Overview

An epoch is the batch Truestamp uses to perform Block Commitment: all block hashes finalized since the last commitment of a given kind are gathered into one Merkle tree, and only that tree’s root, the epoch root, is recorded on a public blockchain, so a single public transaction commits a whole batch of blocks. Each chain has its own independent series of epochs (Stellar epochs and Bitcoin epochs advance separately), and every new epoch for a chain begins where that chain’s last fully recorded epoch ended, so the epochs for one chain tile the internal ledger without gaps. Each covered block receives an external commitment record holding its inclusion proof against the epoch root. The full mechanics, including the crash-safe reserve, submit, record sequence, are covered in the epoch and Block Commitment.