Signature vs Certification: What’s the Difference?
An update from the protocol ecosystem
🔐 Signing and Certifying Your Feeds
✍️ Signature
- Done by the author (you)
- Cryptographic signature (Ed25519)
- Protects only
signed_blocks
- Declares: “I vouch for this structure”
🏅 Certification
- Done by a third-party (e.g.
llmca.org
) - Adds a
certification
block after the signature - Can include signature hash verification, trust level, certifier URL
- Declares: “This has been reviewed and validated externally”
Levels:
self-declared
: unsigned or minimally signedsilver
: validated structuregold
: signature integrity + trust level
Use both if you want credibility + verifiability.