Proof of Provenance
In the age of AI, the creative process is worth more than the output. PoP verifies the complete decision chain — every choice, every rejection, every synthesis — with unforgeable evidence.
What existing systems prove
Every provenance system before PoP proves one thing. PoP proves the complete chain.
Which tool made it
A stamp, not a chain. Copy-paste destroys it.
Who owns it
Proves transfer, not creation. No process record.
When it existed
Proves a hash at time T. Nothing about how or why.
The complete creative journey
Every decision, every rejection, every synthesis — verified and unforgeable.
Five verbs. One chain.
Sigil is format-agnostic. It doesn't care what you create — it cares that your creative process is real, complete, and unforgeable.
Record a decision event into the provenance ledger.
Hash the decision chain. Detect any changes.
Link observations via Merkle roots. Snapshot chaining.
Timestamp to Bitcoin via OpenTimestamps.
Distribute to IPFS for content-addressed resilience.
The Completeness Invariant
Rejections constitute half the cognitive fingerprint and are the hardest to forge. A reporter who considers 12 angles and kills 11 leaves a trace no AI-generated fake can replicate retroactively.
Tiered enforcement
The word “Provenance” is earned, not claimed. Each tier adds verification depth. The category name only appears after the verifier exists.
Sigil Chain
FreeLocal integrity. Tamper-evident process ledger.
- SHA-256 hash chain
- Local snapshot chaining
- Tamper detection
- Bitcoin anchor
- IPFS distribution
- Verifier + export
- Compliance reports
Sigil Verified
ProTime-stamped, distributed process ledger.
- SHA-256 hash chain
- Local snapshot chaining
- Tamper detection
- Bitcoin anchor
- IPFS distribution
- Verifier + export
- Compliance reports
Sigil Provenance
StudioVerifiable Proof of Provenance.
- SHA-256 hash chain
- Local snapshot chaining
- Tamper detection
- Bitcoin anchor
- IPFS distribution
- Verifier + export
- Compliance reports
Sigil Certified
EnterpriseCertified Proof of Provenance with audit trails.
- SHA-256 hash chain
- Local snapshot chaining
- Tamper detection
- Bitcoin anchor
- IPFS distribution
- Verifier + export
- Compliance reports
All tiers run locally. Your creative process never leaves your machine. Offline license validation. No phone-home.
News Integrity
Track-and-trace of creation is track-and-trace of information origin. The Creation Ledger doesn't just solve creative provenance — it solves editorial integrity.
Which tool made the content
- Copy-paste destroys the provenance chain
- Only works with participating software
- C2PA 2.0 removed mandatory editorial provenance
The integrity of the process itself
- Decision chain travels WITH the document
- Rejected decisions are the cognitive fingerprint
- Format-agnostic — works with any content type
Three convergent forces
Mandatory AI content disclosure with machine-readable metadata for news organizations. Effective August 2, 2026. No standard exists for editorial decision provenance — until now.
AI cannot be an author. News organizations using AI need human-contribution proof. The Creation Ledger IS that standard — verifiable evidence of human-directed creative work.
Starling Lab (Stanford/USC) deployed at Reuters and Rolling Stone. Proves the problem is real. Their system is post-hoc and external — PoP is embedded and complete.
The Creation Ledger
A protocol for creation-backed token economics on verified decision provenance. Token value grounded in verified creative process — not computational waste, staked capital, or attention signals.
Blockchain provides verification without creation. AI provides creation without verification. The Creation Ledger fills the gap — making creative process the stored value itself.