Version: 1.0 Date: 2026-02-18 Maintainer: XXXIII Working Group
This roadmap defines the milestone-based development trajectory for the XXXIII Deterministic Literary Publishing Standard. Each phase builds on the previous, extending the protocol from a single-author reference implementation toward multi-implementation institutional adoption.
Phases are sequential. A phase is not considered complete until all technical deliverables are verified and documented.
Status: Complete Timeline: 2025-06 → 2026-02
Establish a deterministic publishing pipeline with cryptographic proof-of-origin, Merkle-based provenance, and immutable on-chain anchoring.
- SHA-256 canonical hashing with CRLF normalisation
- Four-tree Merkle architecture (manuscript, artifact, image, prompt)
- Combined edition root derivation
- IPFS content-addressed storage
- LiteraryAnchor contract (Polygon Mainnet)
- PublishingKernelV2 with freeze mechanism
- AuthorIdentity with ECDSA binding
- EditionNFT + StoryNFT (ERC-721 + ERC-2981)
- RoyaltyRouter (pull-based distribution)
- RecoveryToolkit (69 tests)
- Client-side observability layer
- Cross-chain anchoring (OpenTimestamps → Bitcoin)
- LPS-1 specification (RFC-style)
- IAPL-1 audio provenance layer
- 293 tests + 58 reference implementation tests
- Research paper published (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18646886)
- LPS-1 Level 5 compliance achieved
Single-author, single-implementation proof of concept demonstrating that deterministic literary publishing is technically viable on public infrastructure.
Self-funded. No external grants. Demonstrates feasibility without institutional dependency.
Status: Proposed Tracking: LPS-4
Extend the protocol to support collaborative authorship with per-author identity binding and shared edition governance.
- Multi-signer edition anchoring
- Per-author contribution attestation
- Shared edition root with author-specific sub-trees
- Co-author royalty split configuration
- AuthorIdentity v2 with delegation support
- Updated specification sections (LPS-1 §4, §7, §8)
Moves the protocol from single-author provenance to collaborative literary works. Required for anthology, translation, and editorial use cases.
Aligns with digital humanities grants focused on collaborative authorship attribution and provenance tracking.
- Author key coordination complexity
- Dispute resolution mechanism required
- Gas cost scaling with author count
Status: Research Tracking: LPS-2
Establish a cross-chain anchor standard enabling edition root mirroring to Ethereum L1 for maximum settlement finality.
- Cross-chain anchor specification (LPS-2)
- Ethereum L1 mirror contract
- Bridge verification between Polygon and L1
- Updated compliance matrix (Level 5+ for cross-chain)
- Cost analysis and batching strategy
Provides settlement-layer finality for literary provenance. Demonstrates chain-agnostic protocol design.
Aligns with Ethereum Foundation grants for cross-chain interoperability and cultural asset preservation.
- L1 gas costs may require batching or rollup strategies
- Bridge security assumptions
- Timing guarantees across chains
Status: Research Tracking: LPS-3
Enable zero-knowledge verification of Merkle inclusion, allowing third parties to verify content membership without accessing the full content tree.
- zk-SNARK circuit for Merkle inclusion proof
- On-chain verifier contract
- Privacy-preserving content verification API
- Updated specification (LPS-1 §5)
- Benchmarks: proof generation time, verification gas cost
Enables privacy-preserving provenance verification. Critical for pre-publication content protection and embargo compliance.
Aligns with privacy-technology grants and zero-knowledge research funding programmes.
- Circuit complexity for four-tree architecture
- Proof generation time on consumer hardware
- Trusted setup requirements (if using Groth16)
Status: Planned
Provide a standards-compliant REST API for institutional consumers (libraries, archives, publishers) to verify literary provenance without direct blockchain interaction.
- REST API specification (OpenAPI 3.x)
- Verification endpoints: hash check, Merkle proof, edition lookup
- Rate-limited public tier
- Institutional authentication tier
- API documentation and integration guides
- Compliance level verification endpoint
Lowers the integration barrier for institutional adoption. Enables library catalog systems and publisher workflows to verify provenance through standard HTTP interfaces.
Directly aligns with digital preservation grants (NEH, Mellon, IMLS) and library technology modernisation programmes.
- Centralisation of verification defeats protocol ethos
- API availability becomes a dependency
- Must maintain trust-minimised design (API as convenience, not authority)
Status: Planned
Achieve independent implementations of LPS-1 by external teams, triggering the governance transition from author-led to working group model.
- Interoperability test suite
- Compliance certification process
- At least 3 independent implementations
- At least 5 active contributors
- Governance transition executed (per GOVERNANCE.md §6)
- Working group charter formalised
Transforms LPS-1 from a single-team standard into an industry-adopted protocol. This is the point at which the specification becomes infrastructure.
Aligns with standards-body formation grants and open-source sustainability programmes (e.g., Open Technology Fund, Protocol Labs, Filecoin Foundation).
- Adoption requires compelling use cases beyond the reference implementation
- Governance transition must not fragment the specification
- Maintaining backward compatibility across implementations
| Phase | Title | Status | Tracking |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Deterministic Anchor | Complete | — |
| II | Multi-Author Support | Proposed | LPS-4 |
| III | Ethereum L1 Mirror | Research | LPS-2 |
| IV | zk-Proof Inclusion | Research | LPS-3 |
| V | Institutional Verification API | Planned | — |
| VI | Multi-Implementation Adoption | Planned | — |