# Glossary

Source: https://docs.settlemint.com/docs/architects/glossary
Definitions of key DALP architecture terms, token standards, identity concepts, operating components, and settlement primitives.



DALP architecture terms map to concrete product boundaries: tokens, identities, compliance rules, settlement flows, execution components, and EVM chain connectivity. Use this glossary when a term appears in an architecture page and you need the exact platform meaning.

Related pages: [Architecture map](/docs/architects/overview), [System context](/docs/architects/overview/system-context), [ERC-3643 compliance standard](/docs/architects/components/asset-contracts/erc-3643-compliance-standard), and [SMART Protocol integration (ERC-3643)](/docs/architects/components/asset-contracts/smart-protocol-integration).

## How to use this glossary [#how-to-use-this-glossary]

Start with the term table when you need a definition. Use the standards table when you need to map a DALP concept to an Ethereum or identity standard. Follow the next-step links when you need the architecture page that explains the term in context.

## Platform and token model [#platform-and-token-model]

| Term                                           | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <span id="dalp" />**DALP**                     | Digital Asset Lifecycle Platform. SettleMint's platform for issuing, managing, and servicing tokenized financial instruments across their full lifecycle.                                                      |
| <span id="smart-protocol" />**SMART Protocol** | SettleMint Adaptable Regulated Token. The protocol framework for regulated token behavior, compliance modules, and identity interfaces based on ERC-3643.                                                      |
| <span id="erc-3643" />**ERC-3643**             | Ethereum standard for regulated tokens with conditional transfers based on investor eligibility and identity verification. DALP uses ERC-3643 concepts through SMART Protocol asset contracts.                 |
| **Asset type**                                 | A base deployable asset type such as bond, equity, fund, stablecoin, deposit, real-estate, or precious-metal. DALP uses the type to route asset creation to the matching factory and validation rules.         |
| **Asset class**                                | A higher-level product grouping used by the asset catalogue and templates. System asset classes include fixed-income, equity, funds, cash, real-assets, and structured.                                        |
| **Asset factory type ID**                      | The on-chain factory identifier used when DALP deploys an asset. Most IDs match asset types, and `dalp-asset` is a synthetic factory type for generic asset creation rather than a standalone asset class.     |
| **Factory pattern**                            | Deployment pattern where factory contracts create new asset, addon, or infrastructure contract instances from approved configuration. Factories are registered so DALP can deploy assets consistently.         |
| **Denomination asset**                         | The settlement currency or token configured for an asset's financial operations, such as distributions, offerings, yield claims, or redemptions.                                                               |
| **Token feature**                              | Runtime-configurable token capability registered through the Configurable extension. Features can be added after deployment when the asset policy and deployed contracts support them.                         |
| **Addon**                                      | Operational contract capability that extends assets beyond the core SMART Protocol. Addons are registered through the Addon Registry and include Airdrop, Vault, XvP Settlement, Token Sale (DAIO), and Yield. |

## Identity and compliance terms [#identity-and-compliance-terms]

| Term                                                 | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| <span id="onchainid" />**OnchainID**                 | On-chain identity framework implementing ERC-734 key management and ERC-735 claim management. OnchainID stores verifiable claims about users and entities. Deep dive: [Claims and identity](/docs/architecture/concepts/claims-and-identity).                                  |
| <span id="identity-registry" />**Identity Registry** | Per-system contract that maps wallet addresses to OnchainID identity contracts. The registry manages verification status and supports wallet recovery workflows.                                                                                                               |
| <span id="trusted-issuer" />**Trusted Issuer**       | An approved issuer of verifiable claims for specific claim topics. Trusted issuers are registered in the Trusted Issuers Registry, and more than one issuer can cover the same topic. Deep dive: [Claims and identity](/docs/architecture/concepts/claims-and-identity).       |
| <span id="claim-topic" />**Claim Topic**             | A category of verifiable attestation, such as KYC status, nationality, accreditation, or another eligibility rule. Tokens reference claim topics to express required participant claims.                                                                                       |
| <span id="claim" />**Claim**                         | A signed statement recorded on a participant's OnchainID for one claim topic. A claim only counts toward eligibility when its issuer is trusted for that topic and its signature validates. Deep dive: [Claims and identity](/docs/architecture/concepts/claims-and-identity). |
| <span id="compliance-module" />**Compliance Module** | A pluggable on-chain rule evaluated during regulated token operations. Examples include country allow or block lists, identity verification, transfer limits, and time-based lockups. Multiple modules compose into an asset's compliance policy.                              |
| <span id="eoa" />**EOA**                             | Externally owned account. A blockchain account controlled directly by a private key, as opposed to a smart account governed by contract logic. A participant signs with an EOA, and identity and compliance still apply to the participant, not the account type.              |

## Execution and chain infrastructure [#execution-and-chain-infrastructure]

| Term                   | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Key Management**     | Secure cryptographic key storage component. Key Management abstracts custody backends such as local encrypted keys, DFNS MPC wallets, Fireblocks vaults, and hardware security modules.   |
| **Transaction Signer** | Execution component that prepares transactions, estimates gas, assigns nonces, delegates signing to the custody provider, and manages broadcast and confirmation.                         |
| **Workflow Engine**    | Durable workflow layer for long-running platform operations such as signing, broadcasting, retrying, and reconciling blockchain outcomes.                                                 |
| **Virtual Object**     | A keyed durable state machine in the Workflow Engine. A virtual object preserves workflow state across process restarts for operations such as signing and multi-step execution.          |
| **Dead Letter Queue**  | Holding area for operations that exhaust retry attempts in the Workflow Engine. Operators investigate these items before retrying or closing them.                                        |
| **Ledger Index**       | Service that listens to on-chain events from SMART Protocol contracts, translates them into structured data, and persists them to the application database.                               |
| **Broadcast**          | Multi-network connectivity layer for EVM RPC access. Broadcast abstracts network-specific details such as gas models and confirmation depth behind DALP's chain access layer.             |
| **Feeds System**       | Market data infrastructure that provides price and FX rate feeds through a central FeedsDirectory. The feeds system is Chainlink-compatible and supports global and token-specific feeds. |

## Account abstraction terms [#account-abstraction-terms]

Account abstraction changes which account executes a transaction and how gas is paid. It does not change participant identity, asset policy, custody approval, or whether an operation is allowed. Deep dive: [Account abstraction model](/docs/architecture/concepts/account-abstraction).

| Term                                                     | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| <span id="account-abstraction" />**Account abstraction** | The execution route that lets a participant transact through a smart account instead of a direct externally owned account call. DALP uses ERC-4337 for the substrate and ERC-7579 modules for the account. Deep dive: [Account abstraction model](/docs/architecture/concepts/account-abstraction).                                                        |
| <span id="advanced-accounts" />**Advanced accounts**     | The operator-facing name for account abstraction capabilities (gasless transactions, multi-approver accounts, recovery) in Organisation settings.                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| <span id="smart-account" />**Smart account**             | The ERC-7579 modular account contract used as the transaction executor. Its address is known counterfactually before deployment, and it deploys on chain with its first UserOperation.                                                                                                                                                                     |
| <span id="useroperation" />**UserOperation**             | The account abstraction transaction request that the smart account validates and the EntryPoint executes. Deep dive: [UserOperations](/docs/architects/components/infrastructure/account-abstraction/user-operations).                                                                                                                                     |
| <span id="entrypoint" />**EntryPoint**                   | The ERC-4337 singleton contract (version 0.9) that validates and executes UserOperations. DALP account factories and accounts are bound to the configured EntryPoint.                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| <span id="bundler" />**Bundler**                         | The service that accepts and simulates UserOperations and submits valid ones to the EntryPoint. DALP exposes an authenticated, organization-scoped bundler JSON-RPC endpoint covering discovery, UserOperation submission, and ERC-7677 paymaster methods. Deep dive: [Bundlers](/docs/architects/components/infrastructure/account-abstraction/bundlers). |
| <span id="paymaster" />**Paymaster**                     | The system add-on that sponsors gas for eligible UserOperations through its EntryPoint deposit, bounded by a signed sponsorship ticket. Deep dive: [Paymasters and gas sponsorship](/docs/architects/components/infrastructure/account-abstraction/paymasters-and-gas-sponsorship).                                                                        |
| <span id="validator-module" />**Validator module**       | An ERC-7579 module that enforces a smart account's signing rules. DALP ships an ECDSA single-owner validator and a weighted multisig validator.                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| <span id="gas-reserves" />**Gas reserves**               | The funds behind advanced accounts. The submission reserve covers getting transactions on-chain, and the sponsorship reserve funds gasless transactions.                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| <span id="submission-reserve" />**Submission reserve**   | The reserve that funds transaction submission, backed by the bundler wallet balance. It is always needed when advanced accounts is on.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| <span id="sponsorship-reserve" />**Sponsorship reserve** | The reserve that funds gasless (sponsored) transactions, backed by the paymaster's EntryPoint deposit. It is meaningful only when gas sponsorship is enabled.                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| <span id="nonce-lane" />**Nonce lane**                   | A lane in the ERC-4337 two-dimensional nonce space, keyed by validator and sub-key, that lets independent operations prepare in parallel while dependent operations stay ordered.                                                                                                                                                                          |

## Settlement and distribution terms [#settlement-and-distribution-terms]

| Term               | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **XvP Settlement** | Cross-value proposition settlement addon for coordinating token exchanges between parties. DALP uses the primitive for delivery-versus-payment and payment-versus-payment token flows. Configured local legs complete together or the exchange does not complete. |
| **DAIO**           | Digital Asset Initial Offering. Primary distribution mechanism for moving newly issued assets to verified investors with settlement, lock-up enforcement, and soft-cap refund mechanics.                                                                          |
| **Airdrop**        | Token distribution addon that delivers tokens to recipient addresses according to a configured strategy. Airdrop integrates with the compliance layer for eligibility checks.                                                                                     |
| **Vault**          | Multi-signature treasury management addon for holding and governing settlement currency or digital assets with configurable approval thresholds.                                                                                                                  |

## Standards referenced by the architecture [#standards-referenced-by-the-architecture]

| Standard     | Full name                 | Usage in DALP                                                                       |
| ------------ | ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **ERC-20**   | Fungible token standard   | Base token compatibility for SMART tokens                                           |
| **ERC-165**  | Interface detection       | Programmatic capability queries on SMART tokens                                     |
| **ERC-734**  | Key management            | On-chain identity key management in OnchainID                                       |
| **ERC-735**  | Claim management          | Verifiable claims on identity contracts                                             |
| **ERC-2771** | Meta-transactions         | Gasless transaction support through trusted forwarders                              |
| **ERC-3643** | Regulated security tokens | Foundation for SMART Protocol compliance architecture                               |
| **ERC-4337** | Account abstraction       | Smart accounts, UserOperations, EntryPoint (v0.9), bundler, and paymaster substrate |
| **ERC-7579** | Modular smart accounts    | Validator modules (ECDSA single-owner, weighted multisig) on DALP smart accounts    |

## Next steps [#next-steps]

* [System context](/docs/architects/overview/system-context) shows how these terms relate to the platform architecture.
* [Asset model](/docs/architects/overview/asset-model) explains asset classes, templates, factories, and deployed assets.
* [Key flows](/docs/architects/overview/key-flows) shows these components in asset issuance, compliance transfer, treasury distribution, and settlement flows.
* [Components](/docs/architects/components) covers responsibilities for each major component.