Glossary
Canonical definitions for every Notareum term. Use this page as the shared vocabulary between protocol, contracts, SDKs, and integrations. Terms are grouped alphabetically.A
.nota file
A signed JSON document that binds a blockchain resource (address, contract, transaction, NFT, IPFS CID) to an issuer identity. The core data structure of the protocol. Typically 1–2 KB, portable over any channel, verifiable offline once the issuer’s signing key is known. See .nota File Format.
AccessManager
The OpenZeppelin v5 contract used as the single authority for role memberships, timelocks, and proxy upgrades across all Notareum contracts. Deployed asNotareumAccessManager. See AccessManager.
Alias
A human-readable pointer to a.nota resource, stored in NotaRegistry. First-come-first-served; normalized to NFC and case-folded before hashing. An alias resolves to the underlying resourceId. Compatible with (but independent of) ENS names.
Attestation
A validator’s signed claim about a resource during a verification request. Encodesapprove or reject, the validator’s identity, the request ID, and a hash of off-chain evidence. Submitted to VerificationEngine.
B
Basic tier
Entry-level validator tier. Minimum stake 10,000 NOTA, 10 attestations per day cap, 1.0× reward multiplier, 10% maximum slash rate in a 24-hour window. See ValidatorStaking.Bond (dispute)
NOTA posted by a disputant when opening a dispute within the dispute window. Returned plus a share of slashed funds if the dispute succeeds; forfeit otherwise.C
chainId
The numeric chain identifier used inside a .nota file. EVM chains use EIP-155 integers; Solana uses 101/102/103; Bitcoin uses 0/1; Cosmos chains hash their chain-id string to uint256. See Cross-Chain Identity.
chainName
The human-readable lowercase slug for the chain (ethereum, polygon, arbitrum, solana). Paired with chainId in every .nota resource block.
Collusion slash
Terminal slash triggered by governance-finalized evidence of coordinated validator misbehavior. Slashes 100% of stake regardless of tier. See SlashingManager.Cooldown
The waiting period betweenunstake and withdrawPending. Tier-dependent: 14 days (Basic), 21 days (Professional), 28 days (Enterprise), 42 days (Institutional). Protects the network from rapid stake rotation during disputes.
D
Disputant
The address that opens a dispute against a finalized verification request within the dispute window. Posts a bond; receives a share of slashed funds on success.Dispute window
Fixed interval after finalization during which a verification outcome can be challenged. 24 hours (Basic), 48 hours (Enhanced), 72 hours (Institutional).Double-signing slash
Slash applied when a validator signs conflicting attestations for the samerequestId. Rate scales by tier up to 100% (Enterprise+). Always terminal at the higher tiers.
Downtime slash
Automated slash triggered when a validator misses attestations acrossk consecutive epochs (default 4 weeks). Lower rate, no disputer share.
E
Enhanced verification
Mid-tier verification level requiring 7 validators with 75% approval, minimum validator tier Professional. Fee: 500 NOTA. Dispute window 48 hours.Enterprise tier
Third validator tier. Minimum stake 250,000 NOTA, 200 attestations per day cap, 2.0× reward multiplier, 20% max slash rate. Eligible to attest Institutional-level requests.Evidence hash
bytes32 hash committed on-chain in an attestation. Commits the validator to a specific off-chain evidence payload (logs, source code, audit reports) that can be disclosed in a dispute.
F
FeeManager
The contract that collects, splits, and routes every NOTA fee the protocol charges. Splits default to 40% treasury, 20% burn, 40% validator rewards. See FeeManager.Finalization
Transition of a verification request out ofOpen into Finalized (approved or rejected). Triggered by anyone after quorum or on deadline. Allocates attestation rewards.
G
Governance proposal
A veNOTA-weighted vote throughGovernor. Proposals can schedule operations in AccessManager (role grants, parameter updates, upgrades). See AccessManager.
H
HD derivation
Hierarchical-deterministic key derivation used by exchanges to generate per-user deposit addresses. Notareum wraps the resulting address in a signed.nota without altering the underlying custody model.
I
Identifier
The chain-specific string identifying the resource inside a.nota file. Examples: an Ethereum address (0xabc...), an NFT composite (0xNft:7), an IPFS CID (bafy...), a transaction hash (0x...).
Institutional tier
Top validator tier. Minimum stake 1,000,000 NOTA, unlimited daily attestations, 2.5× reward multiplier, 25% max slash rate. Required to attest Institutional-level requests.Institutional verification
Highest verification level: 15 validators, 75% approval, minimum validator tier Enterprise. Fee: 2,500 NOTA. Dispute window 72 hours.Issuer
The identity that signs a.nota file. Can be an individual, organization, or DID-anchored entity. Issuers can register .nota files of type "issuer" to establish their identity once, then reference it from every resource they sign.
Issuer DID
W3C Decentralized Identifier resolving to a document that lists the keys authorized to sign on behalf of the issuer and the chains they are valid for. Supports multi-chain identity binding.L
Lock (veNOTA)
An amount of NOTA committed toveNOTA for a duration up to 4 years. Produces a decaying veNOTA balance used for governance weight and reward boosts. Non-transferable, no early withdrawal.
M
Missed attestation
Slash reason applied when a validator is assigned to (or elects into) a verification request and fails to submit an attestation before the deadline. Low-rate slash, treasury/burn only.N
NOTA
The ERC-20 utility and governance token of the protocol. Pays fees, collateralizes validator stakes, and when locked produces veNOTA. Max supply 1,000,000,000.NotaRegistry
The contract that stores every registered resource, aliases, revocation flags, and verification level pointers. The on-chain source of truth for resource state. See NotaRegistry.P
Professional tier
Second validator tier. Minimum stake 50,000 NOTA, 50 attestations per day cap, 1.5× reward multiplier, 15% max slash rate. Eligible to attest Enhanced-level requests.Q
Quorum
The validator count and approval ratio required to finalize a verification request at a given level: (3, 67%), (7, 75%), (15, 75%) for Basic / Enhanced / Institutional respectively. See VerificationEngine.R
Resource
Any blockchain artifact that can be bound in a.nota file: address, contract, transaction, NFT collection, NFT token, IPFS CID, attestation.
Resource ID
bytes32 deterministic identifier computed as keccak256(abi.encodePacked(uint8(type), uint256(chainId), bytes(identifier))). Identical across all SDKs and contracts.
Resource type
Enumerated value distinguishing address, contract, transaction, NFT collection, NFT, IPFS CID, and attestation.Revocation
State transition marking a resource untrusted. Triggered by the resource owner viaNotaRegistry.revokeResource. Irreversible at the record level; a new resource with a different identifier can be registered separately.
S
Signature
ECDSA (secp256k1) or Ed25519 signature covering the canonical serialization of a.nota file. EVM resources use secp256k1; Solana uses Ed25519; Bitcoin Schnorr resources use BIP-340.
Slashing
Governance-defined reduction of a validator’s bonded stake. Triggered by dispute outcomes, downtime, or collusion evidence. See SlashingManager.Staking
The act of bonding NOTA inValidatorStaking to participate as a validator. Gates attestation rights, determines tier, and exposes the stake to slashing.
T
Tier
A validator classification derived from bonded stake (Basic, Professional, Enterprise, Institutional). Determines daily attestation cap, reward multiplier, max slash rate, and which verification levels the validator can serve.Travel Rule
FATF Recommendation 16 requiring originator and beneficiary data for covered VASP transfers. Notareum’s payment request.nota carries a structured travelRule block to satisfy the rule natively.
Treasury
The governance-controlled address that receives the treasury share of every fee and a share of slashed funds. Destination is governance-set viaFeeManager.setTreasury.
U
UTI (Universal Transfer Interface)
The broader design concept behind Notareum: a single, chain-agnostic file format and identity layer for exchanging blockchain resources across wallets, exchanges, and dapps without centralized intermediaries.V
Validator
A staked NOTA holder registered inValidatorStaking who submits attestations on verification requests. Organized into four tiers.
Verification engine
The contract that drives the attestation lifecycle: opening requests, admitting attestations, finalizing on quorum, and coordinating withSlashingManager on disputes. See VerificationEngine.
Verification level
Enumerated trust tier assigned to a resource after finalization: Unverified, Basic, Enhanced, Institutional.veNOTA
Vote-escrowed NOTA. Produced by locking NOTA inNotareumVeNOTA for up to 4 years. Balance decays linearly to zero over the lock duration. Non-transferable. Used for governance weight and validator reward boosts. See veNOTA.
Vote-escrow
The economic mechanism of temporarily locking a token to receive a time-weighted governance asset. Popularized by Curve’s veCRV; Notareum’s variant applies it to$NOTA.