Verifying the preregistration seal

Three independent timestamps say the protocol preceded the data.

1. Git ancestry

git rev-list -n1 v0.1.0-prereg                    # the seal commit
git log --reverse --format=%H -- 'experiments/runs/public/*_micro/**' | head -n1   # first results commit
git merge-base --is-ancestor $(git rev-list -n1 v0.1.0-prereg) <first results commit> && echo OK

.github/workflows/prereg-ancestry.yml runs this on every push. The same applies to v0.2.0-prereg and experiments/runs/public/*_micro_v0_2/**.

2. OpenTimestamps (Bitcoin)

The .ots proofs cover the sealed versions of the files, which are the blobs at the seal tags. The working-tree PREREGISTRATION.md has changed since the seal (post-seal fields and the DEVIATIONS section, as the file itself allows), so verify against the sealed blob:

git show v0.1.0-prereg:PREREGISTRATION.md > /tmp/prereg_sealed.md
ots verify -f /tmp/prereg_sealed.md PREREGISTRATION.md.ots
ots verify data/synth/v0.1/bridges.yaml.ots        # answer key, unchanged since the seal
ots verify data/synth/v0.1/decoys.yaml.ots

ots verify needs a local Bitcoin node to check the block header. Without one, ots info PREREGISTRATION.md.ots prints the attestation, including the Bitcoin block height and the merkle root the proof commits to; compare the merkle root with any block explorer's record of that block. The v0.1 proofs were upgraded on 2026-09-14 and attest in block 966837. The v0.2 proofs (PREREGISTRATION-v0.2.md.ots, data/synth/v0.2/*.ots) were stamped on 2026-09-13 and upgraded on 2026-09-14; they attest in block 966878. The v0.3 proofs (PREREGISTRATION-v0.3.md.ots, data/synth/v0.3/*.ots, prompts/generate_single_strict.md.ots) attest in block 966979. To upgrade a pending proof yourself:

ots upgrade PREREGISTRATION-v0.2.md.ots

3. Commit signatures

Every commit is signed with the author's SSH key. On GitHub, signed commits show a Verified badge once the key is registered as a signing key; locally:

git log --show-signature -1 v0.1.0-prereg

Local verification needs gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile configured with the author's public key.