Interaction between PEB role separation and transfer-layer attribution

Characterize the interaction between Principal–Execution–Beneficiary (PEB) role separation in composable decentralized finance protocols and transfer-layer attribution that relies on token-transfer graph connectivity, determining whether and when transfer-layer observations can reliably encode the principal–beneficiary linkage under such role separation.

Background

The paper argues that transfer-based anti-money laundering (AML) systems, which operate over token-transfer graphs, are incomplete in composable DeFi settings because economic causality can be enforced at the execution layer rather than through transfer continuity. A key structural mechanism is Principal–Execution–Beneficiary (PEB) separation, where the intent originator, transaction executor, and ultimate beneficiary are decoupled.

Within the related work on intent-centric execution (e.g., limit-order protocols), the authors note that prior studies identify the unresolved nature of linking composable role separation to attribution methods that depend on transfer-layer connectivity. This gap implies that existing tracing heuristics may fail to recover beneficiary attribution when execution and benefit realization are decoupled from observable transfer paths.