Proof, not trust.
Every technical document we publish carries a SHA-256 fingerprint anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain through OpenTimestamps. Anyone can verify – independently, without asking us – that a document existed in a given state on a given date and has not been altered since.
Why this matters in industrial risk
In our field, the date of a document is frequently the argument. A study can be challenged as having been produced after an incident, a recommendation can be questioned as hindsight, and an assessment can be dismissed as reconstructed for a dispute.
A cryptographic anchor removes that argument. It establishes, mathematically, that a specific document with a specific content existed at a specific point in time. It does not depend on our word, on our server logs, or on the continued existence of any system of ours.
| Studies and assessments | A technical study can be shown to predate an event, protecting both the client and the supplier in any subsequent inquiry. |
| Recommendations | A recommendation carried in a report on a given date is provably not a reconstruction made after the fact. |
| Published analysis | Public technical analysis carries proof of priority – it was published when it says it was published. |
| Commercial documents | Proposals and scopes carry an unquestionable date of issue. |
How it works
OpenTimestamps is an open, free standard for proving the existence of data at a point in time. It does not place your documents on a public ledger – only a cryptographic digest of them.
- We compute the SHA-256 digest of the final document.
- The digest is submitted to OpenTimestamps calendar servers, which aggregate many digests into a Merkle tree.
- The root of that tree is committed to a Bitcoin transaction. Once the block is mined, the proof is permanent and public.
- We publish the digest and the
.otsreceipt alongside the document. - Anyone can verify. Changing a single byte of the document changes the digest and invalidates the proof.
Honest about timing: anchoring confirms in a Bitcoin block within a few hours. Until the block is mined, the receipt shows as pending. We state this rather than claiming instant registration.
Verify a document yourself
You do not need to take our word for any of this. The receipt file (.ots) is published next to the document it protects, and any of the following will confirm it without contacting us:
- Command line – install the client and check the receipt:
pip install opentimestamps-clientots verify <document>.ots - Web – open opentimestamps.org and drop the
.otsfile onto the page. - Manual – compute the SHA-256 of the document and compare it with the digest published on this page.
If the digest matches and the receipt verifies against a Bitcoin block, the document is exactly as it was when anchored – regardless of anything that happens to this website afterwards.
What this is not
Not a token or a cryptocurrency
We do not issue tokens, and nothing here involves a financial asset. Bitcoin is used purely as a public, tamper-evident timestamp.
Not a confidentiality risk
Only a one-way digest is submitted. The document content is never published to any blockchain and cannot be reconstructed from the digest.
Not a substitute for peer review
Anchoring proves existence and integrity. It does not certify that a study is technically correct – that is what review and method are for.
Documents currently anchored
Our published dossiers, sector reports and strategic analyses are fingerprinted and anchored as they are released. Each entry lists the document, its SHA-256 digest and size, so any reader can match a file against the record.
The public register of digests and receipt files is maintained on our documentation portal. If you need to verify a specific document received from us in a project, request its receipt and we will provide the .ots file together with the digest.
Want your own documents anchored?
We apply the same method to project deliverables – studies, reports and assessments – so their date and content are provable long after delivery.