Trust Registries
Trust registries define which issuers and keys are authorized to issue compliance proofs, enabling multi-issuer ecosystems and key rotation.
Purpose
A Trust Registry is a structured list of who is trusted to issue compliance proofs.
It provides a governance layer over issuers, roles, schemas, and revocations.
Trust registries answer:
Which keys can sign Merkle roots or attestations?
Which issuers are recognized for specific KYC levels or jurisdictions?
How are compromised keys or outdated schemas revoked?
Why They Matter
Multi-Issuer ecosystems → more than one regulated entity can issue proofs.
Key rotation → issuers can update or revoke signing keys without breaking dApps.
Schema governance → define which compliance schemas are valid at a given epoch.
Cross-chain consistency → same “who do we trust?” logic works for Cardano and EVM.
Current State (MVP)
Fairway MVP runs in single-issuer mode:
Fairway is the sole trusted issuer.
DApps validate proofs by checking Fairway’s signature on:
Cardano: Merkle UTXO
{root, epoch, midnight_ref}
EVM: EAS attestation under Fairway’s key
Trust Registry (today) = just the Fairway pubkey(s), hardcoded or stored in a simple on-chain datum for rotation.
Future Roadmap (Planned Expansion)
Fairway will expand Trust Registries into a multi-issuer governance primitive:
Issuer List
Map of issuer addresses/keys → roles (KYC provider, accreditor, sanctions oracle).
Schema & Version Registry
Declare valid schema IDs for different compliance checks.
Revocation Epochs
Registry tracks when an issuer key or schema was revoked, ensuring dApps enforce freshness.
DAO Governance
Institutions stake Fairway token to onboard new issuers.
Curated by a governance process, not a single operator.
Example: Future Multi-Issuer Registry
{
"issuers": [
{
"address": "0xIssuerBank",
"roles": ["KYC_L2", "Accreditor"],
"schema_versions": [2,3],
"revoked": false},
{
"address": "0xSanctionsOracle",
"roles": ["SanctionsFeed"],
"schema_versions": [1],
"revoked": true,
"revoked_epoch": 205
}
],
"last_updated": "2025-09-22T10:00:00Z"
}
Diagrams
Evolution Path
flowchart LR
MVP[Single Issuer: Fairway key] --> Phase1[Key rotation support]
Phase1 --> Phase2[Multi-Issuer: banks, accreditors, oracles]
Phase2 --> Phase3[DAO-governed Trust Registry with staking + curation]
Benefits
For Developers → stable pubkey source for eligibility checks.
For Institutions → ability to recognize multiple issuers under governance.
For Regulators → clear audit trail of “who was trusted when.”
Roadmap Clarification
MVP (2025) → single issuer, Fairway signature only.
Mid stage (2026) → introduce Trust Registry module (multi-issuer).
Late stage (2029) → DAO-governance and full decentralization ****
Docs → early page included so developers and partners understand where Fairway is heading.
Next Steps
See Build on Cardano for how the current single-issuer signature is enforced.
See Build on EVM for how attestations are verified today.
Follow roadmap updates for when Trust Registry functionality ships.
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