Architecture
Overview
A fast exchange with the receipts to prove it.
Lambdachain is a zero-knowledge rollup: an exchange whose state lives off-chain for speed, but whose every state change is proven correct and settled on a chain — STRATO — that verifies the proofs.
The pieces
| Role | |
|---|---|
| Sequencer | Accepts signed orders, runs the order book and risk engine, and publishes blocks of transactions. |
| Blocks | Batches of transactions with their data, committed to STRATO every few seconds. |
| Provers | Independent machines that read committed blocks and produce a zero-knowledge proof that each one followed the rules. Anyone can run one. |
| Settlement contract | On STRATO. Verifies proofs, finalises balances, holds the forced-inclusion queue and the exit. |
| Bridge vaults | On Ethereum today — Base and Linea are planned. Escrow the USDC that backs USDλ. |
| Light client | On STRATO. Lets the settlement chain verify deposits on the source chains. |
What the design guarantees
- Fills are honest. Matching happens in the sequencer, but the proof of every block attests that fills were at best-of-book, that cancelled orders were not filled, and that nothing was reordered.
- Custody is yours. Balances belong to accounts controlled by your keys; USDC sits in vaults that release only against proofs.
- There is always a way out. A forced-inclusion queue means the sequencer cannot ignore you, and a forced exit means you can withdraw even if it disappears.
- Nothing is private to the operator. Provers read only what is on the chain. There is no channel from the sequencer to a prover, which is why anyone can run one.
Read these in order, or jump to the piece you're curious about.