The Shovel Scanner Engine

The structural position — Miner, Shovel, Gatekeeper, Hybrid, or Unclear — with the highest weighted score given your signal inputs. It reflects which behavioral pattern dominates, not which is morally superior or commercially superior. A Miner can outperform a Shovel. Classification describes structural position, not performance.

The market layer where the actor primarily operates: Extraction Layer (Miner), Infrastructure Layer (Shovel), or Control Layer (Gatekeeper). The layer describes where structural value originates — from competing for outcomes, from enabling the competition, or from defining the rules of the competition.

The layer with the second-highest structural score. A strong Secondary Layer suggests the actor has meaningful exposure to more than one position. When the secondary layer score is close to the primary, treat the actor as structurally complex and consider both layers in your analysis rather than defaulting to the primary label alone.

The Miner, Shovel, and Gatekeeper scores are weighted composites of your signal inputs. They are not percentages of a correct answer — they are relative structural alignment scores. A Shovel score of 74/100 does not mean 74% infrastructure. It means that the weighted structural signals align more strongly with Shovel behavior than with the alternatives, by the margin shown.

Confidence reflects how clearly one classification separates from the others. High — primary leads by a clear margin with strong signals. Moderate — primary leads but another is meaningfully close. Mixed — two classifications are very close; the case reads as structurally hybrid or ambiguous. Low — signals are too weak or contradictory to classify confidently.

In your result, a high Infrastructure Density score means the actor sits deep inside the operational fabric of the market — compute, capital flows, identity systems, or distribution rails. Low density means the actor operates at the application layer, where substitution is easier and structural depth is shallower. Compare this with Dependency Breadth to distinguish between deep-but-narrow and broad-but-shallow infrastructure positions.

In your result, Control-Layer Strength measures how much the actor's value comes from defining access rules rather than delivering services. A high score means the actor can extract value through permission structures, not just through utility delivery. This correlates with Gatekeeper classification. High control-layer strength in an otherwise Shovel-classified actor suggests a Hybrid dynamic worth examining closely.

In your result, Dependency Breadth reflects how many participants are structurally reliant on this actor. A narrow score means the actor may be deeply integrated with a few customers but lacks the market-wide dependency that characterises durable shovel positions. Wide dependency is a signal that the actor's value is distributed across the market wave, not concentrated in one relationship or use case.

In your result, Switching Cost reflects the direct operational cost of leaving this actor behind. High switching cost means participants are embedded through workflows, contracts, data formats, or integrations that make exit genuinely disruptive. Low switching cost means competitive substitution is easy — which erodes pricing power and dependency durability regardless of current market position.

In your result, Replacement Difficulty measures whether credible alternatives exist. This is distinct from Switching Cost: an actor can be hard to switch from without being irreplaceable. A high score means the market has few viable substitutes in a near-term operational window. When Replacement Difficulty is high but Switching Cost is low, the structural position is more fragile than it appears.

In your result, Speculation Exposure measures how much of the actor's value depends on winning a specific visible outcome rather than on operational necessity. High exposure means the actor's position weakens if the dominant narrative shifts or if the expected market winner changes. This is the defining characteristic of the extraction layer — and the primary structural risk of Miner-classified positions.

In your result, Durability Signal reflects how self-reinforcing the structural position is over time. A high score means switching costs, growing dependency, and compounding integrations are working together to deepen the actor's position — not just sustain it. Low durability signal means the position depends on present conditions continuing, which is a fragility indicator even for actors with strong current market narratives.