Datachain Rope Documentation

Introduction

Datachain Rope is a revolutionary distributed ledger protocol that replaces traditional blockchain architecture with a String Lattice structure inspired by DNA's double helix. Designed in 2018 and now production-ready, it provides:

• Sub-5 second finality with Byzantine fault tolerance
• Quantum-resistant cryptography using CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 and Kyber768
• AI Testimony validation for semantic and business logic verification
• Self-healing data with Reed-Solomon erasure coding
• GDPR compliance with controlled erasure protocol

Network Configuration

String Lattice Architecture

The String Lattice is the foundational data structure of Datachain Rope, replacing traditional blockchain's linear chain with a multi-dimensional lattice inspired by DNA's double helix structure.

Key Properties

• Parallel Processing – Multiple strings can be processed simultaneously, unlike sequential blockchain blocks
• Intrinsic Ordering – Causally ordered events without global timestamps
• Efficient Consensus – Virtual voting based on visibility, no message overhead
• Self-Healing – Reed-Solomon erasure coding enables data recovery

String Structure

RopeString {
    id: StringId,               // Unique identifier (256-bit hash)
    creator: ValidatorId,       // Creating validator's public key
    timestamp: Timestamp,       // Logical timestamp (not wall clock)
    payload: Payload,           // Transaction data or testimony
    self_parent: Option<StringId>,   // Previous string from same creator
    other_parent: Option<StringId>,  // Latest string from other validator
    signature: Signature,       // Post-quantum signature (Dilithium3)
    nucleotide: Nucleotide,     // A, T, C, G – encodes string type
}

Nucleotide Types

AI Testimony System

AI Testimony is a unique validation layer where artificial intelligence agents provide semantic and business logic verification of transactions before they are finalized in the String Lattice.

Testimony Types

• Semantic Validation – Verifies that transaction data makes logical sense
• Business Logic – Ensures compliance with application-specific rules
• Anomaly Detection – Identifies unusual patterns that may indicate fraud
• Cross-Reference – Validates consistency with historical data

Testimony Structure

Testimony {
    string_id: StringId,        // String being validated
    validator: ValidatorId,     // AI validator identity
    verdict: Verdict,           // VALID, INVALID, or NEEDS_REVIEW
    confidence: f64,            // Confidence score (0.0 - 1.0)
    evidence: Vec<Evidence>,    // Supporting evidence
    timestamp: Timestamp,       // When testimony was created
    signature: Signature,       // Validator's signature
}

Validation Process

1. Transaction submitted to network
2. Assigned to AI testimony validators based on expertise
3. Validators analyze transaction semantics and business logic
4. Testimonies collected (minimum 2/3 supermajority required)
5. Transaction finalized or rejected based on aggregate verdict

OES Cryptography

OES (Observability, Erasability, Sovereignty) is Datachain Rope's cryptographic framework that ensures data can be observed by authorized parties, erased when required (GDPR compliance), and sovereignty remains with data owners.

Key Components

Controlled Erasure Protocol

Datachain Rope supports GDPR-compliant data erasure through a unique protocol that allows data to be permanently removed while maintaining network integrity:

• Erasure Request – Data owner initiates erasure
• Verification – Network verifies ownership and legal basis
• Controlled Erasure – Data shards are zeroed across all nodes
• Tombstone – Permanent record that data was lawfully erased

Consensus Mechanisms

Datachain Rope employs a multi-layer consensus architecture tailored to different organizational structures within the network. Each consensus mechanism is optimized for specific use cases.

Consensus Selection by Layer

Virtual Voting Algorithm

The Virtual Voting algorithm achieves consensus without explicit voting rounds by leveraging the String Lattice's gossip history:

fn determine_consensus(string: &RopeString, lattice: &StringLattice) -> bool {
    // Find validators who can "strongly see" this string
    let observers = lattice.find_strong_seers(string);
    
    // Calculate stake-weighted observation
    let observed_stake: u64 = observers.iter()
        .map(|v| v.stake)
        .sum();
    
    // Consensus achieved if 2/3+ of stake observes
    let total_stake = lattice.total_stake();
    observed_stake * 3 > total_stake * 2
}

// Strongly-sees: A string X strongly sees Y if:
// 1. X can see Y (Y is an ancestor of X)
// 2. X can see a supermajority of strings that can see Y

Byzantine Fault Tolerance

Datachain Rope maintains safety and liveness with up to f < n/3 Byzantine (malicious) validators:

• Safety – Two honest validators never finalize conflicting strings
• Liveness – Honest transactions eventually get finalized
• Asynchronous – No timing assumptions required

Federation Generation Protocol

The Federation Generation Protocol enables creation of structured organizational units within the Datachain Rope network. Each federation can contain multiple communities, data wallets, and individual chains.

Federation Types

Protocol Invocations

Federations can invoke multiple external protocols:

// Available Protocol Invocations
Datachain Rope // Native protocol (required)
Hyperledger    // Enterprise blockchain
XDC Network    // XinFin hybrid chain
Solana         // High-performance chain
Polkadot       // Cross-chain protocol
Bitcoin        // Store of value layer
Ethereum       // Smart contracts
Tangle         // IOTA DAG (coming soon)
Hashgraph      // Hedera consensus (coming soon)

Community Generation Protocol

Communities represent industry-specific or purpose-driven groups within the Datachain network. Each community has configurable KYC/AML requirements and AI-powered predictability features.

Industry Categories

Compliance Features

CLI Interface

The Datachain Rope CLI allows you to interact directly with the network from your terminal. Experience the original 2018 design through a modern command-line interface.

Installation

# Install via Cargo
cargo install rope-cli

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/KazeONGUENE/rope.git
cd rope/crates/rope-cli
cargo build --release

# Run the CLI
./target/release/rope-cli --rpc https://erpc.datachain.network

Configuration

# ~/.rope/config.toml

[network]
rpc_url = "https://erpc.datachain.network"
ws_url = "wss://ws.datachain.network"
chain_id = 314159

[wallet]
keystore_path = "~/.rope/keystore"
default_account = "0x..."

[crypto]
enable_pq_crypto = true    # CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 + Kyber768
oes_generation = 1         # OES evolution epoch

RPC API Reference

The Datachain Rope RPC API is available at https://erpc.datachain.network.

rope_networkStatus

Returns the current network status.

// Request
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "rope_networkStatus",
  "params": [],
  "id": 1
}

// Response
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "status": "healthy",
    "finality_time_ms": 4200,
    "active_validators": 127,
    "ai_agents": 5,
    "latest_round": 847291,
    "total_strings": 1847293,
    "chain_id": 314159
  },
  "id": 1
}

rope_submitString

Submit a new string to the lattice.

// Request
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "rope_submitString",
  "params": [{
    "content": "0x...",
    "parents": ["0x...", "0x..."],
    "mutability_class": "immutable",
    "requires_testimony": true,
    "signature": "0x..."
  }],
  "id": 1
}

// Response
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "string_id": "0x7a8b9c...",
    "round": 847292,
    "status": "pending_testimony"
  },
  "id": 1
}

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    datachain.network (ROPE NETWORK)                      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                          │
│   CORE PROTOCOL (rope-node)                                             │
│   ─────────────────────────                                             │
│   • Post-Quantum Crypto (Dilithium3/Kyber768)       ✅ 100%             │
│   • Virtual Voting (Appendix B.1)                    ✅ 100%             │
│   • Reed-Solomon Erasure Coding                      ✅ 100%             │
│   • libp2p Transport (QUIC+TCP)                      ✅ 100%             │
│   • AI Testimony Validation                          ✅ 100%             │
│   • OES Cryptography                                 ✅ 100%             │
│   • Federation/Community Management                  ✅ 100%             │
│                                                                          │
│   NETWORK SERVICES                                                       │
│   ────────────────                                                       │
│   erpc.datachain.network  → JSON-RPC                                    │
│   ws.datachain.network    → WebSocket                                   │
│   faucet.datachain.network                                              │
│   bridge.datachain.network                                              │
│                                                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                                │ Indexes & Fetches Data
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      dcscan.io (BLOCK EXPLORER)                          │
│   • View Strings & Transactions                                         │
│   • Browse AI Agents & Testimonies                                      │
│   • Network Statistics & Charts                                         │
│   • Community Voting                                                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘