# Architecture & Technology Mosaic Chain is built on **Substrate**, the same framework that powers Polkadot. This gives us a modular, extensible foundation designed specifically for building custom blockchains. Here's how Mosaic Chain's architecture works. *** ### **Built on Substrate (Polkadot SDK)** Substrate is a blockchain development framework that lets us build a custom blockchain optimized for financial applications. Unlike deploying smart contracts on a general-purpose chain, Substrate lets us design the entire blockchain runtime—consensus, governance, assets, and application logic—from the ground up. **Why Substrate?** * **Modular architecture** - Builds with pallets (runtime modules) that snap together * **Forkless upgrades** - Upgrades the blockchain without hard forks * **Interoperability-ready** - Native compatibility with Polkadot and XCM * **Battle-tested** - Powers Polkadot, Kusama, and dozens of parachains Substrate is the best available technology for building a blockchain. We're using it. *** ### **Core Technical Components** #### **1. Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) Consensus** Mosaic Chain uses a custom DPoS consensus mechanism with: * **2,500+ validators** participating in consensus (when everyone onboarded) * **\~200 active validators per session** (1 hour sessions) * **Validator Subset Selection Algorithm** - Randomly selects validators into the active set * **NFT-based validator rights** - Validator NFTs and Delegator NFTs enable participation * **6-second block finality** [Learn more about DPoS Consensus →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/consensus-dpos) *** #### **2. NFT-Based Staking System** Mosaic Chain introduces a unique NFT-based participation system: * **Validator NFTs** grant block production rights and are transferable * **Delegator NFTs** allow staking with nominal value and expiration dates * **Slashing mechanism** reduces NFT nominal value for misbehavior * **Auto-chilling** protects validators from excessive losses This democratizes validation—anyone can participate by acquiring a Validator NFT, and Validator OS makes setup plug-and-play. [Learn more about the NFT-Based Validator System →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/nft-based-validator-system) #### **3. Validator OS** Blockchain validation usually requires deep technical knowledge. **Validator OS** changes that. Validator OS configures your validator machine exactly how Mosaic Chain needs it—handling all complex setup, networking, and maintenance automatically. No programming degree required. No deep IT knowledge needed. Install it, follow the setup wizard, connect to the network, and you're validating. Validator OS makes running a node as simple as it should be. [Learn more about Validator OS →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/validator-os) *** #### **4. MOS Coin & Native Assets (Coming Soon to Docs)** **MOS** is the native currency of Mosaic Chain, used for: * Transaction fees * Staking and validator rewards * Governance voting * Treasury funding **Key parameters:** * **Max supply:** 2,000,000,000 MOS * **Smallest unit:** 1 tile = 10⁻¹⁸ MOS * **Block time:** 6 seconds * **Session length:** 1 hour (\~600 blocks) *** #### **5. On-Chain Governance (Coming Soon to Docs)** Mosaic Chain is governed by its community through: * **On-chain governance** with MOS token holder voting * **Mosaic Collectives** (Technical, Marketing, etc.) managing different aspects * **Treasury system** for funding development and community initiatives * **Transparent proposal and spending process** *** #### **6. Mosaic Explorer & Indexer (Coming Soon to docs)** Explorer and indexing infrastructure for Mosaic Chain: * **Rust-based indexer** queries on-chain data directly from parachains * **Explorer infrastructure** for visualization of on-chain data * **JSON RPC API** for easy data access *** ### **Runtime Components (Pallets - Coming soon to docs)** Mosaic Chain's runtime is built with custom Substrate pallets: **Consensus-related pallets:** * nft-delegation * nft-permission * nft-staking * staking-incentive * vesting-to-freeze **Application-related pallets:** * Additional pallets for DeFi and financial applications (in the future) *** ### **Polkadot Parachain Integration** Mosaic Chain connects to Polkadot as a parachain, which means: * **Shared security** from Polkadot's relay chain validators * **XCM interoperability** for cross-chain messaging * **Forkless upgrades** via runtime upgrades * **Horizontal scalability** through Polkadot's sharded architecture [Learn more about Mosaic Chain as a Polkadot Parachain →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/substrate-framework-and-polkadot-parachain) *** ### **Dive Deeper** Ready to explore the technical details? * [Understanding DPoS Consensus →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/consensus-dpos) * [Actors →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/actors-validators-and-delegators) * [NFT-based validator system →](https://docs.mosaicgalaxy.io/documentation/mosaic-chain/architecture-and-technology/nft-based-validator-system) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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