Welcome to Arch Network
This documentation is actively maintained. If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please visit our GitHub repository.
What is Arch Network?
Arch Network is a computation environment that enhances Bitcoin's capabilities by enabling complex operations on Bitcoin UTXOs through its specialized virtual machine. Unlike Layer 2 solutions, Arch Network provides a native computation layer that works directly with Bitcoin's security model.
Choose Your Path 👋
🚀 Deploy First
Get your first smart contract running on Arch Network as quickly as possible
- Download CLI and deploy a program in 15 minutes
- Use our pre-configured development environment
- Perfect for developers wanting to try Arch Network
🏗️ Run a Validator
Set up and run your own validator node on the Arch Network
- Set up Bitcoin Core and Titan
- Configure and run a validator node
- Perfect for those wanting to participate in network security
Key Features
Bitcoin-Native
Direct integration with Bitcoin through UTXO management
Computation Environment
Execute complex programs within the Arch VM
Program Development
Write programs in Rust to interact with Bitcoin UTXOs
Security
Leverages Bitcoin's proven security guarantees through multi-signature validation
Developer Tools
Complete development environment with CLI tools and explorer
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
- Node.js v19+ (installation guide)
- Rust (latest stable)
- Docker for local development
- Basic understanding of Bitcoin UTXOs
Core Architecture
How Arch Works
Arch Network consists of three main components:
- Network Layer
- Network Architecture
- Bootnode: Network discovery and peer management
- Leader Node: Transaction coordination
- Validator Nodes: Program execution
- Bitcoin Integration
- UTXO Management
- Transaction tracking
- State anchoring
- Ownership validation
- RPC Integration
- Bitcoin node communication
- Transaction submission
- Network synchronization
- Computation Layer
- Programs
- Transaction Processing
- Message validation
- State updates
- UTXO management
🛠 Reference Documentation
Technical documentation:
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