Introducing the Internet Trust Layer
A Vision for Decentralized Digital Trust
Dear Readers,
For decades, the internet has revolutionized communication, commerce, and innovation. Yet, amidst its meteoric rise, a critical layer has always been missing: a universal, reliable foundation for trust. Despite countless attempts to bridge this gap, from certificate authorities to federated logins, and even the blockchain hype, a truly scalable, decentralized, and efficient solution has remained elusive—until now.
Today, I am thrilled to announce the publication of my new white paper, The Internet Trust Layer. This paper tackles one of the most pressing challenges of our digital age: how to build a robust, scalable, and privacy-preserving infrastructure for trust in online interactions.
The Internet Trust Layer (ITL), a rewrite of my earlier “Trust Link Contract Network (TLCN)” paper, introduces a transformative model that eliminates reliance on central authorities and bridges fragmented systems. Built on the principles of decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), and deterministic contract logic, the ITL is designed to provide cryptographic assurance, real-time efficiency, and dynamic adaptability across industries.
Here’s what the white paper covers:
• Why Trust Is Broken Today: Analyzing why previous approaches like blockchain, federated logins, and centralized systems have failed to deliver on the promise of a universal trust layer.
• A New Paradigm for Trust: Introducing the six foundational pillars—Deterministic, Evidential, Contextual, Granular, Temporal, and Resilient—that guide ITL’s design.
• Agents, Credentials, and Logic: Exploring how ITL uses Person Agents, Contract Agents, and micro-ledgers to unify identity, transactions, and workflows.
• Real-World Applications: Demonstrating how ITL can revolutionize sectors like finance, supply chains, and compliance by seamlessly integrating trust into every interaction.
But this is just the beginning of the conversation.
I’m inviting you—technologists, innovators, and visionaries—to review the white paper and share your thoughts. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping the next steps of this journey. Whether you agree, disagree, or have ideas for improvement, I’d love to hear your perspective.
👉 Read the white paper here
Let’s build a future where trust is not an obstacle but the very foundation of our digital interactions. I look forward to your insights and ideas in the comments section or via direct message.
Together, we can create a decentralized trust network that transforms how the world collaborates online.
Several hours well spent, reading this fascinating white paper that describes a potential Internet Trust Layer; to my view the holy grail of all of us interested in the future of the Internet.
The fundamental question is - does the ITL provide the technological infrastructure to underpin the Global Acceptance Network? https://gan.foundation/
https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/agent_name_service_proposal/ Does this proposal go anyway towards meeting the ITL requirement for a Discovery service? Despite being likened to a DNS equivalent!