Map: Composing Primitives

The composition lattice

Each primitive plugs a specific gap. Knowing what each one does (and does not do) is what lets you compose them safely.

Common compositions

Confidential AI inference

Decentralized name (.eth / PKARR / .onion)
   ↓
Attested TLS bound to enclave-generated key
   ↓
TDX or SEV-SNP confidential VM
   ↓
Confidential GPU mode with protected CPU–GPU transfers
   ↓
Open-weights LLM + reproducible build hash
   ↓
Transparency-logged release (à la Apple PCC)

Files: Confidential-AI-Inference, Private-LLM-Inference-Patterns, NVIDIA-GPU-TEE, Attestation-Architecture.

Private query over public data

Client query
   ↓
PIR (single- or multi-server)
   ↓
Optional: ZK proof of correct database state
   ↓
Transport: Tor or Nym

Files: Overview - Private Information Retrieval, Overview - Mix Networks.

Censorship-resistant payment

Bitcoin keypair (self-custodied)
   ↓
Lightning channel
   ↓
Onion-routed HTLC payment
   ↓
Receiver: BOLT12 or LNURL with attested proof

Files: Overview - Financial Sovereignty, Lightning Network Deep Dive.

Sovereign social account

Nostr keypair (signing key)
   ↓
NIP-17 gift-wrapped DMs (sender hidden; recipient tag visible)
   ↓
Blossom for media blobs (SHA-256-addressed, mirrored)
   ↓
Public-key identity; optional NIP-05 alias via DNS and HTTPS
   ↓
Multiple relays (transport redundancy)
   ↓
Lightning zaps for monetization

Files: Overview - Encrypted Messaging, Nostr Deep Dive, Blossom, Overview - Decentralized DNS.

Sovereign off-grid node (Blackbox-style)

Local LLM inference (Ollama or equivalent, no cloud API)
   ↓
LoRa mesh (Meshtastic / MeshCore / Blackout Comms)
   ↓
Offline maps (TAK / equivalent, no Google)
   ↓
Cashu ecash + Bitcoin (blind tokens + self-custody, no bank)
   ↓
E2E encrypted request/response chunked over mesh (~200B packets)

One laptop + $30 radio. Zero internet, zero banks, zero datacenters. See MeshCore, Cashu and Chaumian Ecash, off-grid files, and MOC - Censorship Resistance. Composes local confidential compute with air-gapped comms and private money.

Durable public artifact

Release artifact or static site
   ↓
Hash and sign locally
   ↓
IPFS for content-addressed distribution
   ↓
Arweave for archival copy
   ↓
ENS / PKARR / signed index points to both

Files: Overview - Decentralized Storage, IPFS and Filecoin, Arweave, Overview - Decentralized DNS.

Verifiable confidential computation

Client sends encrypted input
   ↓
Server runs computation under FHE
   ↓
Server attaches a SNARK proving the function was the agreed one
   ↓
Client verifies SNARK in milliseconds, then decrypts result

This is the vFHE (verifiable FHE) pattern. Either of these alternatives also works:

• FHE evaluator inside an attested TEE. The TEE attestation replaces the SNARK.
• Threshold FHE with active-secure honest-majority MPC. The protocol detects misbehavior.

Files: Overview - Fully Homomorphic Encryption, Overview - Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Overview - Confidential Computing.

Hardware-protected ecash mint (deployment pattern)

Bitcoin/Lightning reserves (self-custodied or on-chain visible)
   ↓
Cashu mint logic running inside attested TEE (keys generated in enclave, never exposed to host)
   ↓
Remote attestation + transparency log (client verifies correct code + measurement)
   ↓
Blind signatures issued; users hold bearer tokens offline / over Nostr / mesh
   ↓
Redemption still depends on the mint; evaluate code, reserves, rollback and hardware trust

Direct 01 + 06 composition. See Cashu and Chaumian Ecash and confidential computing attestation files. Moves from "trust the mint runner" to "trust the hardware root + audited enclave code."

Post-quantum migration of everything

For each long-term-secret protocol (TLS, SSH, Signal, age-encrypted backups):
   1. Switch to a hybrid KEM (X25519 + ML-KEM-768/1024)
   2. Rotate signing keys to ML-DSA or hybrid Ed25519+ML-DSA
   3. Audit the symmetric key sizes — AES-256 stays
   4. Plan re-encryption for archived ciphertexts under new keys

Files: Overview - Post-Quantum Cryptography, Glossary (Hybrid KEM, Harvest now decrypt later).

Anti-patterns

These look decentralized or private only on the surface:

• Custodial "non-custodial": exchange holds your keys but calls itself non-custodial.
• CDN'd onion service: operator's identity revealed via Cloudflare logs.
• Signal Desktop on a compromised OS: E2EE does not help if the endpoint is malware.
• Nostr without NIP-17: DMs leak the social graph to relays.
• TEE without attestation enforcement: the server runs in a TEE, but the client never checks.
• FHE without verifiability: the server can return garbage and the client cannot tell.
• Self-custody without a backup plan: losing the key is the same as a custodian losing your funds.

Files most relevant

Every Overview in this library. Start with Research Methodology's evaluation criteria, then pick the relevant overviews and build a stack.

Primary sources

• RFC 9334: attestation architecture
• RA-TLS: binding attestation to TLS
• Nostr NIP-05: DNS-based identifiers
• Nostr NIP-59: gift-wrap metadata
• Cashu NUT-00: protocol and mint trust
• Lightning BOLT 4: onion routing
• NVIDIA: Confidential Computing on H100 GPUs

Also in Confidential Computing