diff --git a/evidence/user-test/2026-03-28-ponder-504-check.json b/evidence/user-test/2026-03-28-ponder-504-check.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9919f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/evidence/user-test/2026-03-28-ponder-504-check.json
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+{
+  "date": "2026-03-28",
+  "test_type": "ponder-504-persistence-check",
+  "issue_ref": "#1186",
+  "prediction_ref": "#1185",
+  "context": "Targeted re-test to determine if the ponder 504 Gateway Timeout observed on 2026-03-27 is persistent or intermittent. Fresh stack startup with cold ponder indexer. All 5 personas run sequentially.",
+  "methodology": "Fresh stack started from clean state (no prior containers). Ponder health probed at multiple stages: pre-test (8 probes), mid-test (implicit via persona runs), post-test (3 probes). Playwright headless Chromium (1280x720) with 120s test timeout, 15s slider wait timeout.",
+  "stack_startup": {
+    "anvil_ready_s": 7,
+    "postgres_ready_s": 0,
+    "bootstrap_completed_s": 45,
+    "ponder_ready_s": 27,
+    "webapp_ready_s": 180,
+    "caddy_ready_s": 5,
+    "note": "Webapp initially timed out at 120s (npm install inside container), succeeded on second health check after ~180s total"
+  },
+  "ponder_health": {
+    "at_test_start": {
+      "healthy": true,
+      "probes": [
+        {"source": "direct_42069", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 131},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 43},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 19},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 18},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 17},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 22},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 15}
+      ],
+      "all_200": true,
+      "max_latency_ms": 131,
+      "avg_latency_ms": 38
+    },
+    "at_test_end": {
+      "healthy": true,
+      "probes": [
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 33},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 16},
+        {"source": "caddy_8081", "http_code": 200, "latency_ms": 14}
+      ],
+      "all_200": true,
+      "max_latency_ms": 33,
+      "avg_latency_ms": 21
+    },
+    "504_errors_observed": 0,
+    "conclusion": "Ponder GraphQL API is healthy and responsive throughout the entire test run. No 504 errors observed at any point. The 504 from 2026-03-27 is NOT reproducible on fresh stack start."
+  },
+  "stake_page": {
+    "html_loads": true,
+    "html_load_ms": 35,
+    "slider_renders": false,
+    "slider_timeout_s": 15,
+    "browser_error": "Failed to fetch protocol stats: SyntaxError: Unexpected token '<', \"<!--\\n *  C\"... is not valid JSON",
+    "root_cause": "The webapp stake page fetches protocol stats from a URL that returns SPA HTML fallback instead of JSON. This is a webapp routing/fetch issue, NOT a ponder 504. Ponder itself responds correctly to direct GraphQL queries."
+  },
+  "personas": [
+    {
+      "name": "alex",
+      "display": "Alex Rivera",
+      "funnel": "passive-holder",
+      "wallet_connected": true,
+      "buy_krk": true,
+      "staking_attempted": true,
+      "staking_completed": false,
+      "stake_failure_reason": "Slider not visible within 15s (webapp fetch error, NOT ponder 504)",
+      "test_passed": true
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "marcus",
+      "display": "Marcus 'Flash' Chen",
+      "funnel": "staker",
+      "wallet_connected": true,
+      "buy_krk": true,
+      "staking_attempted": true,
+      "staking_completed": false,
+      "stake_failure_reason": "Slider not visible within 15s (webapp fetch error, NOT ponder 504)",
+      "test_passed": true
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "priya",
+      "display": "Dr. Priya Malhotra",
+      "funnel": "staker",
+      "wallet_connected": true,
+      "buy_krk": true,
+      "staking_attempted": true,
+      "staking_completed": false,
+      "stake_failure_reason": "Slider not visible within 15s (webapp fetch error, NOT ponder 504)",
+      "test_passed": true
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "sarah",
+      "display": "Sarah Park",
+      "funnel": "passive-holder",
+      "wallet_connected": true,
+      "buy_krk": true,
+      "staking_attempted": true,
+      "staking_completed": false,
+      "stake_failure_reason": "Slider not visible within 15s (webapp fetch error, NOT ponder 504)",
+      "test_passed": true
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "tyler",
+      "display": "Tyler 'Bags' Morrison",
+      "funnel": "passive-holder",
+      "wallet_connected": true,
+      "buy_krk": true,
+      "staking_attempted": true,
+      "staking_completed": false,
+      "stake_failure_reason": "Slider not visible within 15s (webapp fetch error, NOT ponder 504)",
+      "test_passed": true
+    }
+  ],
+  "summary": {
+    "personas_total": 5,
+    "personas_completed": 5,
+    "wallet_connections_succeeded": 5,
+    "buy_krk_succeeded": 5,
+    "staking_completed": 0,
+    "staking_attempted": 5,
+    "test_duration_s": 288
+  },
+  "comparison_with_previous": {
+    "previous_date": "2026-03-27",
+    "previous_evidence": "2026-03-27-post-stake-fix.json",
+    "previous_504_errors": "multiple (all personas that reached /stake)",
+    "current_504_errors": 0,
+    "previous_staking_completed": 0,
+    "current_staking_completed": 0,
+    "previous_buy_krk_failures": 4,
+    "current_buy_krk_failures": 0,
+    "improvements": [
+      "No 504 Gateway Timeout errors (ponder healthy throughout)",
+      "All 5 personas successfully bought KRK (chain snapshot/revert issues from 2026-03-27 not reproduced)",
+      "All 5 test specs passed (previously 2 crashed)"
+    ],
+    "remaining_blocker": "Stake form slider does not render. Root cause shifted from ponder 504 to webapp protocol-stats fetch returning HTML instead of JSON."
+  },
+  "verdict": "ponder_504_not_persistent",
+  "verdict_detail": "The ponder 504 Gateway Timeout from 2026-03-27 is NOT persistent. On fresh stack start, ponder responds in <50ms with 200 OK consistently. The staking form still does not render, but the root cause is now identified as a webapp fetch issue (protocol stats endpoint returns SPA HTML fallback), not a ponder backend error. 0/5 personas completed staking. The chain snapshot/revert issues from 2026-03-27 were also not reproduced.",
+  "raw_reports": {
+    "alex": "tmp/usertest-results/alex-rivera.json",
+    "marcus": "tmp/usertest-results/marcus-flash-chen.json",
+    "priya": "tmp/usertest-results/dr-priya-malhotra.json",
+    "sarah": "tmp/usertest-results/sarah-park.json",
+    "tyler": "tmp/usertest-results/tyler-bags-morrison.json"
+  }
+}