0XDEAD.space: A cryptographic succession protocol for the AT Protocol

Name: 0XDEAD.space: A cryptographic succession protocol for the AT Protocol
Availability: InStock
Author: ray_v

by ray_v·Apr 1, 2026·2 points·0 comments

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AI Analysis

●●●BangerBig BrainZero to OneWizardry

AT Protocol key rotation for death succession—why didn't this exist before?

Strengths

•Repurposes DID PLC key rotation for human succession, not just server migration.
•Blinded heartbeats provide privacy-preserving liveness verification from multiple sources.
•Two custom lexicons make mortality machine-readable across AT Protocol ecosystem.

Weaknesses

•Requires AT Protocol adoption—limited to Bluesky and compatible platforms currently.
•Legal enforceability of cryptographic succession signals remains untested in courts.

Post Description

> "On the Revocation of Meatspace Certificates"

As devs get older, and we see more of our fellow maintainers sadly pass away, I can't help but think of the mess those types of events typically leave in their wake. Not only are they sad, tragic events, but they have real world consequences for the work and projects they leave behind.

I started brainstorming with Claude and other chatbots (as is the fashion) on this and hit upon the idea that the AT Protocol pretty much already solves this ... it just doesn't know it yet (or, maybe they do and this is all a moot point): `did:plc` supports key rotation with a 72-hour override (https://web.plc.directory/spec/v0.1/did-plc). That's how PDS migration works. Succession is the same primitive: rotate the keys to a new person instead of a new server.

0xDEAD.space is my attempt to build that. Two custom lexicons. Blinded heartbeats from entities like your lawyer, your family, your services, strangers you "street-pass" with ... all quietly offering varying levels of cryptographic proof that you're alive. When they stop, designated verifiers confirm with real evidence, and your `did:plc` rotates to your successor.

So far, this has mostly been a yak-shave for me, but it feels like it could be a viable thing ... with a LOT more refinement of course

Feedback on any and all aspects of this is VERY welcome!

<https://0xdead.space/rfc>