Security model
Security is the foundation of YLDX, not a feature. The core principle: no single actor — human or machine — can move treasury funds alone.
The execution boundary
YLDX separates thinking from moving money:
| Layer | Can it move funds? |
|---|---|
AI Operator (yldx-operator) | No. It scores, signals and prepares unsigned transactions/recommendations. It never holds keys. |
| Human operator | No, not alone. It routes and executes, but cold-wallet movements require multisig authorization. |
| Multisig signers (6) | Only together. 4-of-6 signatures + 24h time-lock authorize any cold-wallet movement. |
This breaks the "lethal trifecta" of an autonomous system that can simultaneously read untrusted data, hold secrets and take irreversible actions. The agent reads the world and proposes; it cannot act on the treasury.
Custody
The cold treasury is 5 sector-based multisig vaults, each 4-of-6 behind a 24-hour time-lock, with 6 designated signers. Vaults are segregated by function so a problem in one sector cannot drain another. See Custody & multisig.
Key hygiene
- Unique private key per wallet; never shared.
- Material operating balances are bound to hardware signers (Ledger / Trezor) — no hot keys for significant capital.
- Treasury/mainnet private keys are never transmitted through chat, code or any front-end.
- Deployment keys are single-use and generated locally; they are never committed to a repository.
Routing controls
- Whitelist routing. Funds can only be routed to approved addresses; anomalies are blocked.
- L1→L4 path only. No sideways movement between unrelated wallets.
- Time-lock window. The 24h delay on cold movements is a chance to catch and cancel any anomalous transaction before it executes.
Toolchain security
Every third-party skill is security-reviewed before use. Skills capable of holding wallets or executing transactions are kept outside the treasury contour — they may prepare unsigned calldata that a human signs, but they never sign or broadcast on the treasury's behalf.
Smart-contract assurance
Contracts are reviewed against a DeFi/AMM security checklist (reentrancy, CEI ordering, donation/inflation attacks, oracle manipulation, slippage, admin controls, integer math) before testnet and mainnet. See Audits & assurance.
Defense in depth, summarized
- Agent cannot hold keys or move funds.
- No single operator or signer can move funds.
- Cold custody, segregated by sector, behind a time-lock.
- Whitelist routing and L1→L4 discipline.
- Hardware signers and strict key hygiene.
- Reviewed contracts and a reviewed toolchain.