Glossary

Time Anchor

A Time Anchor is an external, publicly verifiable time and randomness source, such as the NIST Randomness Beacon, that no party to a run controls. It proves when commitments were made and chooses the canary order after commitment.

ProofJack Rating: Human 100% · AI 0% (self-estimated; PP-SPEC-077 AI_DISCLOSURE: Time Anchor listed as human)

Also known as: IP-2, randomness beacon, NIST Randomness Beacon, pulse

Mynted 2026-10-23 · Updated 2026-10-23

First used: PP-SPEC-077, ProofSwarm: The Dead Canary Protocol, October 2026, by Craig Thomas Ellrod

What it does

• Binds every commitment root, witness record set, booking batch and black hole window to a public pulse, so nobody can claim something happened earlier or later than it did.
• Supplies the randomness that orders the Proof Swarm, from a pulse issued after the commitment, so the order cannot be chosen.

The rules

• No party to the run controls or can predict it.
• It occupies no other Integration Point (it is IP-2).
• When it is unavailable, that is a black hole. Nothing falls back to a local clock.

Related terms

• Black Hole
• Dead Canary Protocol (ProofSwarm)
• Integration Point
• Issuer

Sources

• ProofSwarm: The Dead Canary Protocol (PP-SPEC-077)

Updated 2026-10-23