Standardization Roadmap

VCP v1.0 — Path Toward IETF RFC

Current IETF Status

Target: future submission under consideration
Section 1

Current Position

VCP v1.0 is designed to be RFC-friendly, but we have not yet submitted an Internet-Draft nor initiated any formal Working Group process at the IETF.

This page describes our design alignment with existing RFCs and our potential path toward future standardization.

Why This Matters

Being transparent about our standardization status is consistent with VCP's core philosophy: cryptographic truth, not marketing claims. We believe in earning credibility through technical merit and operational track record, not premature announcements.

Section 2

Technical Alignment with Existing RFCs

VCP v1.0 is designed for compatibility with the following IETF RFCs, ensuring future Internet-Draft conversion and interoperability with other RFC-based systems.

RFC 8785

JSON Canonicalization Scheme (JCS)

Deterministic JSON serialization ensuring identical byte sequences for cryptographic hashing across all implementations.

RFC 6962

Certificate Transparency

Merkle Tree audit design following CT patterns for efficient inclusion proofs and tamper detection.

draft-ietf-uuidrev

UUIDv7

Time-ordered, sortable, globally unique identifiers with embedded timestamps for event IDs.

RFC 8032

Ed25519 Signatures

Edwards-curve digital signatures providing high security, excellent performance, and compact signatures. Future PQC support planned.

RFC 3339

Timestamps

ISO 8601 compatible date/time format for consistent timestamp representation across systems.

FIPS 180-4

SHA-256

NIST-approved secure hash algorithm for all hash chain and Merkle Tree operations.

This alignment ensures future Internet-Draft conversion and interoperability with other RFC-based systems.

Section 3

Roadmap to IETF RFC

IETF RFC standardization is positioned as a medium-to-long-term option, not a short-term goal. We will mature VCP v1.x through real-world deployment before considering the next steps.

1

Implementation & Operational Track Record

CURRENT PHASE

Building deployment experience and gathering feedback from real-world implementations.

  • Early Adopter Program feedback collection
  • VC-Certified Silver / Gold operational experience
  • VCP Explorer / API production deployment
2

Community Draft Publication

PLANNED

Based on vcp-spec, publish a v0.x draft following the IETF Internet-Draft template on GitHub for community review.

Expected: draft-vso-vcp-00.txt format
3

IETF Community Engagement

PLANNED

Dialogue with relevant IETF Working Groups and potential BoF (Birds of a Feather) session participation.

Potential WGs

OPSAWG, SEC Area, RTG Area, ART Area

Alternative Path

BoF session → New WG formation if no suitable existing WG

4

Internet-Draft Submission

FUTURE

With sufficient adoption metrics and community feedback, consider formal Internet-Draft submission to datatracker.ietf.org.

5

WG Adoption & RFC Process

GOAL

If adopted by a Working Group: iterative revisions, running code evidence, IETF Last Call, IESG review, and eventual RFC publication.

IETF operates on "rough consensus and running code" — deployment track record is essential.
Section 4

Shape the Future Standard

VCP's standardization process is strongly influenced by feedback from implementers and users.

Companies participating in the Early Adopter Program or achieving VC-Certified status will have substantive influence over the content of future Internet-Drafts and RFCs.

This is an opportunity not just to follow a standard, but to participate in its design — a key differentiator of the VCP ecosystem.

Implementers

Your implementation feedback directly shapes specification improvements

VC-Certified

Certified adopters gain voice in standardization discussions

Regulators

Regulatory input ensures compliance alignment from day one

Summary: Current IETF Status

Internet-Draft not yet submitted
Working Group not yet formed
RFC Compatibility designed for alignment
Target future submission under consideration

Potential IANA Registries

If VCP is standardized, the following registries may be requested:

VCP Event Type Registry

OrderSubmitted, OrderFilled, OrderCanceled, etc.

VCP Hash Algorithm Registry

SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, SHA3-256, etc.

VCP Signature Algorithm Registry

Ed25519, ECDSA-P256, RSA-2048, Dilithium2, Falcon-512

Registry details will be finalized during the I-D process.

Get Involved Today

The best way to influence future standards is to implement and deploy VCP now. Join the growing ecosystem of organizations building verifiable algorithmic trading infrastructure.