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    "description": "Kaspa covenants explained through constrained spends, UTXO state, vaults, escrow, assets, assurance contracts, and Toccata status boundaries.",
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    <section class="sources-hero section">
      <p class="eyebrow">Builder intake</p>
      <h1>Kaspa covenants explained</h1>
      <p class="lead">Kaspa covenants are spending rules that can restrict how a coin or UTXO is spent next. In product terms, they can make a budget, vault, asset, escrow, or commitment follow visible rules.</p>
      <p class="fit-note"><strong>Status:</strong> payments are live today. New app-layer rules require Toccata activation and wallet or tooling support.</p>
    </section>

    <section class="section">
      <h2>How covenants work</h2>
      <p>A normal wallet signature says who is allowed to spend. A covenant-style rule can also inspect the spending transaction and require the next output to preserve a rule, route funds, limit value, or carry state forward.</p>
      <p>That turns some app logic into a money rule users can inspect. It does not remove wallet UX, audits, liquidity, legal risk, or oracle design.</p>
    </section>

    <section class="section">
      <h2>Why covenant IDs matter</h2>
      <p>A covenant can enforce how one protected UTXO moves next. A covenant ID adds lineage: consensus can mark that a UTXO belongs to the authorized covenant family rather than a fake state with similar-looking rules.</p>
      <div class="table-wrap">
        <table class="reality-table">
          <thead><tr><th>Piece</th><th>Plain job</th><th>Why it matters</th></tr></thead>
          <tbody>
            <tr><td>Normal script</td><td>Checks whether this spend is allowed.</td><td>Good for ownership and ordinary payment rules.</td></tr>
            <tr><td>Covenant</td><td>Checks whether the next output preserves a rule.</td><td>Applies to vaults, escrow paths, controlled assets, and state transitions.</td></tr>
            <tr><td>Covenant ID</td><td>Tracks a covenant family across valid continuations.</td><td>Makes covenant membership harder to fake and easier to index.</td></tr>
          </tbody>
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      <p class="source-inline">For the broader upgrade frame, read <a href="/toccata-explained">Toccata Explained</a>. Primary reference: <a href="https://github.com/kaspanet/kips/blob/master/kip-0020.md">KIP-20 covenant IDs</a>.</p>
    </section>

    <section class="section">
      <h2>Examples</h2>
      <div class="reference-grid">
        <article><h3>Budget that cannot drain at once</h3><p>A treasury output can require each next spend to leave enough value or respect a cap.</p></article>
        <article><h3>Withdrawal with recovery</h3><p>A vault can route normal withdrawal and emergency recovery through different paths.</p></article>
        <article><h3>Asset with controller</h3><p>A ticket or pass can require an issuer or controller input before transfer or redemption.</p></article>
        <article><h3>Commitment with refund</h3><p>A funding rule can release only after a threshold, then refund if the threshold is missed.</p></article>
      </div>
    </section>

    <section class="section">
      <h2>Covenant evidence checklist</h2>
      <ol class="learning-steps">
        <li><strong>User need.</strong> <span>Say what the user does before naming the opcode or compiler.</span></li>
        <li><strong>Accepted path.</strong> <span>Show the accepted transaction or test artifact.</span></li>
        <li><strong>Rejected path.</strong> <span>Show what fails when the rule is violated.</span></li>
        <li><strong>Status label.</strong> <span>Say live, testnet, targeted, roadmap, or research.</span></li>
        <li><strong>Missing product work.</strong> <span>Name wallet signing, audits, indexing, support, liquidity, and custody gaps.</span></li>
      </ol>
    </section>

    <section class="next-step section">
      <h2>Use covenants for bounded rules</h2>
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