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Overview

Acurast separates the consensus, execution, and application layer (c.f., Fig. 1). Acurast's Zero Trust architecture transforms the way applications are designed and deployed. The modular nature allows native settlements and universal interoperability of ecosystems, i.e., Web3 → Web3 and Web3 → Web2. Ultimately, Acurast serves as a decentralized application platform that ensures the privacy and verifiability of data, without introducing new trusted entities.

Figure 1: Acurast Architecture

Consensus Layer​

The consensus layer is the permissionless foundation of Acurast, where the Orchestrator matches consumer's jobs to processors, as outlined in the End-to-End flow (c.f., End-to-End Zero Trust Job Execution ). The second core part of the consensus layer is the reputation engine (c.f., ), which as sures that the reputation scores of processors are correctly updated and incentivize honest behavior.

Zero Trust Execution Layer​

The Zero Trust Execution Layer has two significant components. The first one is composed of the different processor runtimes, namely the Acurast Secure Hardware Runtime (ASHR, c.f., FIXME) and the Acurast Zero-Knowledge Runtime (AZKR, c.f., FIXME). The second key component is the Acurast Universal Interoperability Layer (c.f., FIXME), which contains multiple Modules (Link FIXME) that enable native interaction with different ecosystems.

Application Layer​

The third layer is the application layer, where Web2 or Web3 applications run (\cf Sec.~\ref{sec:application_layer}). Although a host of DeFi protocols already make use of Acurast, Acurast will infuse the development of a wide range of use cases that were previously not possible to implement in a zero trust and decentralized manner.

Implementation​

Acurast leverages a Substrate Runtime consisting of multiple Substrate Pallets for the Acurast Protocol (c.f., GitHub ). Acurast has secured a Kusama Parachain slot for its incentivized testnet and will participate in a Polkadot Parachain auctions for a Parachain slot. Gaining access to Polkadot’s and Kusama’s security and the ability to communicate with other Parachains through the Cross-Consensus Message Format (XCM).