Released: January 2026

VCP v1.1:
Strengthening External Verifiability

Three-Layer Architecture for Cryptographic Integrity.
Verify, Don't Trust.

Core Enhancement: VCP v1.1 extends tamper-evidence to completeness guarantees—enabling third parties to cryptographically verify not only that events were not altered, but that no required events were omitted.

Key Changes at a Glance

Protocol-compatible updates with certification-level impacts

Three-Layer Architecture

NEW

Clearer separation of integrity mechanisms: Event Integrity, Collection Integrity, and External Verifiability.

External Anchor → REQUIRED

BREAKING

Silver tier now requires daily anchoring. Lightweight options (OpenTimestamps, FreeTSA) are explicitly acceptable.

PrevHash → OPTIONAL

RELAXED

Simplifies implementation without sacrificing verifiability. Hash chains complement but don't replace external anchoring.

Policy Identification → REQUIRED

NEW

Enables multi-tier, multi-policy deployments with explicit conformance tier declaration.

Error Event Standardization

NEW

Standardized error event types (ERR_CONN, ERR_AUTH, ERR_TIMEOUT, etc.) with structured ErrorDetails schema for consistent error logging.

Sidecar Architecture Reference

NEW

Reference architecture (Appendix F) for deploying VCP as a sidecar container with integration patterns. Documentation-only, no implementation changes required.

Protocol Compatible

VCP v1.1 is protocol-compatible with v1.0. Existing implementations will continue to work, though some may need updates to achieve v1.1 VC-Certified status.

The Three-Layer Architecture

A clear structure for understanding cryptographic integrity

Layer 3 External Verifiability

Purpose: Third-party verification without trusting the producer

Digital Signature: REQUIRED Timestamp: REQUIRED External Anchor: REQUIRED

Frequency: Tier-dependent (10min / 1hr / 24hr)

Layer 2 Collection Integrity Core for external verifiability

Purpose: Prove completeness of event batches

Merkle Tree (RFC 6962): REQUIRED Merkle Root: REQUIRED Audit Path: REQUIRED
Layer 1 Event Integrity

Purpose: Individual event completeness

EventHash (SHA-256): REQUIRED PrevHash: OPTIONAL

Note: PrevHash provides real-time detection (OPTIONAL in v1.1)

External Anchoring: Now Required for All Tiers

The critical integrity mechanism for "Verify, Don't Trust"

Tier Frequency Anchor Target Proof Type
Platinum Every 10 minutes Blockchain or RFC 3161 TSA Full Merkle proof
Gold Every 1 hour RFC 3161 TSA or attested database Merkle root + audit path
Silver Every 24 hours Public timestamping service or attested database Merkle root only

Lightweight Options for Silver Tier

OpenTimestamps

Free, Bitcoin-backed timestamping with decentralized verification.

Free

FreeTSA

Free RFC 3161 compliant time-stamping authority service.

Free

OriginStamp

Commercial service with free tier for basic timestamping needs.

Free Tier Available

Policy Identification

Supporting multi-tenant deployments with explicit conformance declaration

Schema Definition

{
  "PolicyIdentification": {
    "Version": "1.1",
    "PolicyID": "org.veritaschain.prod:hft-system-001",
    "ConformanceTier": "PLATINUM",
    "RegistrationPolicy": {
      "Issuer": "VeritasChain Inc.",
      "PolicyURI": "https://veritaschain.org/policies/prod-hft",
      "EffectiveDate": 1735084800000
    },
    "VerificationDepth": {
      "HashChainValidation": true,
      "MerkleProofRequired": true,
      "ExternalAnchorRequired": true
    }
  }
}

PolicyID Naming Convention

To ensure global uniqueness without a central registry:

PolicyID = <reverse_domain>:<local_identifier>
org.veritaschain.prod:hft-system-001
com.acme.trading:gold-algo-v2
jp.co.broker:silver-mt5-bridge

Migration Guide

What existing implementations need to update

Silver Tier

  • Add External Anchoring (daily)
  • Add Policy Identification

Gold Tier

  • Add Policy Identification
  • Verify anchoring meets requirements

Platinum Tier

  • Add Policy Identification
  • Verify anchoring meets requirements

Grace Period

Requirement Grace Period Hard Deadline
External Anchor (Silver) 6 months June 25, 2026
Policy Identification 3 months March 25, 2026

After the hard deadline, v1.0-only implementations will not receive VC-Certified status for new certifications.

Error Event Standardization

Consistent error logging with structured event types

Standard Error Types

ERR_CONN Connection
ERR_AUTH Authentication
ERR_TIMEOUT Timeout
ERR_RATE Rate Limit
ERR_DATA Data Validation
ERR_SYS System

ErrorDetails Schema

{
  "ErrorDetails": {
    "ErrorType": "ERR_CONN",
    "ErrorCode": "BROKER_DISCONNECT",
    "Message": "Connection lost to broker API",
    "Severity": "HIGH",
    "Recoverable": true,
    "RetryCount": 3,
    "Context": {
      "endpoint": "api.broker.com",
      "lastSuccessful": 1735084800000
    }
  }
}

Sidecar Architecture Reference

Reference deployment pattern for VCP integration (Appendix F)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Application Pod                       │
│  ┌─────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Trading Algo   │─────▶│     VCP Sidecar         │  │
│  │  (Main App)     │      │  ┌─────────────────┐    │  │
│  │                 │      │  │ Event Collector │    │  │
│  │  • Order Logic  │ gRPC │  │ Merkle Builder  │    │  │
│  │  • Risk Engine  │──────│  │ Anchor Client   │    │  │
│  │  • Market Data  │      │  │ Signature Gen   │    │  │
│  └─────────────────┘      │  └─────────────────┘    │  │
│                           └───────────┬─────────────┘  │
└───────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────┘
                                        │
                                        ▼
                    ┌───────────────────────────────────┐
                    │         External Services         │
                    │  • TSA (RFC 3161)                │
                    │  • Blockchain Anchor             │
                    │  • VCP Explorer API              │
                    └───────────────────────────────────┘

Zero-Code Integration

Deploy as sidecar container. Main application sends events via gRPC/HTTP. No VCP code in your app.

Isolation Benefits

Cryptographic operations isolated from business logic. Independent scaling and updates.

Documentation Only

Reference architecture in Appendix F. No implementation changes required for v1.1 compliance.

Official Implementation Guide

Authoritative documentation for VCP v1.1 implementers

Production Ready VSO-IMPL-001

VCP v1.1 Implementation Documentation

Complete implementation guidance covering three-layer architecture, external anchoring, Policy Identification, error events, and sidecar integration patterns.

View Implementation Guide

Document Index

  • architecture.md
  • integrity-and-anchoring.md
  • policy-identification.md
  • completeness-guarantees.md
  • error-events.md
  • vcp-xref.md
  • sidecar/
  • migration-from-v1.0.md

Silver Tier

  • • Clock: BEST_EFFORT
  • • Timestamp: MILLISECOND
  • • Anchor: Daily (24hr)
  • • Target: MT4/MT5, Retail

Gold Tier

  • • Clock: NTP_SYNCED
  • • Timestamp: MICROSECOND
  • • Anchor: Hourly (1hr)
  • • Target: Prop Firms, Institutional

Platinum Tier

  • • Clock: PTP_LOCKED
  • • Timestamp: NANOSECOND
  • • Anchor: 10 minutes
  • • Target: HFT, Exchanges

Looking Ahead: Post-Quantum Cryptography

Preparing for the quantum era with dual-signature support

Dual Signature Strategy

{
  "Security": {
    "Signature": "base64(Ed25519_signature)",
    "SignAlgo": "ED25519",
    "PQCSignature": "base64(Dilithium2_signature)",
    "PQCSignAlgo": "DILITHIUM2"
  }
}

Migration Timeline (Advisory)

Preparation

2025-2026: Implement dual-signature capability

Hybrid

2027-2029: Deploy dual signatures in production

Transition

2030+: Phase out classical-only signatures

Get Involved

VCP v1.1 was officially released in January 2026. We welcome feedback from the community to continue improving the specification.

"A civilization that can learn before accidents occur."

— VeritasChain Standards Organization