Diamond Framework: Reputation-Weighted Validator Selection via Verifiable Non-Transferable Reputation

Abstract

Proof-of-stake secures admission and deterrence with a single instrument, financial capital, and that is the source of its structural tension: high collateral requirements deter honest but capital-constrained validators, low requirements expose the network to Sybil attacks. The Diamond Framework replaces a fraction of the financial stake with verifiable, non-transferable reputation, so the admission barrier falls without lowering the Cost of Attack. The deposit is the frozen PDF snapshot of the manuscript. Every quantitative claim in it is paired with a script that reproduces it, and the claim registry that binds claim to script is sealed by a ten-file anchor root which is timestamped externally with OpenTimestamps and therefore witnessed in Bitcoin. The protocol itself targets the Avalanche network; Bitcoin enters only as that external witness, because a receipt sealed inside the root it witnesses would be circular. Artifact: diamond-framework-2026-10-11.pdf, 545018 bytes, SHA-256 13e85c757e2b6efbb717325e2a4e75062f5ad484e426b1c160e24ae7bfa5b56a; source main.tex, SHA-256 fb5cae97ba5bc96114e155e0c81e70ada2c3ca5cdea06011a6f0199ab378bde8. Two benchmarks are deferred: the recursive SNARK proving time and the Teleporter latency, both requiring infrastructure not available in this paper.