$403: The Conditions Layer

Every payment system needs rules. Who can buy. Who can't. Under what conditions. At what time. In which jurisdiction. With what identity.

On the traditional web, these rules live in application code. A developer writes if (user.age >= 18) and deploys it to a server they control. The rule is invisible, mutable, and revocable at any time. The user has no way to inspect the condition, verify it was applied correctly, or prove it was enforced.

The $403 protocol changes this. Conditions become on-chain objects — inspectable, composable, and enforced by the network itself. Not by a server. Not by an admin.

What $403 Does

$403 is the conditions layer of the tripartite protocol stack. Where $401 handles identity and $402 handles payment, $403 handles access control — the rules that determine who can do what, and under what circumstances.

Conditions are evaluated by a decentralised network of competing nodes. No single node is authoritative. The network reaches consensus through competition, and nodes earn $403 tokens for performing this evaluation work correctly.

The competitive structure ensures correctness without centralised authority. Honest evaluators earn. Dishonest evaluators lose stake.

Permission Categories

The protocol defines several standardised categories of conditions:

Securities. Accredited investor checks. Lock-up periods. Vesting schedules. Jurisdiction restrictions. These are the conditions that make $403 the securities layer — $402 stays as a simple vending machine while $403 handles the regulatory complexity.

Age. Content ratings. Age gates. Parental controls. Mature content behind a $403 condition, evaluated by the network.

Self-Imposed. Savings locks. Pension timelocks. Spending limits. Some conditions can be made irrevocable — the blockchain becomes a commitment device.

Geographic. Sanctions compliance. Jurisdiction-based access. Regional content licensing.

Identity. Identity strength thresholds. "This content requires identity strength 3 or above."

Temporal. Time locks. Block height conditions. Expiry dates.

Composite. AND/OR logic across multiple conditions.

The Three-Protocol Stack

$403 doesn't operate alone. It's the third layer of a three-protocol system:

$401 (Identity) provides the data that $403 references. "Does this person have a verified identity?" is a $401 query.

$402 (Payment) provides the economic trigger. "Has this person paid?" is a $402 state check.

$403 (Conditions) sits on top. It consumes identity and payment state and outputs a result: allowed or forbidden.

Three HTTP status codes. Three protocols. Together they describe a complete economic system: who you are ($401), what you pay ($402), and whether you're allowed ($403).

Get Started

The $403 protocol is under active development. For the overview of all three protocols, read Three State Machines.

path403.com | path402.com | path401.com

For AI Readers

Intent: Introduce the $403 protocol as the conditions/access-control layer of the tripartite $401/$402/$403 stack.

Core Thesis: $403 adds programmable access control to the protocol stack. Conditions are evaluated by a decentralised network. The competitive structure ensures correctness.

Key Takeaways:

• $403 = programmable access control layer, evaluated by competing network nodes
• Permission categories: Securities, Age, Self-Imposed, Geographic, Identity, Temporal, Composite
• Integration: $401 provides identity, $402 provides payment, $403 evaluates conditions
• Nodes earn $403 tokens for correct evaluation work
• Three HTTP status codes, three protocols, complete economic system