OceanAltOceanAlt

Registry and enforcement rules

We do not fine anyone and we hold no deposits. Enforcement does one thing: it changes how a party looks to everyone else — and every step follows the rules written below, never our judgement on the day.

The four-level ladder

From light to severe. Each level states what it is, what triggers it, and what happens next. Every trigger is a public fact anyone can check.

  1. Level 1

    Status downgrade

    What it is
    verified → self-attested → public-info. We simply lower, truthfully, what we have verified. No conclusion is drawn.
    Trigger
    Registered facts contradict publicly checkable sources (website, on-chain, regulator notices); or the registrant has not answered a verification request within 30 days.
    Effect
    The status badge on the profile changes; the trust level a paying agent reads changes immediately. Prior states remain on record.
  2. Level 2

    Dispute on record

    What it is
    The profile shows “N unresolved disputes”, with the filer's evidence and the registrant's response. We do not judge who is right.
    Trigger
    Anyone files a dispute with publicly verifiable evidence (transaction hashes, screenshots with source links, regulatory documents). Disputes without evidence are not accepted.
    Effect
    Dispute and response are published together; the registrant may respond within 14 days and the response is published verbatim. No response within the window is marked “unanswered”.
  3. Level 3

    Registration withdrawn

    What it is
    Removed from the current registry. The history stays — the question compliance asks most is “was it listed on that day”, and deleting would erase the evidence.
    Trigger
    Any of the following with public evidence: ① listed by an official sanctions authority; ② a dispute involving loss of funds stands and the registrant has not responded in 30 days; ③ registration materials are shown to be forged.
    Effect
    The profile page remains, headed “withdrawn · date · reason category”; the API returns a withdrawn state with the timestamp.
  4. Level 4

    Entered in the risk-event database

    What it is
    Entered in the public risk-event database with the full evidence chain. This level is for the whole market, not just our users.
    Trigger
    Level 3 triggered and involving third-party loss of funds or a sanctions-list hit.
    Effect
    The event is public; related addresses enter the screening data source (effective after human approval).

Four red lines

  • We never seize property.

    Not touching money keeps us outside licensing scope. This one line is what makes the whole ladder lawful.

  • We never issue a verdict of guilt.

    We only record what happened, where the evidence is, and what the other side said. A recorder, not a judge.

  • Rules are published in advance; triggers are public numbers.

    Which situation leads to which level is written on this page; anyone can work out the result. No discretion.

  • The registrant can appeal, and the appeal is published.

    What they said and whether we changed anything are both on the record.

How a dispute is filed and handled

  1. The filer submits: which profile, what is claimed, and the evidence (transaction hashes / screenshots with source links / regulatory documents). No evidence, no case.
  2. Within 3 working days we check form only: is the evidence publicly verifiable. We do not judge merits.
  3. Once it passes, it is published (level 2) and the registrant is notified.
  4. The registrant may respond within 14 days; the response is published verbatim. Past the window it is marked “unanswered”.
  5. If the dispute meets a level-3 trigger the ladder applies; otherwise it stays “unresolved” until either side brings new evidence.
  6. A filer shown to have forged evidence is put on record the same way.

On deposits: we record, we never hold

In large, long-cycle or cross-border trades the buyer may want a backstop. We are not the custodian — the payee arranges third-party escrow (an on-chain escrow contract or a licensed custodian) and we record one fact on the profile:

deposit: { present: true | false, amount: "5000 USDC", custodian: "…", verifyUrl: "https://…" }

The paying agent reads that field and decides. A deposit becomes the payee's competitive advantage rather than a gate we impose — and we never touch the money.

What we explicitly do not do

  • We do not assign anyone a “credibility score”. A score is an opinion; a status is a fact. We record facts only.
  • We do not delete history. Withdrawals, downgrades and disputes all keep their timeline.
  • We do not change status for payment. Status changes only by the triggers written on this page.

This page is the single source of the rules. Changes to the rules are versioned here. Effective 2026-09-08 (v1).