Architecture Overview

Settlement Process

Obligations are recorded throughout the settlement window, compressed through four layers of netting (bilateral, per-corridor multilateral, cross-corridor, and residual carry-forward), priced at oracle-determined FX rates, and settled as consolidated net positions.

Sub-threshold net positions (<$100K default) carry forward to the next window (max 3) using a CHIPS-model approach, expanding the netting pool across windows for additional compression.

Chain Architecture

The Settlement Computer runs on the Lagrange chain — a dedicated Avalanche L1 with permissioned validators. All settlement logic is implemented as consensus-level native precompiles, not smart contracts. This provides deterministic gas costs, guaranteed execution, and prevents front-running.

Native Precompiles

All settlement logic runs at the consensus layer as native Go precompiles — not EVM smart contracts. This provides deterministic gas costs, prevents front-running, and enables cryptographic operations that would be prohibitively expensive in the EVM.

• 0x0300Netting Engine — multilateral netting with O(n) complexity
• 0x0301Oracle — deterministic FX rate feeds from AFXO
• 0x0302Corridor Manager — multi-tenant corridor lifecycle
• 0x0303Access Control — 6-level RBAC per corridor
• 0x0304Settlement Claims — non-transferable institutional tokens
• 0x0305Compliance — audit trail with sanctions screening hooks
• 0x0306Cross-Corridor — netting across corridors sharing currencies
• 0x0307Bilateral — per-pair pre-netting with SWIFT pacs.008 output
• 0x0308Privacy — Pedersen commitments, AES-256-SIV, SSS
• 0x0309ML-DSA — FIPS 204 post-quantum authentication
• 0x030ADelegation Registry — participant-sovereign view key grants

Cryptographic Privacy

The Settlement Computer implements a hybrid privacy architecture. Amounts are protected by Pedersen commitments (BN254) enabling homomorphic netting on encrypted values. Metadata is encrypted with AES-256-SIV. Key distribution uses Shamir's Secret Sharing.

Tiered view key model with 5 access levels: Governance (master), Admin (corridor), Participant (own data), Delegate (scoped, time-limited, revocable), Observer (aggregates only). Participant-sovereign delegation — participants control who sees their data via grantViewAccess / revokeViewAccess with full on-chain audit trail.

Post-Quantum Authentication

ML-DSA (FIPS 204) deployed via cloudflare/circl — real post-quantum signatures, not simulated. This provides harvest-now-decrypt-later protection for all settlement transactions.

Multi-Tenancy

All six Settlement Computer products coexist on a single chain with per-corridor isolation. Each corridor has independent configuration, settlement windows, privacy levels, and compliance rules.

ISO 20022 CBPR+

Born-native ISO 20022 CBPR+ — not a translation layer. Level 1 (schema conformance) and Level 2 (SWIFT usage guidelines) validation passed across all 5 message types. PayNet provides AI-powered translation (Haiku 4.5 / Sonnet) for non-ISO inputs.

Design Principles

• Non-Custodial

  The Settlement Computer coordinates settlement instructions but never holds funds. All regulated activities remain with licensed institutional partners.

• Corridor Isolation

  Each corridor operates independently with its own settlement windows, participant lists, privacy levels, and compliance rules. Failures in one corridor do not propagate.

• Deterministic Execution

  FX rates are determined at window close via AFXO oracle feeds, not executed in market. Oracle prices are locked, ensuring no slippage or front-running.

• Consensus-Level Settlement Logic

  All settlement operations run as native Go precompiles, not EVM smart contracts. This guarantees deterministic gas costs, prevents MEV extraction, and enables cryptographic operations infeasible in the EVM.

• Technology Service Provider

  FiatRails is a non-custodial coordination protocol — not a bank, PSP, e-money issuer, or remittance company. We never hold fiat, never custody user funds, and never execute settlement. All regulated activities are performed exclusively by licensed partner institutions.

Intellectual Property

5 U.S. patent applications pending (~287 claims) covering the Settlement Computer, agentic clearing, cryptographic privacy, and post-quantum authentication.