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Verified on Base

This article has not changed since Vitahash recorded it on the Base blockchain. Everything below can be checked without taking our word for any of it.

Global Debt Hit $353 Trillion. But Who Do We Owe?

financeguy · 19 Aug 2026

Stamp ID
STAMP-2026-0819-FSXGNE62
Content hash
11b04362a0ec33fd3471a9a2f7c09253d862df99be399287265c9814fd1306b1
Day recorded
2026-08-20
Articles recorded that day
4
Attestation UID
0x3349a39cfa5d861606a414a4e161b5d48e6bc714c185ada30743f56baae1ab9b
View on EAS
Transaction
0x1ff8046c603d81b47a05ce05819a0e59d8fafe0687ab4c563993b51db427b1c8
View on Basescan
Stamped
20 Aug 2026

Recorded on Base Sepolia using canonicalization v1 and record format v1.

How this article reaches the blockchain

It was combined with the other 3 articles published that day, one step at a time, until the whole day became a single value. That one value is what Vitahash wrote to the blockchain. Change a single character of this article and the starting value below changes, so none of the steps would land on the recorded one.

Starting value for this article
0x29cfaff1f73a85764a17cc3fe3230e2422e2800573025bba4ae97b378e24ddfd

Built from this article's content hash and its stamp ID, as sha256(0x00 || sha256(utf8(stampId)) || contentHash).

  1. Step 1, combined with the value after it
    0xd0bd22db32528253585474c2f8a3e0d1bec0e00f7a4be0315c89e0f65e18d11e
    0x7afc65c6eaada19091e52847da54e5349552bcbf2714ba7d7a1a0714b331573d
  2. Step 2, combined with the value before it
    0xe3918c6a41a076dfc59c175e1edd079942f6f8c7958eaff3df2e3285a0b29495
    0xc79dbdee7f478ee5dd71018a7a7012ef1399687ffdb0a78818e0dcf91ed50760

    This is the value for the whole day.

Value these steps arrive at
0xc79dbdee7f478ee5dd71018a7a7012ef1399687ffdb0a78818e0dcf91ed50760

What the blockchain says

Two values, reached two different ways. The one above was worked out from this article. The one below was read back from the record on Base.

Worked out from this article
0xc79dbdee7f478ee5dd71018a7a7012ef1399687ffdb0a78818e0dcf91ed50760
Read from Base
0xc79dbdee7f478ee5dd71018a7a7012ef1399687ffdb0a78818e0dcf91ed50760
Read it yourself on EAS

They are the same value, so this article was published that day with exactly the text above.

Check it yourself

Every number on this page came from Vitahash. Copy the article's exact text below and check it against the hash above, using any SHA-256 tool.

{"abstract":null,"authors":[{"identity":"financeguy","position":1,"role":"solo","weight":1.0000}],"body":{"content":[{"content":[{"text":"Here’s the problem with our current money system: global debt has just hit a record $353 trillion. But…

Copy this text, paste it into any SHA-256 tool, and compare the result with the hash shown above. If the two match, this is exactly what Vitahash recorded.

For a technical reader: the terminal route

  1. 1. Hash the article yourself

    This downloads the exact text Vitahash hashed, in the exact form it hashed it, and hashes it again on your machine. Nothing Vitahash wrote runs here.

    curl -s "https://api.vitahash.org/api/verify/STAMP-2026-0819-FSXGNE62/canonical" | shasum -a 256

    Should print 11b04362a0ec33fd3471a9a2f7c09253d862df99be399287265c9814fd1306b1

  2. 2. Build this article's starting value

    The stamp ID is folded in with the hash, so one article's record can never stand in for another's.

    STAMP=STAMP-2026-0819-FSXGNE62 CONTENT=11b04362a0ec33fd3471a9a2f7c09253d862df99be399287265c9814fd1306b1 DIGEST=$(printf '%s' "$STAMP" | shasum -a 256 | cut -d' ' -f1) printf '00%s%s' "$DIGEST" "$CONTENT" | xxd -r -p | shasum -a 256

    Should print 29cfaff1f73a85764a17cc3fe3230e2422e2800573025bba4ae97b378e24ddfd

  3. 3. Combine step 1

    The value you have goes first, then the published value.

    printf '01%s%s' "29cfaff1f73a85764a17cc3fe3230e2422e2800573025bba4ae97b378e24ddfd" "d0bd22db32528253585474c2f8a3e0d1bec0e00f7a4be0315c89e0f65e18d11e" | xxd -r -p | shasum -a 256

    Should print 7afc65c6eaada19091e52847da54e5349552bcbf2714ba7d7a1a0714b331573d

  4. 4. Combine step 2

    The published value goes first, then the value you have.

    printf '01%s%s' "e3918c6a41a076dfc59c175e1edd079942f6f8c7958eaff3df2e3285a0b29495" "7afc65c6eaada19091e52847da54e5349552bcbf2714ba7d7a1a0714b331573d" | xxd -r -p | shasum -a 256

    Should print c79dbdee7f478ee5dd71018a7a7012ef1399687ffdb0a78818e0dcf91ed50760

  5. 5. Compare with the blockchain

    The last value above is what the whole day came to. Read the record on Base and check its merkleRoot field is the same. Vitahash is not involved in this step at all.

    https://base-sepolia.easscan.org/attestation/view/0x3349a39cfa5d861606a414a4e161b5d48e6bc714c185ada30743f56baae1ab9b

The rules these commands follow are written down in full, so anyone can reimplement them.

Read the specification