Guide
Evidence Anchoring: Hashing, Merkle Roots and Custody
How evidence anchoring works in Noesea — local hashing, Merkle-root bundling, custody records and on-chain anchoring so evidence stays verifiable outside any single tool.
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Local hashing
Evidence is hashed where it lives, before anything is uploaded. The content hash is a stable fingerprint: if a single byte changes, the hash changes, so anyone can later confirm that an artifact is exactly the one that was anchored.
Merkle-root bundling
Related evidence is grouped into a bundle and reduced to a single Merkle root. Anchoring the root commits to every item in the bundle at once, and a compact Merkle proof later shows that a specific item belongs to the bundle without revealing the rest.
Custody records
Each handoff — capture, transfer, review — is recorded as a custody event with a signer attestation. The chain of custody travels with the evidence record, so a reviewer can see who touched an artifact and when, which is what makes it useful in legal and compliance settings.
On-chain anchoring
Only hashes, Merkle roots and outcomes are anchored on Base — never raw content. The artifact stays in content-addressed storage such as IPFS; the on-chain anchor is the durable, tamper-evident reference that lets the record be rechecked independently.
FAQ
Common questions about evidence anchoring
What gets stored on-chain?
Only hashes, Merkle roots, stakes, outcomes and reputation. Raw content is never written on-chain — it stays in content-addressed storage, referenced by its hash.
What is a Merkle proof used for here?
It lets you prove that one specific evidence item is part of an anchored bundle without disclosing the other items, which keeps unrelated evidence private while still being verifiable.
Can evidence be verified without Noesea?
Yes. Because verification is hash- and proof-based, a receiver can recompute the hash and check the Merkle proof against the public anchor independently of Noesea-operated infrastructure.
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