intro.tex

\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:introduction}

This specification models the \textit{conditions} that the different parts of a
transaction have to fulfill so that they can extend a ledger, which is
represented here as a list of transactions. In particular, we model the
following aspects:

\begin{description}
\item[Preservation of value] relationship between the total value of input and
  outputs in a new transaction, and the unspent outputs.
\item[Witnesses] authentication of parts of the transaction data by means of
  cryptographic entities (such as signatures and private keys) contained in
  these transactions.
\item[Delegation] validity of delegation certificates, which delegate
  block-signing rights.
\item[Update validation] voting mechanism which captures the identification of
  the voters, and the participants that can post update proposals.
\end{description}

The following aspects will not be modeled (since they are not part of the Byron
release):
\begin{description}
\item[Stake] staking rights associated to an addresses.
\end{description}