📘Core Concepts & Escrow Glossary

What is escrow? Blockchain-based escrows vs. traditional solutions.

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🏦 Escrow

An arrangement in which a third party temporarily holds funds or assets on behalf of two other parties who are completing a transaction.

In traditional finance, escrow services are often offered by banks, lawyers, or specialized custodians.

In Trustless Work, escrow is managed by a smart contract — no third-party custodian needed.

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🤖 Smart Escrow

A blockchain-based escrow contract that executes programmable rules.

• Automatically releases funds based on milestone completion

• Ensures no single party can unilaterally move funds

• Fully auditable and transparent

🔗 See Understanding Smart Escrows

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🧠 Roles

Each participant in an escrow plays one or more roles:

• Milestone Marker – submits work or progress

• Approver – validates the work

• Release Signer – signs off on fund release

• Receiver – ultimately receives payment

• Platform – optionally collects fees or mediates disputes

🔗 Learn more in the Roles & Permissions Guide

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🔄 Escrow Lifecycle

A structured flow that defines how a transaction progresses:

1. Initiation – Create the contract and define rules

2. Funding – Lock funds into escrow

3. Milestone Update – Mark work as complete

4. Approval – Approver verifies the milestone

5. Release – Funds are released

6. Dispute Resolution – (Optional) arbitration if there's disagreement

🔗 Full explanation: Escrow Lifecycle

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🪙 Stablecoin

A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset, such as the US dollar.

Trustless Work supports:

• USDC on Stellar

• Testnet assets for development

🔗 Setup guide: Wallets & Testnet

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🔐 Non-Custodial

Means that no centralized party holds your funds. Only the contract and designated signers can move assets. This is core to how Trustless Work operates.

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🧾 Engagement ID

A reference field that links an escrow to an external system — like an invoice number, contract, or project.

Useful for indexing, notifications, or dispute resolution.

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⚙️ Trustline

A setting on the Stellar network that lets an account accept a specific token.

• Required for using USDC or other stablecoins

• Trustless Work escrows require that the sender and receiver both have trustlines to the asset used

🔗 How Trustlines Work

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📊 Schema

The structure of the data that defines an escrow contract.

Common fields:

• escrow_id

• engagement_id

• amount

• asset

• receiver

• approver

• release_signer

🔗 Full structure in the API Reference

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📚 More Concepts Coming Soon

We’re always expanding this section. Let us know what terms you'd like us to clarify!