Society · Protocols
HeldRelease
Escrow primitive: value held until condition preimage revealed or timeout
Definition
Mechanism
Value (UniqueHandle) held until condition met, released or returned on timeout. DEPOSIT: Party A sends value + condition_hash + timeout to escrow address. CLAIM: Party B submits condition_preimage; if hash(preimage) matches condition_hash, value releases to B. TIMEOUT: If timeout expires without valid claim, value returns to A. State transitions: EMPTY --deposit--> HELD --claim(valid)--> RELEASED_TO_B | --timeout--> RETURNED_TO_A. Primitives: hash CommitmentDevice (SHA256 pre-commitment locks the claim surface before the preimage exists), timelock (block height), 2-of-2 multisig or smart contract.
Risks
Failure modes
Preimage loss
If Party B loses the preimage, value returns to A on timeout (safe but B loses).
{{condition}} ambiguity
Hash commits to bytes, not semantics - parties must agree on preimage meaning off-chain.
Timeout racing
Near timeout, both CLAIM and TIMEOUT may be in flight - needs atomic resolution.
Oracle dependency
If condition requires external verification, oracle becomes trust point.
Relationships
Builds on
Accepts
Single current authority over a transferable resource reference
References
Mind
Pre-commitment against hyperbolic discounting
Infrastructure
Interface for patterns that evaluate to a boolean truth-value
Infrastructure
System condition at time T
Infrastructure
A measure of utility
Used by
Composes with
Acceptance of bid and contract creation
References
Cryptographic truth source
Reference
Parameters
hold_durationDuration, [1s, 24h]- Longest the value stays held before it returns to the sender.