A DAG is not finality by itself
A directed acyclic graph can represent multiple causally related events without forcing every event into one immediate global sequence. That structure can improve concurrency, but it does not automatically answer which state every participant must treat as authoritative.
Finality requires a protocol rule that takes valid ordered activity, executes the same state transitions on every validator and produces one state commitment that can be independently checked.
The four-stage model
- Admission: a node validates the transaction envelope, chain binding, signature and current protocol rules.
- DAG ordering: the network represents causal relationships among accepted activity.
- Deterministic execution: validators apply the same transition rules and derive the same resulting state.
- Checkpoint certification: the validator set certifies a checkpoint binding the finalized height, checkpoint identity and state root.
Why “accepted” is not “finalized”
A transaction returned by an RPC endpoint may only be admitted or pending. A wallet, exchange or application should not present it as irreversible until the transaction is included in finalized state and the corresponding checkpoint evidence is available.
What an independent verifier checks
- The transaction identifier matches the signed canonical payload.
- The transaction appears in finalized rather than pending state.
- The checkpoint identity and state root match the authoritative network view.
- The certificate represents the finalized validator set defined by chain state.
Primary evidenceInspect current finalized checkpoints and network state in the Kashnio Explorer. Review published source and release evidence in Kashnio-Public.