfer, similar to conditional payments or multi-signature requirements

    • The RESTful Twin service can push notifications or events to clients or other services when specific conditions are met, useful for real-time applications or automated workflows.

    • Caching and Indexing: To enhance performance, especially for lookups and validations, the system employs various caching mechanisms and indexing techniques for rapid transaction verification and asset tracing.

    • Load Balancing: The architecture supports load balancing across nodes to distribute the computational load evenly, ensuring no single point of failure and maintaining high availability.

  • All TODA data structures are append-only and lend themselves to rapid distribution over internal caches and public CDNs

Control

Retain sole control over your data, including how it's stored, shared, and used

Portability

Move data from one service to another without losing its integrity or ownership

Interoperability

Work across different platforms or systems without lock-in to any single provider

Transparency

Know who has access to their data and for what purpose

Security

Data is protected through cryptography, ensuring that only the owner can access or authorize access to it

Achieving self-sovereign digital objects


TODA creates self-sovereign assets through a combination of its architectural design, cryptographic principles, and operational mechanics.

Cryptographic Ownership

  • Private Keys: Each asset in TODA is controlled by cryptographic keys. The private key serves as the ultimate proof of ownership. Since only the owner of an asset has access to this private key, they have complete control over the asset's transfer or use.

  • Digital Signatures: When transferring or interacting with an asset, the owner signs the transaction with their private key, ensuring that only they can initiate such actions. This process reinforces the self-sovereignty of the asset, as any action on the asset must originate from its owner.

Asset-Centric Model

  • Unique Identification: Each asset is uniquely identified through cryptographic hashes, ensuring its individuality in the network. This uniqueness is fundamental to self-sovereignty, as it allows for clear, immutable ownership tracking.

  • Provenance Attached: The history of an asset (its provenance) is inherently part of the asset itself, following it through every transaction. This means the asset's history is self-contained, and control over this history remains with the asset's owner.

Ledgerless Architecture

  • Control Over Data Exposure: By not having a global ledger that records every transaction, TODA ensures that data about an asset's transactions is only shared as necessary. This limits unnecessary exposure and keeps control in the hands of the asset owner.

  • Selective Validation: Only nodes or parties involved in a transaction need to know about it until it's committed to a ledger if at all, thus preserving privacy and sovereignty over the asset's data.

Tiered Integrity Lines

  • Batch Privacy: TIL allows for the grouping of transactions into lines that are later committed, meaning the details of individual transactions can remain private until the owner decides they should be public or need to be validated broadly.

No single point of failure

  • Decentralization: With no central point of control, the system inherently supports self-sovereignty. Owners interact directly with each other or through services like the TODAQ Twin without needing a central intermediary to manage or approve transactions.

Privacy & Immutability

  • Privacy by Design: The system is engineered to share only what's necessary for transactions, reducing the risk of data leakage and keeping control with the asset owner.

  • Historical Integrity: Once a transaction is recorded, it's immutable, ensuring that the history of an asset cannot be altered by anyone, including the owner, after it's been set, thus preserving the integrity of the self-sovereign asset's history.