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Minichain is an educational blockchain implementation designed for learning. It features a register-based VM, custom assembly language, and Proof of Authority consensus.

What is Minichain?

Minichain is a complete, single-node, account-based blockchain built from scratch in Rust. It’s designed as a learning project to understand blockchain internals by implementing every component yourself.

Key Features

Register-based VM

16 registers with 40+ opcodes and gas metering

Custom Assembly

Human-readable assembly language that compiles to bytecode

Smart Contracts

Deploy and execute bytecode contracts with storage

Proof of Authority

Round-robin block production with Ed25519 signatures

Quick Start

Get up and running with Minichain in minutes.

Installation

Install Rust and build Minichain from source

Quickstart

Initialize a blockchain and run your first contract

Core Components

Architecture

Understand the modular crate structure

Virtual Machine

Explore the register-based VM architecture

Smart Contracts

Write contracts in assembly language

Explore the Documentation

Core Concepts

Learn about accounts, transactions, blocks, and consensus

CLI Usage

Master the command-line interface

Complete Workflow

Follow an end-to-end example

API Reference

Explore the Rust API documentation

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love