Protocols

RKP-2 and RKP-3 are in development and not available yet. RKP-1 is the protocol available today.

ROOTKey processes and protects data through a set of formally defined protocols. Each protocol defines how integrity is recorded (on-chain vs. off-chain vs. hybrid) and where it is processed (sovereignty tier). These two dimensions together determine the auditability, throughput, cost, and regulatory fit of an integration.

Protocol Naming - RKP

All ROOTKey protocols follow a standardised naming convention:

RKP-N - base protocol · RKP-N Enhanced EU - EU cloud sovereignty · RKP-N Sovereign EU - full EU sovereignty

Protocol	Architecture	Sovereignty
RKP-1	Full On-Chain	Standard (Azure/AWS + Polygon)
RKP-1 Enhanced EU	Full On-Chain	Partial EU (dedicated OVH deployment + Polygon)
RKP-1 Sovereign EU (roadmap)	Full On-Chain	Full EU (on-premise + private chain)
RKP-2	Off-Chain	Standard (Azure/AWS, no blockchain)
RKP-2 Enhanced EU	Off-Chain	Full EU cloud (dedicated OVH deployment)
RKP-2 Sovereign EU	Off-Chain	Full EU - on-premise / air-gap
RKP-3	Hybrid	Standard (Azure/AWS + Polygon)
RKP-3 Enhanced EU	Hybrid	Partial EU (dedicated OVH deployment + Polygon)
RKP-3 Sovereign EU (roadmap)	Hybrid	Full EU (on-premise + private chain)

Architecture Comparison

Capability	RKP-1	RKP-2	RKP-3
On-chain record	Full	None	Selective
Blockchain used	Polygon	None	Polygon
Third-party verifiability	Independent (Polygonscan)	Hash-based, against the ROOTKey record	Dual-path
Throughput	Lower	Highest	Balanced
Cost per operation	Higher	Lowest	Moderate
GDPR erasure compatibility	Yes (off-chain data only)	Yes	Yes
Best for	Legal / regulatory critical records	IoT / high-frequency	Enterprise mixed workloads

Sovereignty Comparison

Sovereignty level	Cloud	Blockchain	Protocols
None (Standard)	Azure / AWS	Polygon (RKP-1, RKP-3) · none (RKP-2)	RKP-1, RKP-2, RKP-3
Partial EU	Dedicated OVH deployment	Polygon	RKP-1 Enhanced EU, RKP-3 Enhanced EU
Full EU (cloud)	Dedicated OVH deployment	None	RKP-2 Enhanced EU
Full EU (roadmap)	On-premise	Private chain	RKP-1 Sovereign EU, RKP-3 Sovereign EU
Full EU - air-gap	On-premise	None	RKP-2 Sovereign EU

→ See Data Sovereignty for infrastructure details and regulatory context.

Decision Guide

Your requirement	Recommended protocol
Maximum on-chain auditability, no sovereignty requirement	RKP-1
Maximum on-chain auditability, EU cloud required	RKP-1 Enhanced EU
Full EU sovereignty on every layer	RKP-2 Sovereign EU (in development); RKP-1 Sovereign EU and RKP-3 Sovereign EU are on the roadmap
High-volume IoT / sensor data, no sovereignty requirement	RKP-2
High-volume IoT / sensor data, EU cloud required	RKP-2 Enhanced EU
High-volume data, on-premise / air-gapped	RKP-2 Sovereign EU
Mixed workloads (bulk + critical events), no sovereignty requirement	RKP-3
Mixed workloads, EU cloud required	RKP-3 Enhanced EU
Mixed workloads, full EU sovereignty	RKP-3 Sovereign EU (roadmap)
GDPR data requiring potential erasure	Any RKP-2 or RKP-3 variant

Not sure which protocol fits your architecture?

Our engineering team is available for technical briefings. We’ll assess your data classification, throughput requirements, sovereignty obligations, and regulatory framework - and recommend the right protocol configuration.

Introduction

Quickstart

Connectors

Integrations

Ecosystem Guides

RKP-1 - Full On-Chain

RKP-2 - Off-Chain

RKP-3 - Hybrid

Data Sovereignty

Data Retention

Deployment Methods

On-Premise Installation

Developer Resources

Additional Resources

Protocols

Protocol Naming - RKP

Architecture Comparison

Sovereignty Comparison

Decision Guide

Not sure which protocol fits your architecture?

​Protocol Naming - RKP

​Architecture Comparison

​Sovereignty Comparison

​Decision Guide

Not sure which protocol fits your architecture?

Protocol Naming - RKP

Architecture Comparison

Sovereignty Comparison

Decision Guide