stage 05 · public network: The network checks
With no owner, the network itself does the checking. The warning almost nobody gives along with it: by default, that check is public.
- network
- solana
- privacy
At a bank, your statement is private and the checking happens inside. On a network with no owner the math is different: everyone does the checking, and the record usually stays open.
What stays visible
A public network checks transactions because every participant can verify what the others sign. That's its strength. The side effect is that the history stays readable by anyone, for a very long time — not just by the bank, the tax office or you.
An address with no name plus an open history gives you a pseudonym, not anonymity. Linking several addresses to the same person by cross-referencing time, amount and swaps is already routine. That's not movie theory.
The three layers, without confusion
Local rehearsal: nothing exists outside your machine. Test network: it exists on the network and isn't worth money. Main network: it's worth money and it's worth consequences. An honest tool says which layer you're on; if it doesn't say, ask before continuing.
Mission
Before signing anything, answer in writing, in one line: if this transaction stayed public forever, what would a stranger learn about me? If the answer bothers you, the transaction can wait until tomorrow.