Technical Architecture

SatsChain leverages an innovative technical architecture designed to integrate Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible smart contracts directly into the Bitcoin blockchain. This integration is facilitated by a custom transaction format that incorporates RLP-encoded data within Bitcoin's OP_RETURN outputs, ensuring both immutability and functionality. At the heart of this architecture lies a distributed network of smart indexers, which play a critical role in managing and executing these smart contracts by maintaining state consistency across the network. The use of Robust Threshold Cryptography ensures that all operations are secure and decentralised, maintaining the integrity and resilience characteristic of Bitcoin. Below, we present a high-level architectural diagram that illustrates the flow of transaction processing in SatsChain, highlighting the seamless interaction between Bitcoin's foundational elements and advanced smart contract capabilities.

High Level Architecture Diagram

SatsChain implements the EVM execution layer which is compatible with BTC infrastructure with the help of COMPASS. Compass utilises address conversion, rainbow table and other components to make the interoperability between BTC and EVM possible. This facilitatesthe encoding of RLP encoded and signed EVM transactions directly onto Bitcoin's satoshis, harnessing the inscriptions feature to allocate distinct identities and functionalities to each satoshi. Consequently, these satoshis serve as dual-purpose entities, facilitating both value transfer and the execution of programmable logic.

Detailed Architecture

SatsNuclei Engine

The Nuclei Engine is the cornerstone of the SatsChain's operational framework, providing the computational infrastructure necessary for executing and managing smart contracts on the network. This engine is a highly optimised enterprise-grade blockchain execution environment, tailored specifically to meet the unique requirements of the SatsChain platform.

Architecture and Workflow

The Nuclei Engine integrates several key components designed to enhance transaction processing efficiency and ensure robust network security:

● Execution Core: At the heart of the Nuclei Engine is its execution core, which processes all smart contract transactions. Utilising a bespoke virtual machine, this core executes bytecode compiled from smart contracts written in high-level languages compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) specifications.

● State Management: The engine maintains a comprehensive state of each contract, including account balances, storage, and changes over time. This state management is crucial for ensuring that all transitions within the blockchain are consistent and reversible if needed, providing a reliable execution platform.

● Consensus Mechanism: Leveraging a modified version of the Clique PoA consensus algorithm, the Nuclei Engine ensures that all transactions and blocks are validated accurately, maintaining the integrity and security of the blockchain.

● Synchronisation Layer: This component ensures that the blockchain remains up-to-date across all nodes in the network, facilitating a seamless and synchronised network operation. It handles the propagation of blocks and transactions across the network, ensuring that each node has an identical copy of the ledger. 4.1.6 SRP Engine (Sats Reverse Processor)