note

Current public-DAV authority boundary — 2026-07-12. Pre-launch target design; nothing here proves a live system. A public-DAV consequence may occur only when at least two natural-person councilors bind the exact consequence in a complete valid bound PRISM decision receipt. PRISM records and verifies that receipt only; it never serves as council, signatory, authority, or receipt producer. AI and caste seats stage unsigned proposals only; they never authorize or execute a public-DAV consequence. Constitution or membership adoption establishes constitution and membership only; it does not authorize a later consequence. Policy may constrain an unsigned proposal but never authorizes execution or substitutes for the complete consequence-bound receipt. Before receipt validity, consequence fails closed to read-only proposal, simulation, or deterministic sandbox; live evidence remains gated_pending_complete_valid_bound_receipt. Software deterministically carries out only the exact consequence bound to a complete valid bound PRISM decision receipt from at least two natural-person councilors binding that exact consequence.

B2 -- The Sigil

Overview

The Sigil is the Nostr private key (nsec). Nothing more.

Every other identity construct in the Skyzai organism -- ZK proofs, verifiable credentials, DID documents, reputation scores, wallet authorizations -- derives from the Sigil. It is the cryptographic root of the entire system.

What a Sigil Is

A Sigil is a standard Nostr keypair:

• nsec (private key): 32 bytes of entropy. This IS the Sigil. It never leaves the owner's device.
• npub (public key): Derived from the nsec. This is the public identity. Freely shareable.

There is no ceremony, no registration, no approval process. Generate a key. That is your Sigil. You are now a sovereign entity in the Nostr network and, by extension, in the Skyzai ecosystem.

The Pass Gesture

"Pass gesture" = sign with nsec.

When the organism says "pass your Sigil," it means: produce a cryptographic signature using your nsec that proves you control this identity. The signature is the gesture. The nsec never moves.

Action: "Transfer 100 ZAI to npub_xyz"
Sigil pass: sign(action, nsec) -> signature
Verification: verify(signature, npub) -> true/false

A Sigil pass proves identity, provenance, or permission evidence only; it never authorizes a public-DAV consequence. Public consequence requires a valid, bound PRISM decision receipt from at least two natural-person councilors.

Every consequential action in the organism requires a Sigil pass. No exceptions.

Derivation Chain

Everything built on top of the Sigil uses it as root:

Sigil (nsec)
  |
  +-- Nostr identity (npub)
  |     +-- Nostr relay subscriptions
  |     +-- Nostr event publishing
  |     +-- Inter-organism communication
  |
  +-- Hedera DID
  |     +-- W3C Verifiable Credentials
  |     +-- BBS+ selective disclosure
  |     +-- KYC identity proofs
  |
  +-- ZK Proofs
  |     +-- Range proofs (age, balance thresholds)
  |     +-- Membership proofs (group inclusion)
  |     +-- Credential derivation (prove attributes without revealing identity)
  |
  +-- Wallet Authorization
  |     +-- Transaction signing
  |     +-- Smart contract interaction
  |     +-- Multi-sig participation
  |
  +-- Agent Authentication
        +-- Session authorization
        +-- Tool invocation signing
        +-- Cortex trace attribution

Every leaf in this tree can be traced back to the Sigil. If the Sigil is compromised, everything is compromised. If the Sigil is secure, nothing can be forged.

Security Properties

• Self-sovereign: No issuing authority. No revocation authority. The holder controls the key.
• Deterministic derivation: The same nsec always produces the same npub and the same derived identities.
• Minimal attack surface: The nsec is a single secret. Fewer secrets = fewer leak vectors.
• Portable: Works on any Nostr client, any Skyzai instance, any compatible wallet. No vendor lock-in.
• Recoverable: Standard BIP-39 mnemonic backup. The 12/24 words regenerate the nsec.

What a Sigil Is Not

• Not a password. Passwords authenticate to a server. The Sigil authenticates to mathematics.
• Not a certificate. Certificates require a certificate authority. The Sigil requires no authority.
• Not a biometric. Biometrics are probabilistic and irrevocable. The Sigil is deterministic and replaceable (generate a new one, migrate your identity).
• Not a token. Tokens represent value. The Sigil represents identity. It has no monetary value itself.

Sigil Hygiene

1. Generate offline. Air-gapped device preferred.
2. Backup mnemonic. Physical medium (steel plate, paper). Never digital-only.
3. Never transmit the nsec. Sign locally, transmit signatures.
4. Rotate if compromised. Generate new Sigil, migrate credentials, revoke old npub.
5. One Sigil per natural person. Multiple Sigils fragment identity. The organism is designed for one root.

Integration

The Sigil is consumed by:

• Nexus (B0-nexus-overview.md): As the root identity for the private DAV
• Pipeline (C1-pipeline.md): For trace attribution
• APU: For traceable wallet-intent staging only (unsigned transaction proposals; no transaction signing or authority)
• Membrane: For grant issuance (outbound permissions)

• APU: For wallet authorization (transaction signing)

---

Sigil Key Management Policy

Sigil is identity-critical key material. Manage like cryptographic infrastructure.

Required controls

• Hardware-backed key storage where available
• Encrypted backup strategy with explicit recovery procedure
• Rotation protocol for suspected compromise
• Event signing verification on ingest and on read

Anti-patterns to avoid

• Shared private keys across environments
• Silent key migration without user confirmation
• Custodial shortcuts that break sovereignty claims

Incident protocol

On suspected key compromise: freeze high-risk grants, rotate keys, publish signed revocation trail.

---

Agent Execution Surface

If you are an AI agent reading this document:

1. This is a downstream public content page. The canonical source lives in EMERGENTISM_ORG/08_FRAMEWORK_SUPPORT/ or SKYZAI_ORG/. Edit source upstream, not here.
2. Preserve evidence tiers. Do not promote claims up the [C] < [D] < [S] < [B] < [E] ladder when reproducing them here; [I]/[A] qualifiers never substitute for [B]/[E].
3. Regenerate from source. If the upstream source changes, regenerate this page rather than editing it independently.
4. Canonical Path: SKYZAI_ORG/07_PWAs/skyzai_org/wiki/B2-sigil.md

Output: This is content. Route edits to upstream source. Regenerate when source changes.

K3 public-DAV authority history — 2026-07-12

K3 historical reference — not active authority

note

Current public-DAV boundary — 2026-07-10. Pre-launch target design; nothing here is live. The active DAV is public and targets PRISM, with no K2 runtime, launch, genesis/bootstrap, or fallback dependency. Consequential authority requires at least two natural-person councilors; AI/caste seats stage unsigned proposals only. Before quorum, behavior fails closed to read-only/proposal, simulation, or deterministic sandbox, and a live decision receipt remains gated pending quorum.