Welcome to Basalt
Basalt is a compliance-native Layer 1 blockchain built on .NET 9 with Native AOT compilation. It combines regulatory-grade compliance infrastructure -- identity registries, KYC/AML enforcement, sanctions screening, ZK privacy proofs -- with the performance and developer ergonomics of modern .NET. Smart contracts are written in C# and validated at compile time by Roslyn analyzers, confidential transactions use Pedersen commitments with Groth16 zero-knowledge proofs, and the protocol ships with a built-in DEX (Caldera Fusion) supporting batch auctions, concentrated liquidity, and encrypted order intents.
At a Glance
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Block Time | 2 seconds |
| Finality | 4 seconds (deterministic, no probabilistic confirmation) |
| Token Standards | 7 -- BST-20, BST-721, BST-1155, BST-3525, BST-4626, DID, VC |
| System Contracts | 8 -- WBSLT, BNS, Governance, Escrow, StakingPool, SchemaRegistry, IssuerRegistry, BridgeETH |
| Roslyn Analyzers | 12 compile-time diagnostics for contract safety |
| Test Suite | 4,000+ tests across 16 test projects |
| Solution Size | 30 projects, .NET 9 Native AOT |
Cryptography
Basalt uses a layered cryptographic stack, each primitive chosen for its specific role in the protocol:
- BLAKE3 -- Primary hash function for blocks, Merkle trees, and transaction integrity. Hardware-friendly with best-in-class throughput.
- Ed25519 -- Transaction and message signing via libsodium. Fast signature generation and verification.
- BLS12-381 -- Aggregate signature scheme for consensus. Multiple validator signatures are compressed into a single compact attestation.
- Keccak-256 -- EVM-compatible address derivation from public keys. Uses a software implementation for cross-platform compatibility (macOS lacks hardware SHA3-256 support).
- Pedersen Commitments -- Homomorphic commitments enabling confidential transaction amounts that can be verified without revealing values.
- Groth16 ZK Proofs -- Zero-knowledge proof system for privacy-preserving compliance verification. Prove regulatory adherence without exposing underlying data.
Core Capabilities
C# Smart Contracts. Write contracts in idiomatic C# with full IDE support. Twelve Roslyn analyzers catch reentrancy, unbounded loops, unsafe state mutations, and policy hook violations at compile time -- before code ever reaches the chain.
ZK Compliance. Prove that a transaction satisfies regulatory requirements (identity verification, sanctions clearance, jurisdictional rules) without revealing the underlying personal data. Built on Groth16 proofs with sparse Merkle tree commitments and nullifier-based anti-correlation.
Confidential Transactions. Transaction amounts are shielded using Pedersen commitments. Validators verify balance conservation and range proofs without seeing the actual values.
Caldera Fusion DEX. A protocol-native decentralized exchange with batch auction matching, order book support, TWAP oracle, dynamic fees, concentrated liquidity positions, encrypted order intents, and a solver network. No external AMM contracts required.
EVM Bridge. Lock-and-unlock bridge between Basalt and EVM-compatible chains, secured by M-of-N Ed25519 multisig relayers with Merkle proof verification.
Quick Links
- Installation -- Set up your development environment and build Basalt from source.
- Quickstart -- Run a local node or spin up a 4-validator devnet in minutes.
- Architecture -- Understand the 30-project layered design and dependency graph.
- Smart Contracts -- Write, test, and deploy C# smart contracts with compile-time safety.
- API Reference -- REST, gRPC, GraphQL, and WebSocket API documentation.
- Node Operations -- Configure validators, RPC nodes, monitoring, and production deployments.