Examples of Trust Base Scenarios

Here are some examples of Trust Bases to help you better understand them.

Credit Card Payment

In this scenario, there are two entities, the Buyer and the Merchant. The Buyer’s Trust Base includes the Point of Sale, Acquirer or payment processor, Card Association, and Issuing Bank. The Merchant’s Trust Base includes those of the buyer, the Dispatcher or issuing bank, and the Merchant’s bank.

Legend for the diagram:

• Numbers show the sequence of events

• Orange boxes represent Merchant controlled devices

• Blue boxes represent backend systems that the Merchant does not control

• The dotted line represents the internal operation of storing pending transactions in the Dispatcher

Monolithic Ethereum

In this scenario, there are two entities, a User and a Smart Contact. The User’s Trust Base includes the front end (dApp, wallet), data sources, and ETH Node software. The Smart Contacts’s Trust Base includes the Smart Contract, Data Sources, and ETH Node software.

Legend for the diagram:

• Purple represents the User.

• Orange boxes represent User controlled devices.

• Blue boxes represent backend systems that the User does not control.

• The Green box represents data sources.

• The dotted line represents the internal operation of the action.

ZK Rollup (Starknet)

In this scenario, we have one entity: the User. The User’s Trust Base includes the front end, data sources, Gateway Validation Component, Sequencer Component, Proving Circuit (Cairo Compiler), and L1 Verifier. If the gateway, sequencer, or prover are centralized, the nodes running these centralized services are added to the Trust Base.

Legend for the diagram:

• Purple represents the User.

• Orange boxes represent User controlled devices.

• Blue boxes represent backend systems that the User does not control.

• The Green box represents data sources.

• The dotted line represents the internal operation of the action.

Optimistic Rollup (Arbitrum)

In this scenario, we have one entity: the User. The User’s Trust Base includes the front end, data sources, Arbitration Nitro VM, GETH, Delayed Inbox Contract, and Dispute Resolution Logic. If centralized, the sequencer would also be part of the user's Trust Base.

Legend for the diagram:

• Purple represents the User.

• Orange boxes represent User controlled devices.

• Blue boxes represent backend systems that the User does not control.

• The Green box represents data sources.

• The dotted line represents the internal operation of the action.