This document is long, and nobody needs to read all of it. It is arranged to be read along a path rather than front to back — so this page picks the path for you before you spend time on the wrong one.

The three paths below cover most reasons anyone opens a foundational document. Pick one, finish it, then decide whether you need to go further.

If you are	Your real question	The path
Reading to understand	What is this project, and is it worth attention?	Why 9Chain exists → Positioning and boundaries → The two-branch strategy → Risks and open questions
Planning to build	What can I build here, and where will I get stuck?	Platform architecture → Sovereign chains → What a chain can hold → Compliance and safety → Networks and endpoints
Doing due diligence	Can any of this be checked?	How to read this document → The allocation table → What is engraved permanently → Governance → Legal, licence and legal entity → Check the network yourself

Diagram

flowchart TB S["Why did you open this?"] S -->|"to understand the project"| A["Path 1 · to understand four pages"] S -->|"to build on it"| B["Path 2 · to build five pages"] S -->|"to assess it"| C["Path 3 · to verify six pages"] A --> Z["All three paths end at *Risks and open questions* — where the document states its own weak points"] B --> Z C --> Z

Figure 1 — Three reading paths, one shared destination. That shared ending is deliberate: whatever brought you here, this document wants you to leave with the list of what it has NOT proved.

Two pieces of advice, and the second matters more.

One. With only ten minutes, read Summary and then jump straight to Risks and open questions. That pair gives you the most per minute spent, because one says what the project intends and the other says what it has not managed yet.

Two. Before trusting any figure here, read How to read this document. The whole document uses four labels to separate what is engraved · what is running · what is only proposed · what is left blank — and skipping those four turns every remaining page into a list of things already finished.

In short: a foundational document read front to back is almost certainly read wrongly, because what you need depends on why you came. The three paths above choose for you; the one thing no path can skip is the four labels.

→ Next: How to read this document — The four labels, and the window still open