Quantum-Safe Before Q-Day
The first EVM-compatible blockchain with native post-quantum cryptography. Secured before quantum computers break the internet — no migration, no compromise.
Built for the Post-Quantum Era
Every layer — cryptography, consensus, execution, and tooling — is designed with quantum resistance as a first-class requirement.
Post-Quantum Signatures
ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204) as default, SPHINCS+ as conservative fallback. NIST Level 3 standard — quantum-resistant before Q-Day arrives.
Learn moreEVM Compatible
Cancun-spec EVM. Run your Solidity contracts with Hardhat, ethers.js, and MetaMask — zero migration cost.
Learn moreNative Account Abstraction
Protocol-level smart accounts with 3-layer validation, pq1... Bech32m addresses, key rotation without address changes, and custom validator hooks — no ERC-4337 bundler needed.
Learn morePQ Precompiles
On-chain Dilithium/SPHINCS+ verification, Kyber decapsulation, and STARK proof verification as native precompiles.
Learn morewPoA Consensus
PoA with stake-weighted proposer selection, ML-DSA-65 validator signing, lifecycle management, and SlashingEngine for double-sign and offline detection.
Learn moreFull JSON-RPC
Complete Ethereum-compatible API (eth_*, web3_*, net_*, debug_*) plus Shell-specific endpoints for node and network stats.
Learn moreProtocol-Native Smart Accounts
Three validation layers, key rotation, and custom validators — built into the base protocol without ERC-4337.
Three-Layer Validation Flow
First-Use Validation
Derive address from (version, algo_id, pubkey) via BLAKE3 and verify PQ signature — account created on first transaction.
Default PQ Validation
Existing accounts verify pubkey_hash + PQ signature. Key rotation changes the key but keeps the same address.
Custom Validator
Delegate validation to account-specific EVM logic — multisig, social recovery, time locks, or any custom policy.
No Bundler Required
Validation is part of the base protocol — no ERC-4337 EntryPoint or separate alt-mempool.
pq1... Addresses
Bech32m encoding with PQ HRP — visually distinct from Ethereum, binds to the signing algorithm.
Key Rotation
Rotate keypair or switch PQ algorithm — your on-chain address and identity stay the same.
Custom Validators
Multisig, social recovery, time locks — deploy your own validation logic as an EVM contract.
Shell AA vs ERC-4337
| Dimension | Shell Chain ✦ | ERC-4337 |
|---|---|---|
| Validation Location | Protocol-level | EntryPoint contract |
| Bundler Required | No | Yes |
| Separate Alt-Mempool | No | Usually yes |
| Default Validator | Built into the chain | Wallet contract-defined |
| Address Format | pq1... (Bech32m) | 0x... (hex) |
Validation Location
Bundler Required
Separate Alt-Mempool
Default Validator
Address Format
Built for Scale
Benchmarked against real workloads. Post-quantum crypto without performance compromise.
Consistent 2-second block intervals
Per-block gas matching Ethereum mainnet
Sub-2-second finality with wPoA consensus
Peak simple-transfer TPS at 30M gas/block
TPS by Transaction Type(30M gas · 2s block · parallel EVM)
Based on 30M gas/block · 2s block time · Parallel EVM · STARK sig-aggregation (v0.15.0) · CPU overhead < 15ms per block
Benchmark Results
Alpha Test · v0.15.0Cryptography
Dilithium3 (ML-DSA)Transaction Processing
shell-coreStorage & State
shell-storageSTARK Sig-Aggregation
shell-stark-proverBenchmarked with Criterion.rs on Apple Silicon · Single-core results
Shrink the Chain, Not the Security
Three complementary compression layers reduce block data by up to 7× — without sacrificing post-quantum security or delaying block production.
Block Compression Pipeline
RocksDB Zstd
All block data is stored with Zstd cold compression (level 3). Negligible read latency overhead (<2%) with 5–15% raw storage savings on top of every other layer.
PQ Pubkey Deduplication
Dilithium3 public keys are 1952 bytes each. The first transaction from an address embeds the full key; subsequent transactions in the same block store only a 20-byte address reference.
STARK Sig-Aggregation
A Winterfell STARK circuit aggregates all Dilithium3 signatures in a block into a single proof. The full sig+pubkey data (3309 + 1952 bytes per tx) is replaced by one shared proof, pruned after the proving window.
Why it matters
STARK proving is fully asynchronous — block production never waits for a proof.
Full nodes store stripped block bodies after the proving window, reducing long-term disk usage.
Smaller stripped blocks propagate faster over P2P, improving time-to-finality.
STARK proofs are cryptographically binding. PQ signatures remain fully verifiable via the witness store.
Modular Architecture
13 purpose-built Rust crates, layered for clarity
Works With Your Existing Stack
Full EVM compatibility — your contracts, tools, and workflows just work. Add quantum safety without changing anything.
Zero Config
Your existing Solidity contracts deploy without changes
Familiar Tools
Hardhat, Foundry, ethers.js, MetaMask — they all just work
Quantum-Safe by Default
Every transaction signed with Dilithium3, addressed as pq1...
Native Account Abstraction
Smart accounts at the protocol layer — key rotation, custom validators, no bundler
Shell SDK
Build on Shell Chain with our TypeScript SDK — PQ key generation, transaction signing, and full RPC client in one package.
Why Shell Chain?
A side-by-side look at how Shell Chain compares to existing blockchains.
| Dimension | Bitcoin | Ethereum | Shell Chain ✦ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptographic Security | ECDSA (vulnerable to quantum) | ECDSA (vulnerable to quantum) | ML-DSA (Dilithium3) — NIST post-quantum standard |
| Account Abstraction | None | ERC-4337 overlay (bundler required) | Native protocol-level AA — no bundler needed |
| Smart Contracts | None (basic Script only) | Full EVM support | Full EVM (Cancun-spec) — zero-cost migration |
| Consensus | PoW (high energy, mining pools) | PoS (stake centralization) | PoA (Proof of Authority) — stake-weighted validators, ML-DSA-65 signing |
| Storage | UTXO slow indexing | LevelDB / MPT hybrid | Custom RocksDB — multi-CF read/write isolation |
| Shell Chain: designed for the post-quantum era from the ground up | |||
Cryptographic Security
Account Abstraction
Smart Contracts
Consensus
Storage
Shell Chain: designed for the post-quantum era from the ground up
Building in Public
Every milestone is developed openly, reviewed by 5 engineering roles, and shipped with full test coverage.
Crypto + Core
Done62 testsPQ signatures, core types, 62 tests
Solo Chain
Done211 testsSingle-node block production, 211 tests
Multi-Node Network
Done231 testsP2P networking, gossip, 231 tests
Usable Chain
Done296 testsTransaction gossip, logs, events, 296 tests
Production Hardening
Done450 testsP2P DHT, governance, 450 tests
Advanced Features
Done659 testsFinality, snapshots, debug API, 659 tests
EVM & Security
Done853 testsCancun EVM, 69 audit fixes, 853 tests
Account Abstraction
Done6,028 testsNative AA, pq1... addresses, 3-layer validation, key rotation
Alpha Test
In ProgresswPoA consensus, Shell SDK, wallet CLI, admin RPC, 500 TPS baseline, Block Explorer & Faucet
Beta Test
PlannedPublic beta launch, TLS/API-key security hardening, extended Prometheus metrics, bug bounty program
Token & Wallet
PlannedNative token economics, browser wallet extension, faucet service
Smart Contract Platform
PlannedSolidity toolchain, verified contract explorer, developer SDK
Mainnet Launch
PlannedGenesis block, validator onboarding, full decentralization
Ecosystem Maturity
PlannedOrg governance, CI/CD, SDK v0.2.0 stable (ML-DSA-65), wallet v0.2.0, parallel EVM hardening, release readiness
Ready to Build Before Q-Day?
Join developers building the next generation of blockchain applications — secured against quantum threats before they arrive.
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