> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nacrelabs.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Roadmap

> From custodial v1 to ZK-validated, admin-sunset Nacre.

Nacre launches as a 3-of-4 validator quorum with a custodial signer, and
ships in phases toward full trust minimization. Every phase preserves two
protocol guarantees: **1:1 PRL backing** and **the user's 7-day emergency
exit**.

This is the public roadmap. Each phase is an admin-authorized upgrade with
appropriate timelocks; the protocol structure (Cold Reserve, validator
quorum, aggregator pre-flight) is preserved across phases.

***

## Phase 1: Launch · *Custodial signer, validator quorum*

**Live at mainnet.**

The minimum viable bridge.

* 1:1 PRL ↔ wPRL backing
* 3-of-4 P-256 validator quorum signs every mint and burn
* TEE-enforced signing quorum translates the P-256 quorum into native
  Pearl secp256k1 and Solana ed25519 signatures
* 7-day user emergency exit on every Deposit Address
* 7-day admin-only Cold Reserve recovery (script-path leaf 0)

**What this gets you today:** PRL liquidity on Solana, secured by an
independent quorum, with a guaranteed unilateral exit if anything goes
wrong.

***

## Phase 2: Self-custody · *FROST removes the custodian*

**Target: post-launch upgrade.**

Validators stop relying on a third-party custodian. The 3-of-4 P-256 quorum
is replaced by **3-of-4 FROST-secp256k1-tr** threshold signing: validators
hold their key shares directly and produce native Schnorr signatures
collaboratively.

What changes:

* **No more custodial layer.** Pearl signatures are produced by FROST,
  Solana signatures by a parallel FROST-ed25519 (or hybrid) scheme.
* **One Cold Reserve rotation.** The Cold Reserve is migrated to a new
  Taproot internal key derived from the FROST aggregate.
* **Aggregator role narrows.** Becomes a FROST coordinator instead of a
  custody forwarder.

What stays the same: the user-facing flows, the 7-day exit, the admin's
script-path recovery, and the validator set.

***

## Phase 3: Hardware attestation · *FROST shares inside enclaves*

**Target: after FROST is stable in production.**

Every validator's FROST share lives inside a remotely-attested TEE (Nitro
Enclave, SGX, or equivalent). The share is **unusable outside an attested
enclave**, even by the validator operator.

What changes:

* Each validator publishes a reproducibly-built enclave image; its `PCR0`
  measurement is registered on-chain.
* Every signing artifact carries an attestation document.
* The Anchor program verifies the attestation root and `PCR0` whitelist
  before accepting an attestation.

This raises the bar on validator compromise from "steal the key share" to
"break the enclave AND match the PCR whitelist."

***

## Phase 4: ZK validation · *Cryptographic proofs replace signatures*

**Target: long-horizon, in research alongside earlier phases.**

Validator signatures become redundant alongside cryptographic proofs. Three
sub-paths, deployable independently or together:

* **zk-Pearl light client on Solana.** Continuous header-chain proof
  verifies Pearl finality directly on Solana.
* **zk-SPV per deposit.** Each deposit ships with a succinct proof of
  inclusion against the verified header chain.
* **zk-FROST proof of correct validator behavior.** Validators prove that
  their attestations were produced from finalized state per spec.

During an overlap period, both the validator quorum and the ZK proof must
agree. Once the ZK path has been validated under production load, the
signature requirement is dropped.

***

## Phase 5: Sunset · *Removing the admin*

**Target: when the protocol is provably trust-minimized.**

The admin multisig retires. Options under consideration:

* **Full ossification:** disable program upgrades entirely; the protocol
  becomes immutable.
* **On-chain governance:** replace the admin with a tokenholder DAO.
* **Sunset Cold Reserve leaf 0:** remove the admin-only recovery path or
  replace it with a much broader multisig.

What stays the same: every user keeps their 7-day Deposit Address exit. That
guarantee survives every other authority.

***

## Migration ordering

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/nacrelabs/pnJO42rkG4Vp6tv9/images/diagrams/roadmap.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=pnJO42rkG4Vp6tv9&q=85&s=4a5a91347196885da93a598c3bec2948" alt="Migration ordering: Phase 1 launch through Phase 5 sunset, with the one-time Cold Reserve sweep happening only between Phase 1 and Phase 2" width="960" height="300" data-path="images/diagrams/roadmap.svg" />
</Frame>

Only the Phase 1 → 2 transition requires moving funds on Pearl. Every
subsequent phase reuses the same Cold Reserve address; once you've audited
the address, it doesn't change again until Phase 5.

## Timelines

Specific dates and block-heights are not committed in advance. Every phase
ships when it's audited and stable in production. Follow `TBD` for milestones.
