Provided herein are exemplary systems and methods for creating a secure self-validating network of blockchain/distributed ledger participants. Some exemplary mechanisms support self-validation, mutual-validation, external-validation and privacy controls. Such mechanisms enable the deployment and continued operation of large scale blockchain and distributed ledger systems with a self-certifying security system. They create the ability for rules to be codified to control the rights, privileges and access of nodes depending on their self-certification and external-certification. Also provided is an audit trail of these certifications which can be used for liability claims, insurance, security analytics and forensics.