Function activate_with_base 

pub(crate) async fn activate_with_base(
    path: &Path,
    client: &Client,
    ls_base: &str,
    manual_verifier: Option<&VerifyingKey>,
    key: &str,
    instance_name: &str,
    now: DateTime<Utc>,
) -> Result<SupporterRecord, String>

Override manual_verifier to bypass the embedded production public key (e.g. tests that mint a token with a freshly generated keypair). Production always passes None.