# 3. Core Design Principles

RouterLink is designed as infrastructure, not a product feature. These principles define what RouterLink must preserve as the network scales:

|            Principle           |                                         Description                                         |
| :----------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: |
|   **Open Routing by Default**  | Any compliant service can be routed to; routing decisions are determined by observable data |
|   **No New Consensus Layer**   |          Operates as a smart-contract protocol on existing EVM-compatible networks          |
|  **Node = Router + Validator** |               Routing and validation are coupled; action equals accountability              |
|  **Verifiability Over Trust**  |          Usage, performance, and settlement derived from protocol-generated proofs          |
| **Practical Decentralization** |   Staged approach prioritizing usability while progressively minimizing trust assumptions   |


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