1. Authorized Participant (AP) Operations
The Authorized Participant (AP) acts as the bridge to the external market. They are an independent service provider, not an agent or general partner of the DAO.Legal Status
- Structure: The AP is a corporate entity.
- Jurisdiction: Incorporated in a jurisdiction that allows proprietary digital asset trading and custody (initially Panama).
How Custody Works
The AP manages “Designated Accounts” at third-party exchanges (like Bitget or Binance) and “Cold Storage Wallets.” To keep assets safe, they follow these strict rules:- Segregation: Protocol assets are kept strictly separate from the AP’s own company funds.
- MPC Infrastructure: We use Multi-Party Computation (MPC) for security.
- No Unilateral Moves: The private key shares are distributed. The AP cannot withdraw funds alone; they require a cryptographic signature from the Issuer Network or the Elected DAO to move anything.
The Minting & Redemption Workflow
Here is the step-by-step flow for creating (Minting) or destroying (Redeeming) Index Tokens:- User Request: A user deposits Stablecoins (USDC) into the Protocol via the interface.
- Validation: The Issuer Network verifies the deposit and checks the current Index composition.
- Execution Signal: The Protocol triggers an on-chain event telling the AP to buy the underlying assets.
- Asset Acquisition: The AP uses algorithmic trading bots to buy the required basket (e.g., BTC, ETH, SOL) on the open market.
- Proof: The AP proves they have the assets (using Proof of Reserve or Oracle attestation).
- Minting: Once confirmed, the Protocol mints the Index Tokens and sends them to the user.
Liability
- Responsibility: The AP is fully liable for asset loss caused by negligence, theft, or mismanagement.
- Coverage: They are required to maintain insurance or post collateral to cover this risk.
2. Issuer Network Service Standards
The Issuer Network is the “referee” of the system. Members run validator nodes that enforce the rules.Node Operations
Validators must meet specific hardware and security standards:- Uptime: Nodes must stay online 99.9% of the time.
- Slashing: Bad behavior has consequences. If a validator signs invalid transactions, goes offline too often, or tries to censor valid transactions, they face “Slashing” (confiscation of their staked tokens).
Compliance & Safety
The Issuer Network also handles the compliance layer:- Sanctions Screening: Before a Mint/Redeem request is processed, nodes check the user’s wallet against chain-analysis APIs (like Chainalysis or TRM Labs) to ensure no illicit activity is involved.
- Emergency Pause: If there is extreme market volatility or a smart contract exploit is detected, the Network can “Pause” the protocol. This halts all minting and redeeming to protect user funds.
3. The Interface (The Website)
The user interface (GUI) is operated by the “Panama GUI Operator” under license from IndexMaker Labs. It operates on a “Passive Publisher” model.How the Interface Operates
- No Accounts: The interface does not store user accounts or passwords.
- Non-Custodial: It strictly functions as a portal. Users connect their own wallets (e.g., MetaMask).
- Public Data Only: Prices and index composition are pulled from public blockchain data or decentralized oracles (like Chainlink). The Operator does not “create” prices.
Disclaimers
The Terms of Service clearly state: _The Interface Operator is _ not* a financial advisor, custodian, or exchange.- Users are interacting directly with the Smart Contracts at their own risk.
4. Operational Resilience
This architecture creates a redundant, fail-safe system.- No Single Failure Point: The AP cannot move funds without the Issuer Network’s permission.
- Random Oversight: The process is governed by the random oversight of the Elected DAO.
- Decentralization: By distributing the “effort” across independent, replaceable, and algorithmically selected participants, we remove regulatory choke points and ensure the system remains sufficiently decentralized.