Compliance gating
How Assetera enforces eligibility at the point of action: off-chain KYC plus on-chain, single-use, signed EIP-712 attestations that authorize each trade.
Assetera's compliance model has one defining idea: eligibility is enforced at the point of action, not just at sign-up. A user being verified is necessary but not sufficient: each individual on-chain action must carry its own fresh authorization. This keeps personal data and business rules off the chain while still making the chain refuse anything non-compliant.
Two layers
Gating combines an off-chain decision with an on-chain check:
- Off-chain, KYC and policy. Assetera's KYC process is the system of record for verification and risk. It holds verification status, investor category, risk tiering, wallet screening and proof-of-funds. The compliance layer decides, per user and per intended action, whether that action is currently allowed.
- On-chain, per-action attestations. When an action is allowed, Assetera authorizes it off-chain by signing an EIP-712 attestation: a structured, signed message that authorizes exactly one action. The exchange contract verifies the signature came from a trusted operator role; it never sees personal data or policy logic.
What makes an attestation safe
An attestation is deliberately narrow and short-lived:
- Single-use: it carries a per-account nonce, so it can be redeemed only once and cannot be replayed.
- Short deadline: it expires quickly, so a stale approval is worthless.
- Bound to the action: it is tied to the specific order parameters, so it authorizes that trade, not a different one.
- Chain-domain-separated: it is bound to a specific chain ID and contract, so an approval cannot be replayed on another chain.
There are typically two kinds bound together at trade time: a KYC attestation (this party is eligible for this action) and a fee attestation (the fee policy that applies). A trade cannot execute without a valid, single-use attestation.
Why this shape
Putting the rules in a signed attestation rather than in the contract keeps the contract simple and keeps personal data off-chain, while still making eligibility non-optional at execution time. It also gives a clean operational control: to freeze a user, Assetera simply stops producing attestations for them, no contract change, no on-chain personal data, no ambiguity.
Where to go next
- For the exact EIP-712 message structure and the operator role, see Attestations.
- For how eligibility ties to a tenant and how one party can rely on another's onboarding, see Tenancy.