# Anchor Preview

An **Anchor** (REQ-023) is the fourth and highest tier of the
[Partner Spectrum](partner-spectrum.md) (REQ-018) — the first **institutional**
Partner tier. Anchors are coming in v0.3 P4. This page previews what an Anchor
is and what the v0.3 skeleton will deliver; the runtime behavior is deferred
to v0.4+.

## What an Anchor is

An Anchor is a Partner that carries an **AnchorCredential**: a jurisdiction
(e.g., "EU-MiCA"), a custody provider, and a set of attestation references.
The Anchor tier is how the jurisdiction-light mesh interfaces with
jurisdiction-bound institutional actors without becoming them. An Anchor
holds a credential; the [Holder](../nomads/reach.md) still holds their
[Stash](../nomads/stash.md). The mesh says **custody**, **compliance**, and
**jurisdiction** — never the legacy institutional words banned by the
[lexicon](../shared/lexicon.md).

## What is coming in v0.3 P4

v0.3 P4 (REQ-023) extends `x/partner` with the `AnchorCredential` struct and
a `Partner.AnchorCredential()` accessor (returns nil for non-Anchor tiers).
The four-tier `PartnerTier` enum (Op, Master Op, Pier, Anchor) is **unchanged**
— v0.3 adds Anchor-specific fields, not a new tier. The custody-provider-id
field is a by-ID-string reference to `x/hub` (the Hub API, coming in v0.3 P5),
empty in the v0.3 skeleton because the Hub is not live until P5/v0.4. This is
the P4→P5 ordering edge: `x/hub` in P5 references Anchor partner-ids from P4.

## Why Anchors matter to a Freeholder

A Freeholder engaging an Anchor gets a Partner with a verifiable credential
and a custody/compliance relationship — useful for cross-jurisdiction routes
and institutional [bonds](bonds.md). The Anchor's [Standing](standing.md) and
attestations are visible so the Freeholder can verify the Anchor is real
before opening a [Window](../nomads/window.md). See
[Partner Spectrum](partner-spectrum.md) for the other three tiers, and
[Councils & Voice](councils-voice.md) for how the Mesh Council can suspend or
revoke an Anchor.

## What v0.3 does not deliver

The v0.3 skeleton is types + tests only (D-035): the `AnchorCredential`
struct, the accessor, and the `ListAnchors()` keeper alias. Live custody
routing, attestation verification, and the Hub API integration are v0.4+
runtime work. See [Components](../reference/components.md) for the full
module map.