notes: research/papers/acdc-white-paper

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research/papers/acdc-white-paper Authentic Chained Data Containers (ACDC) summary v0.1 — 2026-10-14: drafted by Claude from the PDF (23 pages); unread by Mark; marked partner on Mark's word 2026-10-21, paraphrase only partner 496 # Authentic Chained Data Containers (ACDC) **Abstract.** Samuel M. Smith's 2021 white paper defining authentic chained data containers (ACDCs) as authentic data containers carrying authentic provenance chains, for data supply chains and rich authorization. It evaluates whether the W3C Verifiable Credential standard could be extended to serve as the concrete implementation and how ZCAP-LD compares, and works through a purchasing-authorization use case. Background on the origins of ACDC rather than the current specification. ## Summary The paper argues for standardized semantics for an authentic chained data container (ACDC), built from an authentic data container (ADC) that carries an authentic provenance chain (APC). Section 1 separates verifiable authenticity, a cryptographic proof of who committed to data, from verifiable veracity, whether the data is true; a signature proves only the former. It compares an ADC to a standardized shipping container that enables interoperable data supply chains, defines an APC as proof of attribution across each transformation, aggregation and transfer of custody, extends chains into trees and graphs, and links all this to automated decision making and rich authorization, of which delegated authorization is a kind. Section 2, the Verifiable Credential hypothesis, proposes leveraging the W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) standard as a nascent ADC standard, notes that VCs lack standard chaining semantics, and points to Hyperledger Aries RFC 0104 (Chained Credentials) as a starting point. It argues that authorizations should be entrained with the data supply chain and discusses whether to use ZCAP-LD (Authorization Capabilities for Linked Data) instead. Section 3 compares properties of authorization models: open and closed loop, persistent and ephemeral, chained, attenuable, aggregative, weighted, and implicit or explicit. Section 4 gives a use case: a seller must verify that a buyer at a large company is authorized to place an order, which requires walking a tree of credentials from identity proofers, procurement managers and the company's governing keys. The paper concludes that the goal is a universal ACDC specification, decomposable into an ADC standard with APC semantics, and an evaluation of whether the VC specification can be extended to provide it, so that one set of tooling serves what it calls the authentic data economy. ## Key terms authentic data container (ADC), authentic provenance chain (APC), authentic chained data container (ACDC), verifiable authenticity, veracity, rich authorization, data supply chain, ZCAP-LD, chained credentials ## Claims and their evidence - A digital signature proves authenticity of origin, not veracity of content [informative] - The W3C VC standard lacks standard semantics for chaining credentials [informative] - Standardized ADCs and APCs would reduce data supply chain transaction costs by orders of magnitude [unverified] - ZCAP-LD does not suffice for the real-world (non-access-control) authorization example given [informative] ## Related - ACDC Slides - ACDC for Wizards (ACDC overview deck) - ACDC specification repository - KERI white paper ## Provenance Drafted by Claude on 2026-10-14 from the PDF from SmithSamuelM/Papers, read as text: front matter, sections 1, 2, 4 and 5, and the headings of section 3. Not yet read by Mark.

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