A system that is built
not merely designed
v4 specifies the complete PYRAX architecture — one modular binary across four network chainspecs, with production consensus and cryptographic execution paths actively engineered and gated to mainnet by external audit.
Whitepaper downloads are temporarily paused while v4 is undergoing formal revisions. You can explore the system overview and section outline below.
Abstract
PYRAX is a from-scratch, Rust-implemented Layer-1 organized around four properties most networks bolt on but PYRAX enforces as invariants: high throughput, multi-VM execution, hybrid consensus, and verifiable AI compute. Consensus is a DAG ordered by GhostDAG, fed by a TriStream model — two proof-of-work families across four seal lanes plus proof-of-stake — and finalized by BLS-aggregated proof-of-stake BFT.
Value transfer is transparent by default with an optional Orchard-style shielded note model and recursive zk-SNARKs that need no trusted setup. The peer layer is bootstrapless, execution scales through a multi-VM L2 (EVM, WASM, Cairo) and a recursive ZK-rollup L3, and the same idle GPUs that mine Stream B power PYRAX Compute , a verifiable on-chain-settled compute market.
Five north stars
Constraints, not aspirations — the foundation crates encode them so every later layer is built against them.
DAG, not a chain
A multi-parent DAG ordered by GhostDAG — honest parallel work is included, not orphaned.
Opt-in privacy
Transactions are transparent by default for native liquidity, with optional no-trusted-setup zk-SNARK shielded pools for confidential transfers.
No boot node
Peer discovery is bootstrapless — mDNS, Kademlia, peer exchange, and a signed seed list. No project server to join.
P2P resilience
Bootstrapless peer discovery and client-driven gossip — no corporate choke point, centralized bootstrap authority, or relay monopoly.
Open & verifiable
The protocol, consensus, ZK circuits, CLI, and SDK are Apache-2.0. A chain with secret rules is not trustless.
Two editions
The technical paper is the full specification. The plain-English edition explains the same system without the mathematics — start there if PYRAX is new to you.
19 sections · full specification · downloads paused for revision
the same system, no equations · downloads paused for revision
- 01 Design Goals — Five North Stars
- 02 Architecture Overview
- 03 Performance & Scalability
- 04 Consensus: GhostDAG + TriStream + BLS PoS
- 05 Privacy: Opt-In Shielded Transfers
- 06 Execution: Multi-VM L2
- 07 L3 — Recursive ZK Rollup
- 08 Networking: Bootstrapless Discovery
- 09 Network Layer & Peer-to-Peer Mesh
- 10 State, Storage & Proofs
- 11 PYRAX Compute — Verifiable Market
- 12 Crucible — Zero-Fee Mining
- 13 NOVA — Autonomous Operations
- 14 Tokenomics
- 15 Governance & the DAO
- 16 The Four Networks
- 17 Wallet, Apps, CLI & SDK
- 18 RPC Surface
- 19 Cryptographic Primitives