# Stash

A **Stash** is a Holder's personal [Storage Pool](../shared/storage-pools.md)
(REQ-014). It is the place a Nomad holds Bread, and it is the second thing a
Nomad needs after a [Reach](reach.md) to begin. The Stash is the unit of
self-service: the Holder owns it, controls it, and can delegate a scoped,
time-limited, revocable [Window](window.md) to a partner or a service
without giving up custody.

## What a Stash is

The Stash is the Holder-level layer of the three Storage Pools (Stash,
Vault, Root-Pool). It is a storage layer, not a custodial position: the
protocol holds the canonical state that records who owns what; the Holder
holds the value. There is no custodian between a Nomad and their Stash.

## How a Nomad uses a Stash

A Nomad moves Bread into a Stash through the [bearers](bearers.md) — a
Holder on a surveillance-resistant bearer can receive value without an
internet connection to OY Chain. From the Stash a Nomad can:

- **Hold** Bread (the unit of value — see [Bread scale](../shared/bread-scale.md)).
- **Pass** value to another Reach (the Hand-Pass, free at the protocol
  level inside a Guild).
- **Pay** for a service via [Maps & Pay](maps-pay.md).
- **Authorize** a [Window](window.md) so a partner or service can read the
  Stash within bounds the Holder set.

## The 90-day Freeholder signal

Holding a Stash continuously for 90 days is the first of the four
Freeholder signals (REQ-005). The Stash does not need to hold a large
amount — the signal is about continuity, not size. A Nomad who keeps a
Stash for 90 days and earns the other three signals (Standing, Capital,
Vouch) becomes a Freeholder.

## Delegation, not custody

The Stash stays the Holder's. When a Nomad opens a Window to a service,
the service gets a scoped capability (e.g., "read Stash balance for the
next hour", "spend up to N Grain on this service this week") — it does not
get custody. The Window is revocable, rate-limited, and audited. See
[Window](window.md) for the primitive.

See [Storage Pools](../shared/storage-pools.md) for the full three-pool
model, and [Bearers](bearers.md) for how value reaches a Stash over a
surveillance-resistant bearer.