What is SUAVE?
SUAVE - Single Unifying Auction for Value Expression - is a platform for building MEV applications such as OFAs and block builders in a decentralized and private way.
SUAVE is designed as an open marketplace for MEV applications which we call "SUAPPs". SUAPPs are composed of smart contracts deployed on SUAVE, which can do one (or more) of the following:
Compute on confidential data, e.g., auctions, block building
Compute that requires too much gas to do on-chain
Coordinate within block times, e.g., block building, trade routing and filling
Access relevant off-chain data, e.g., trading strategies conditional on centralized exchange prices or transactions that are conditional on other transactions
Help create, attest to, or process commitments of various kinds, e.g., shared sequencers for rollups, new kinds of DEXes and bridges
What SUAVE is not
SUAVE does not replace other blockchains: it is intended to aggregate and coordinate all the things that ultimately change the state of other chains.
SUAVE is not a Layer 2 in the sense that it does not post state roots to Ethereum or otherwise depend upon Ethereum for its security.
What is different about SUAVE
Architecture
SUAVE is a fork of Geth, with additional precompiles for MEV applications (SUAPPs) and a modified runtime to enable confidential computation (the MEVM).
We call the primary protocol actor a Kettle. A Kettle contains a modified version of a Geth node (the "MEVM") and a confidential data store.
A Kettle can compute over confidential data sent to it, add that data to its local store, and only emit specific information, or "hints", on the SUAVE Chain.
SUAVE has public and private state.
Public state is accessible on the SUAVE Chain, which currently runs Clique POA Consensus (for fast iteration, to be changed in future releases).
To access private state, we use "Confidential Compute Requests".
Contracts and Transactions
A SUAPP is a smart contract deployed on SUAVE, just as a Dapp is a smart contract deployed on Ethereum. Deploying contracts is largely the same as any EVM chain.
Transactions are different, because they can contain data encrypted for specific actors (i.e. Kettles and/or other contracts). These are the "Confidential Compute Requests".
Confidential Compute Requests are handled via a modified RPC in each Kettle. They allow you to control how much data ends up back on-chain.
Why SUAVE matters
To understand the context which has inspired SUAVE, we recommend these resources: