Control profile
- Transaction ordering
- Public CometBFT proof-of-stake validator set; the official staking API returned 100 bonded validators at review.
- Escape hatch
- n/a — L1; positions may still inherit issuer controls from Provenance marker assets
- Upgrade authority
- On-chain governance can schedule software upgrades. Standard voting runs for 48 hours with a 33.4% quorum, majority approval, and a 33.4% veto threshold.
- Liveness record
- The bonded set was broad enough that no validator controlled 6% of bonded voting power at review; the ten largest together held about 46%. CometBFT safety still depends on fewer than one-third Byzantine voting power, while the 48-hour governance window is short for an institutional exit process.
Ketju assessment
APPROVED WITH LIMITS. Chain consensus is materially decentralized: validator entry is public, 100 validators were bonded, and no unilateral foundation key was found that can rewrite chain state. The limitation is control at the asset layer and speed at the governance layer. Provenance was designed for regulated financial assets, and its marker module intentionally supports restricted transfer, freeze, and force-transfer roles. Those are not chain-wide seizure powers, but every position must map the exact marker administrator instead of inheriting the chain verdict.
Observable review triggers
- Fewer than four independent operators control one-third of bonded voting power
- The standard governance voting period is shortened below 48 hours
- A software upgrade bypasses the published governance process
- Finality is unavailable for more than 1 hour
These triggers make the judgment monitorable. They are not predictions; each identifies a fact that would revoke or force review of the current assessment.
Advisor implementation questions
- Does the client’s thesis require censorship resistance, or primarily low-cost settlement?
- Can the client exit without cooperation from the normal transaction-ordering party?
- Who can upgrade bridges or contracts, and what delay applies?
- Does the asset introduce an issuer weaker than the chain grade?
- What evidence will show a halt, censorship event, or governance change?
Research sources
- Provenance Documentation — Governance voting — governance thresholds, voting period, software upgrades
- Provenance Documentation — Marker module — asset restrictions, freeze authority, force transfer
- Provenance staking API — bonded validators — validator count, bonded voting-power concentration
Sources were accessed 2026-08-19. Primary documents and measured control conditions can change; the review triggers above govern off-cycle reassessment.