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Cryptographic provenance

What the provenance hash on every observation covers, and how to check one yourself.

The API is currently in early access, with no public availability yet. Treat the endpoint URLs, request examples and sample responses shown here as illustrative. To request access, contact hello@utopiadata.net.

Attached to every observation the Utopia API returns is a provenance_hash: a SHA-256 digest you can use to confirm, without trusting anyone, that the data originated from a legitimate Utopia edge node at the time stated, and that nothing changed it in transit or in storage. For defense, compliance and safety workloads, where integrity is non-negotiable, this is the mechanism that matters.

What the provenance hash covers #

Four inputs feed the provenance_hash: the observation payload itself (geometry, classification and scores), the unique identifier of the originating node, the capture timestamp in UTC at millisecond precision, and the Utopia network epoch, a rotating nonce shared across the network.

Alter any one of those inputs and the resulting hash changes entirely. So if the hash you compute from a payload equals the hash that came with it, the data is genuine.

Verifying a provenance hash #

1

Note the hash

Run a spatial query or pick up a streaming event, and take the provenance_hash field from the observation.

2

Call the verification endpoint

Using your API key, request GET /v1/provenance/{provenance_hash} to fetch the signed verification record.

3

Compare

That record contains the canonical hash as computed by the issuing node. Check it against the one on your observation.

import requests
 
API_KEY = "your-api-key"
BASE_URL = "https://api.utopiadata.net/v1"
 
def verify_provenance(provenance_hash: str) -> bool:
    response = requests.get(
        f"{BASE_URL}/provenance/{provenance_hash}",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"}
    )
    if response.status_code == 200:
        record = response.json()
        return record["verified"] is True
    return False
 
is_valid = verify_provenance("sha256:a3f8e2c1b4d7f9e0a2b5c8d1e4f7a0b3c6d9e2f5")
print(f"Provenance valid: {is_valid}")

Verification response #

{
  "provenance_hash": "sha256:a3f8e2c1b4d7f9e0a2b5c8d1e4f7a0b3c6d9e2f5",
  "verified": true,
  "node_id": "node_7f3a",
  "captured_at": "2026-05-22T10:14:33.412Z",
  "network_epoch": "epoch_2026_05",
  "signature_algorithm": "ECDSA-P256"
}

When the response says verified: false, the hash has no match in the Utopia ledger. An observation in that state must not feed any safety critical decision.

Keep provenance hashes stored next to their observations in your own systems. The verification endpoint lets you re-check them whenever you need to.

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