AfriChain

on

 

Protocol Document

Version 1.0 – June 2025

1. Overview

AfriChain is a pan-African blockchain protocol purpose-built for public infrastructure, cross-border trade, decentralized governance, and low-cost, mobile-first economic participation. It features a hybrid consensus mechanism and modular architecture to balance performance, regulatory compliance, and inclusiveness.

2. Design Goals

  • Mobile-first & offline-capable

  • Energy-efficient & solar-node friendly

  • Interoperable with national e-ID & stablecoins

  • Support public-sector workflows (business registration, land, health)

  • Enable secure digital identity and verifiable credentials

3. Layered Architecture

3.1 Layer 0: Network Relay & Routing

  • Regional Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) act as relay hubs

  • Zone-based peer discovery

  • Lightweight handshake with fallback for low-bandwidth areas

  • Nodes can sync via 2G/3G with store-and-forward compression

3.2 Layer 1: Core Consensus Layer

  • Hybrid Consensus:

    • PoS (Proof of Stake) for validator selection

    • PBFT (Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) for finality

  • Block time: 6 seconds

  • Finality: ~2.5 blocks

  • Energy footprint: < 0.01 kWh per transaction

3.3 Layer 2: Scaling & Rollups

  • Optimistic Rollups for high-throughput dApps

  • State channels for microtransactions (AfriPay, AfriTrade)

  • Zero-knowledge rollups (zk-Rollups) roadmap by 2027

4. Smart Contract Engine

  • AfriVM: Dual-compatible virtual machine

    • Supports Solidity and Rust-based smart contracts

    • Region-specific templates: business registration, land titling, e-licensing

  • Execution Layer

    • Gas-efficient model

    • Built-in oracles (FX rates, identity, weather, etc.)

    • EVM-compatible for cross-chain portability

5. Native Token & Stable Asset

5.1 Token: $AFG (AfriGovernance Token)

  • Governance voting

  • Validator staking

  • Network fees

5.2 Stable Asset: AfriDollar ($AFD)

  • Backed by:

    • 40% fiat (USD, EUR reserves)

    • 30% tokenized commodities (gold, cocoa)

    • 30% African sovereign bonds

  • Use Cases:

    • Government fee payments

    • Cross-border SME transactions

    • CBDC-compatible wrapper

6. Identity & KYC Layer

  • Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) based on W3C standards

  • Zero-Knowledge Proofs for selective disclosure

  • Integrated with:

    • Ghana Card

    • Nigeria NIMC

    • Kenya Huduma Namba

  • Use cases: voter registration, public services, land title claim

7. Storage Architecture

  • IPFS fork with Arweave anchors

  • On-chain hash, off-chain encrypted storage

  • AfriStorage Nodes hosted by universities, government registries

  • Content types:

    • Business certs

    • Land documents

    • Health records

8. Validator & Node Infrastructure

8.1 Node Types

Node TypeRoleEnergy Source
Validator NodeBlock production + consensusSolar/Hybrid
Observer NodeRead-only; auditsPublic institutions
Storage NodeFile/data persistenceUniversity/NGO

8.2 Validator Criteria

  • Stake requirement: 100,000 $AFG

  • KYC’d institutional nodes only

  • Performance SLA of 95% uptime

9. Governance Framework

  • AfriChain DAO

    • Voting via quadratic governance

    • Stake-weighted with citizen override

  • Representation:

    • 50% Governments and Regulators

    • 30% Private Sector

    • 20% Civil society / Citizens

  • Proposal lifecycle:

    • Propose → Validate → Vote → Execute via smart contract

10. Interoperability

  • IBC-compatible

  • Polygon / Ethereum Bridge for liquidity access

  • API connectors to:

    • Government portals

    • Banks / mobile money

    • UN SDG data tools

11. Security & Privacy

  • End-to-end TLS 1.3 encryption

  • zk-SNARK verification for private transactions

  • On-chain audit trail for regulatory visibility

  • Real-time slashing + circuit breakers for malicious nodes

12. Deployment Roadmap

Phase 1 (2025–2026)

  • Ghana MVP with business registry integration

  • Validator deployment in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda

  • $AFD and $AFG tokens launched

Phase 2 (2027)

  • Pan-African expansion to land and health services

  • CBDC integrations for pilot countries

  • First mobile dApp incubators

Phase 3 (2028+)

  • AU-wide node federation and stablecoin adoption

  • Global trade corridor applications (AfCFTA, BRICS, etc.)

  • Universal ID + e-voting pilot in partnership with AU

13. Tools for Developers

  • AfriChain CLI

  • AfriChain SDK (JavaScript, Rust, Solidity)

  • Testnet Faucet

  • Explorer & Wallet API

14. Community & Contributions

  • Core code is open source under MIT License

  • GitHub:AfriChain

  • Join AfriBuilders Hub, Grants Program, and Validator Onboarding

Contact & Media

Comments

Post a Comment