About This Architecture
Cryptographic ratchet protocol state flow orchestrates identity registration, hybrid key establishment, iterative symmetric ratcheting, and post-compromise asymmetric key rotation. Participants register on-chain, derive a root key via ephemeral exchange, then advance message keys through symmetric ratchet loops while monitoring for compromise triggers. When asymmetric ratchet is activated, new Diffie-Hellman key pairs generate fresh root keys, restoring forward secrecy after potential key exposure. This architecture demonstrates how modern messaging systems like Signal achieve per-message key derivation and post-compromise recovery. Fork and customize this diagram to model your protocol's state transitions, add retry logic details, or integrate with your threat model documentation. The design balances computational efficiency of symmetric ratcheting with the security guarantees of periodic asymmetric key refresh.