Skip to main content

What Are Attestations?

Attestations are cryptographically signed statements about an entity or relationship. Paired with Atoms and Triples, Attestations serve as a powerful mechanism for users to express their perspectives on specific entities or claims within the Intuition ecosystem.

Attestations in the Intuition Ecosystem

In Intuition, users can attest to both Atoms and Triples. While the process and implications differ slightly between the two, the core concept remains the same: users make statements about what they believe and back these statements with ETH, signaling their conviction.

Attesting to Triples​

When users attest to a Triple, they express either an endorsement or a refutation of the claim. The attestation reflects their state relative to the Triple:

  • Positive Attestation: A positive integer indicates agreement or affirmation.
  • Negative Attestation: A negative integer indicates disagreement or refutation.
  • Neutral State: If no action is taken, the user’s state remains at 0.

A user can hold only one active attestation position per Triple—either positive or negative, but not both.

Example Triple​

Bob - is - Trustworthy

This Triple asserts a specific trait about Bob: that he is trustworthy. Users can interact with this claim by attesting positively or negatively. Each interaction has a distinct meaning.

Sample Scenarios​

Scenario 1: Positive Attestation

Alice has worked with Bob and believes he is trustworthy. She stakes 1 ETH to affirm the claim.

  • Alice’s attestation indicates agreement with the claim and her Conviction (level of belief) is 1 ETH.

Scenario 2: Negative Attestation

Sarah has had a negative experience with Bob and stakes 0.5 ETH to refute the claim.

  • Sarah’s attestation indicates disagreement with the claim and her Conviction is 0.5 ETH.

Many-to-One Attestations

In Intuition, statements (Claims) and user states (Attestations) are abstracted from each other. This enables many-to-one attestations, where multiple users can attest to a single Claim without duplicating it. By viewing the direction (positive or negative) and conviction (amount of ETH staked) of attestations, users can form their own conclusions about the validity of the Claim.

Attesting to Atoms​

Attestations for Atoms differ from those for Triples in that they are always positive. Users can endorse an Atom by staking ETH, signaling its importance or relevance.

Example Lifecycle: Attesting to an Atom​

  1. Identity Creation

    Alice creates an Identity for "AliceCo," which now exists in the Intuition ecosystem with metadata such as name, description, and image.

  2. Community Interaction

    Alice invites Sarah, her coworker, to explore the platform. Sarah notices the AliceCo Identity and agrees it is significant.

  3. Positive Attestation

    Sarah stakes 1 ETH on the AliceCo Atom, creating a positive attestation. Her Conviction is 1 ETH, representing her level of agreement.

Through this process, users signal their agreement with an Atom and help establish its value within the ecosystem.

Sharing Your Intuition​

Users exploring the Intuition ecosystem can view the number and type of attestations associated with Identities and Claims. This transparency allows users to:

  • Make informed decisions based on community feedback.
  • Share their own perspectives by attesting to entities or relationships.

By participating in this process, users actively contribute to a decentralized, user-driven understanding of the world.