Substrate Ecosystem

Splendor V3 (Tokio) is built on Substrate, a powerful blockchain development framework created by Parity Technologies. This page explores the benefits of Substrate for our ecosystem and how it enables Splendor to provide superior blockchain infrastructure.

What is Substrate?

Substrate is a modular framework for building blockchains, allowing developers to create customized blockchains tailored to specific use cases. It’s the foundation for the Polkadot ecosystem but can be used to create independent chains like Splendor.

Technical Implementation

Splendor combines two main technology stacks:

1. Substrate Framework: Provides the core blockchain infrastructure with features like runtime upgrades, flexible consensus, and custom module development.

2. Frontier: Adds the Ethereum compatibility layer that enables full EVM support, Ethereum RPC compatibility, and seamless integration with existing Ethereum tools and dApps.

Our implementation includes the following key components:

Core Pallets

Splendor utilizes these essential Substrate pallets:

• pallet_ethereum: Provides Ethereum block emulation and transaction validation
• pallet_evm: The core EVM execution environment for smart contracts
• pallet_evm_chain_id: Manages the chain ID for Ethereum compatibility
• pallet_base_fee: Implements EIP-1559 style fee calculation
• pallet_rewards: Custom pallet for distributing blockchain rewards
• pallet_balances: Account balance management
• pallet_timestamp: On-chain time tracking
• pallet_aura: Slot-based consensus mechanism for block production
• pallet_grandpa: Finality gadget for deterministic block finality
• pallet_transaction_payment: Transaction fee management

Key Benefits of Substrate for Splendor

1. Modularity and Flexibility

Substrate’s modular architecture allows Splendor to select and customize specific components:

This modularity enables Splendor to:

• Implement the Aura consensus mechanism with GRANDPA finality
• Integrate EVM compatibility through Frontier
• Develop custom features like our reward system
• Update individual components without affecting the entire blockchain

2. Seamless Upgrades

Substrate’s forkless upgrade mechanism allows Splendor to implement upgrades without disrupting the network:

• Runtime upgrades are deployed through on-chain governance
• No need for complicated hard forks
• Seamless transition to new features and improvements
• Reduced risk of chain splits

3. Enhanced Security

Substrate provides a robust security foundation:

• Written in Rust, offering memory safety and thread safety
• Formal verification capabilities
• WebAssembly (Wasm) compilation for runtime predictability
• Independent security audits of core components

4. Cross-Chain Compatibility

While Splendor operates as an independent L1 blockchain, Substrate provides options for future cross-chain integration:

• Potential for interoperability with Polkadot and other Substrate chains
• Support for cross-chain message passing protocols
• Ability to use bridges for connections to other ecosystems

5. Advanced Governance

Substrate’s governance framework enables Splendor to implement:

• On-chain governance for protocol upgrades
• Treasury management for project funding
• Vote delegation mechanisms
• Phragmén election methods for validator selection

The Runtime Architecture

The Substrate runtime is the heart of Splendor’s blockchain logic:

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Splendor Runtime                          │
├───────────┬───────────┬──────────────┬───────────┬────────────┤
│  Balance  │    EVM    │  Consensus   │  Rewards  │  Substrate │
│   Pallet  │   Pallet  │    Pallet    │   Pallet  │   Pallets  │
├───────────┴───────────┴──────────────┴───────────┴────────────┤
│                       Substrate Core                           │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Account System

Splendor supports two account mapping strategies for maximum flexibility:

1. H256 → H160 mapping: Uses truncated hash scheme where the first 160 LE bytes of a Substrate H256 address are used to form the Ethereum H160 address. Supports multiple signature types.

2. Native H160 via AccountId20: Uses AccountId20 as the native account format, with full ECDSA signature compatibility for seamless Ethereum integration.

EVM Compatibility

Splendor uses Substrate’s Frontier component to achieve full Ethereum compatibility:

• Complete support for Ethereum RPC methods
• Seamless deployment of Solidity smart contracts
• Compatibility with existing Ethereum tools and libraries
• Minimal modifications required for migrating Ethereum dApps

Precompiled Contracts

Splendor includes these precompiled contracts for enhanced functionality:

1. ECRecover (0x01): Recovers the public key from a signed message hash
2. Sha256 (0x02): SHA-256 hash function
3. Ripemd160 (0x03): RIPEMD-160 hash function
4. Identity (0x04): Data copy operation
5. Modexp (0x05): Modular exponentiation
6. Sha3FIPS256 (0x400): FIPS-compliant SHA-3 implementation
7. ECRecoverPublicKey (0x401): Extended ECRecover that returns the full public key

Consensus Mechanism

Splendor employs a hybrid consensus approach:

• Aura (Authority Round): For block production, where validators take turns producing blocks in a round-robin fashion with 2-second block times.
• GRANDPA: For block finality, providing deterministic finality with lower communication overhead, typically within 6 seconds.

This separation of block production from finality allows Splendor to maintain fast block times while ensuring transaction finality.

Technical Specifications

• Block Time: 2 seconds
• Token Decimals: 18
• Token Symbol: SPL
• SS58 Prefix: 111 (for Substrate address format)
• EVM Chain ID: 232 (Mainnet), 231 (Testnet)
• Block Gas Limit: 75,000,000 gas units

Transaction Types

Splendor supports two types of transactions for maximum flexibility:

1. Substrate Transactions: Use Substrate’s extrinsic format, capable of interacting with any pallets in the runtime.

2. Ethereum Transactions: Standard Ethereum transactions that work with existing Ethereum tooling and dApps.

Reward System

The blockchain features a custom reward system implemented through a dedicated rewards pallet:

• Validators receive rewards for block production
• Fixed distribution model ensures predictable token issuance
• Tiered staking system for validators with different staking requirements
• Reward distribution parameters configurable through governance

Comparison with Other Blockchains

Development Resources

If you’re interested in the underlying Substrate architecture of Splendor:

• Substrate Documentation 
• Substrate GitHub Repository 
• Frontier Documentation 

However, most developers will interact with Splendor through our Ethereum-compatible interfaces, making knowledge of Substrate internals optional.