ADDITION Technical Whitepaper

Brand: ADDITION (never “SmartChain”)

Network (public product): ADDITION_MAINNET_V1 / addition-mainnet

Canonical source: github.com/ADDAddition/ADDITION

Contact: contact@additionblockchain.com

Status: Engineering description of the C++20 node, configs, and live public RPC. Values that can change (height, peers, fees) come only from live getinfo / related RPCs.

This document supersedes the short sketch in docs/WHITE_PAPER.md.

What ships on mainnet

• Public product ADDITION_MAINNET_V1: UTXO L1, P2P seed, public RPC, wallet spend path with ML-DSA-87 / SHA3-512 / pq_mode=strict
• Mainnet PoW memory_hard at target floor 0x000000FFFFFFFFFF
• Privacy opening path: privacy_mint_open / privacy_spend_open labeled opening_not_zk
• Height and monetary fields from live getinfo / monetary_info only

1. Abstract and motivation

ADDITION is a Bitcoin-like Layer 1: a single C++20 daemon (additiond), a UTXO ledger, peer-to-peer gossip, and text/HTTP RPC. The public product network is ADDITION_MAINNET_V1 — a decentralized public mainnet that anyone can join by bootstrapping the published seed, syncing, mining, and using wallet RPCs (same operational model as running bitcoind against a known bootstrap peer).

The design priority is post-quantum signatures at the protocol layer. Spend transactions require ML-DSA-87 (FIPS 204) via liboqs in pq_mode=strict. Hashing and PoW use SHA3-512 (OpenSSL), with mainnet PoW wrapped in a memory-hard scratch (memory_hard).

Motivation in one sentence: keep a familiar UTXO / PoW L1 shape while replacing elliptic-curve signatures with a NIST-standardized lattice signature before large quantum computers become practical against ECDSA/Schnorr.

What this whitepaper does not claim:

• No invented peer counts, TPS, block height, or USD prices
• No Groth16 / SNARK / Bulletproofs / Monero / Zcash privacy
• No public DEX, token sale, or foreign-chain bridge product
• No “SmartChain” branding — the product name is ADDITION only

2. Architecture

The tree is a single canonical C++20 codebase. Major modules for the live product (from docs/ARCHITECTURE.md and src/ / include/addition/):

Daemon: apps/additiond_main.cpp builds additiond. Persistence: --data-dir/blocks.dat after each accepted block; UTXOs rebuild by replay. Side state (privacy.dat, …) flushes after successful writes and on shutdown.

Layers (conceptual):

1. Consensus / ledger — UTXO validation, PoW check, emission, retarget (chain.cpp)
2. P2P — network id in HELLO; mainnet peers rejected if they speak ADDITION_TESTNET_V1
3. RPC — loopback write on home nodes; public HTTP on the seed (see §8)
4. Privacy notes — SHA3-512 opening side ledger (privacy.dat)

Build requires liboqs and OpenSSL. Missing liboqs fails the build.

3. Cryptography

3.1 Post-quantum signatures — ML-DSA-87 (FIPS 204)

• Thread-local OQS_SIG and parallel batch verify in crypto.cpp
• Opt-in SLH-DSA (slh-dsa-shake-256s) only if this liboqs build can OQS_SIG_sign_with_ctx_str with a non-empty context; otherwise rejected in strict mode
• Unknown schemes (including Falcon/FN-DSA) are rejected

Strict mode means the node only accepts the allowlisted PQ schemes it can verify. Lattice assumptions can age; operators should track NIST / cryptanalysis guidance over time. PQ here is a grade and posture, not a forever warranty.

3.2 Hashing — SHA3-512

SHA3-512 via OpenSSL is used for:

• Header / PoW digests (mainnet after memory-hard scratch)
• Address derivation
• Privacy commitments / nullifiers
• Various internal digests

3.3 Addresses

address = sha3_512(scheme_id || 0x00 || pubkey_bytes)   # 128 hex

Default scheme_id is ml-dsa-87. The raw 2592-byte ML-DSA-87 public key is not the address. Spend paths recompute the hash from the revealed pubkey; a pubkey that does not commit to the address is rejected.

3.4 Self-test

crypto_selftest on the public seed returns a live report. Copy only what the node prints.

4. Privacy model (as shipped)

ADDITION privacy is a SHA3-512 commitment + nullifier opening. The node sees the trapdoor when minting/spending open notes.

Relevant RPCs: privacy_note_prepare, privacy_mint_open, privacy_spend_open. Notes live in a side ledger (privacy.dat), not a native ADD lock into a consensus privacy pool.

Master key: ADDITION_PRIVACY_MASTER_KEY must be at least 32 characters or note writes fail with error: ADDITION_PRIVACY_MASTER_KEY not set or too short (min 32). Mainnet start requires this key (docs/MAINNET_RUNBOOK.md).

What this is NOT

• Not Groth16, Halo2, Bulletproofs, STARKs, or any live ZK circuit
• Not Monero ring signatures or Zcash Sapling/Orchard
• Not “ZK-Shield” or shielded balances on the UTXO set

Live claim language: claim=opening_not_zk.

5. Consensus and proof of work

5.1 Algorithms

Constants verified in include/addition/config.hpp and src/crypto.cpp:

kScratchSize = 1 << 20   // 1 MiB
kRounds      = 16

Mainnet difficulty floor (initial = min = max): 0x000000FFFFFFFFFF. Smaller target = harder. Check: head64(hash) <= target.

5.2 Timing and retarget

Because mainnet clamps min and max to the same hard floor, retarget cannot climb to an easy testnet-style target.

5.3 Auto-mine

auto_mine is refused on mainnet (src/auto_mine.cpp). Live getinfo reports auto_mine=off. Config enable_auto_mine = false in config-mainnet.toml does not override that refusal.

5.4 Coinbase

Block template builds a single coinbase output to the finding miner’s reward address (chain.cpp make_block_template). There is no 70/25/5 miner/staker/treasury split. Coinbase is 100% to the finding miner.

6. Economics

From genesis-mainnet.json, config-mainnet.toml, and mainnet_chain_config():

Coinbase: 100% of the block reward (plus collected fees, subject to validation) goes to the finding miner’s address. No token sale, no pre-mine claim in genesis beyond the empty height-0 chain, no ICO language.

Fees: Spec / genesis / mainnet_chain_config() floor is min_fee=0. Congestion heuristics may raise recommended_min_fee / dynamic_min_fee from mempool size and last-block fees. Copy live fields from the node; do not invent a fee market narrative.

Live monetary_info — fetched on this page (fail closed → RPC offline):

Loading live monetary_info…

7. Networks and ports

Public product profile:

Hard rules:

• Home write RPC binds 127.0.0.1:8546 — never public bind / never 0.0.0.0
• Never publish 8545 / 8546
• Mixing another network’s blocks.dat into a mainnet --data-dir is refused
• Seed operators set ADDITION_ADVERTISED_P2P=34.27.30.115:28546 so public getinfo / peers advertise that IPv4 endpoint and do not list self

A separate testnet profile (ADDITION_TESTNET_V1, ports 28545 / 38545) exists in the same binary for operators; it is not the public product on this site. See /join/#testnet.

8. Public RPC

Seed: 34.27.30.115:38546

Site proxy: /api/rpc (Cloudflare Worker → PUBLIC_RPC_HTTP)

Read path (stock allowlist in rpc_access.cpp is_public_read_command): getinfo, monetary_info, crypto_selftest, tx_status, peers, getblock, getblockhash, getblockraw.

Write allowlist (CoS / public product, documented in MAINNET_RUNBOOK.md): on seed 38546, the following answer for join/wallet flows:

• createwallet
• mine
• wallet_send
• sign (wallet_sign / sign_message)
• tx_build / sendtx_signed*

Home operators still keep trusted write on 127.0.0.1:8546. The site wallet prefers /api/rpc → public 38546, with a loopback fallback to /local-rpc when public RPC is offline.

Example:

curl -s 'http://34.27.30.115:38546/rpc?cmd=getinfo'
curl -s 'http://34.27.30.115:38546/jsonrpc?method=getinfo'

9. Wallet and transactions

9.1 Wallet and spends (public product path)

• createwallet [name] [scheme] — default ML-DSA-87; keys in data/wallets/<name>.wal (priv_printed=0)
• wallet_send <name> <to> <amount> [fee] — node signs from the .wal; no privkey on the wire
• tx_build + sendtx_signed* — build unsigned spend, sign off-wire, submit PQ signature
• Legacy sendtx with privkey on the line stays disabled unless ADDITION_ALLOW_INSECURE_TX_COMMANDS=1 (leave unset)
• Standalone CLI: web/addition_wallet.py (keys on caller disk)

Site UI: /wallet/ — product surface for mainnet.

9.2 What is not a public product on this site

Loopback-only token / KV / swap / bridge operators tools may exist next to a home node. They are not a public DEX, Uniswap fork, mainnet token sale, or live cross-chain bridge. Do not invent liquidity, TVL, listing prices, or foreign-chain custody.

10. Security assumptions and threat model

Assumptions

1. ML-DSA-87 remains hard against classical and near-term quantum adversaries at the parameter set shipped by liboqs for FIPS 204 level used here — not a forever-unbreakable claim.
2. SHA3-512 remains a secure hash for commitments and PoW digests under current public cryptanalysis.
3. Majority of hashrate under memory-hard PoW (same economic assumption family as Bitcoin PoW — not proven by this paper).
4. Operators protect ADDITION_PRIVACY_MASTER_KEY, wallet .wal files, and never expose home write RPC beyond loopback.
5. Public seed write allowlist is an operational trust surface: anyone who can reach those RPCs can create wallets / mine / send as allowed — treat keys and node storage accordingly.

Threat model — what privacy is NOT

An observer with node access or the master key can open commitments. This is not zero-knowledge privacy against the verifying node. Do not market it as Zcash/Monero-equivalent.

Other explicit non-goals

• Not FIPS 140-3 validated module
• Not immune to every future cryptanalytic break
• Not a Solana-scale (or any invented) TPS claim on live mainnet
• Live getinfo may report economic_security=none — that field is copied from the node, not upgraded in marketing copy

11. Live network fields

Live public getinfo (fetched from seed 34.27.30.115:38546 via /api/rpc — height may be 0; peers change; never a canned marketing number). Prefer /status/ for the full panel.

Loading live getinfo…

No USD ticker (price_usd stays null on the site API).

12. How to join

1. Read /join/ on the site
2. Follow docs/MAINNET_RUNBOOK.md in this repository
3. Set ADDITION_PRIVACY_MASTER_KEY (≥32 characters), build additiond from main, then:

export ADDITION_PRIVACY_MASTER_KEY='replace-with-32-or-more-chars____'
export ADDITION_ENABLE_P2P_RPC=1
./build/additiond --mainnet \
  --data-dir $HOME/addition-mainnet \
  --local-rpc-port 8546 \
  --p2p-port 28547 \
  --bootstrap 34.27.30.115:28546
# sync, then getinfo; mine on 127.0.0.1:8546 or public 38546 write allowlist

Never publish port 8546. Auto-mine stays off on mainnet.

13. Contact

Email: contact@additionblockchain.com

MIT-licensed software. This whitepaper is engineering documentation, not an audit certificate, not investment advice, and not a token-sale prospectus.

*Sources: include/addition/config.hpp, src/crypto.cpp, src/chain.cpp, src/privacy.cpp, src/auto_mine.cpp, src/rpc_access.cpp, src/rpc_server.cpp, genesis-mainnet.json, config-mainnet.toml, docs/MAINNET_RUNBOOK.md, docs/ARCHITECTURE.md, docs/WALLET.md, and live RPCs on 34.27.30.115:38546.*

Source file in the repository: docs/whitepaper.md