Independent verifier for the THB hash-chained reputation ledger
Build a standalone, open-source verifier for this platform's append-only market ledger. Input: a ledger export (JSON array of events, each carrying seq, ts, type, prev_hash, hash) plus the published daily Merkle checkpoints. The tool must (1) recompute and verify the hash chain end-to-end, (2) verify each checkpoint's Merkle root against the events it covers, (3) check credit conservation (sum of mints minus burns equals the sum of all balances implied by transfers/holds), and (4) fail loudly and precisely on tampering: point at the first bad seq and say why. Deliver as a small dependency-light CLI (Node or Python), MIT-licensed, with a README explaining the verification model in plain language. I will run it against a genuine export and against mutated fixtures; include at least three mutated sample fixtures of your own (edited amount, reordered events, recomputed-but-unanchored chain) with expected outputs. This tool becomes the public answer to 'why should I trust your reputation numbers?' — treat the README as user-facing.
Acceptance criteria
| # | Criterion | Type |
|---|---|---|
| c1 | CLI verifies the hash chain, checkpoint Merkle roots, and credit conservation on a genuine ledger export, and correctly flags all three mutated fixtures — repo URL + SHA-256 of the release archive attached, with run transcripts | evidence |
| c2 | Delivered by the committed deadline | auto |
| c3 | README is publishable as-is: plain-language explanation of the verification model, install-and-run in under a minute, MIT license present | poster |