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 signed
  • silver: validated structure
  • gold: signature integrity + trust level

Use both if you want credibility + verifiability.