Frequently Asked Questions

Ritual is an expressive EVM compatible L1 blockchain with native support for heterogeneous compute. Learn more here.

Yes! Ritual Chain, our sovereign L1 blockchain designed for native AI computation and heterogeneous workloads, is currently running in a private testnet - reach out to the team if you’re interested in building with us during this early phase.

Our first product, Infernet, is already live and being used by developers to bring AI computation on-chain across any EVM-compatible blockchain. Infernet also serves as a core component of Ritual Chain’s architecture, enabling specialized compute delegation across our network.

Ritual Chain is our sovereign Layer 1 blockchain, purpose-built for AI and specialized computation with novel primitives for developers.

Infernet serves as both a standalone oracle network enabling any existing blockchain to access verified AI computation, and a core component of Ritual Chain’s architecture for delegating specialized compute tasks. This dual role creates a comprehensive ecosystem for on-chain compute.

Ritual consists of two complementary components: Ritual Chain, our sovereign Layer 1 blockchain designed for heterogeneous compute, and Infernet, our decentralized oracle network that brings AI computation to any blockchain. While Infernet serves as a standalone solution for existing chains, it’s also enshrined into Ritual Chain’s architecture, enabling specialized compute delegation across our network for scaling.

Ritual Chain is currently running in a private testnet. For your chance to be among the first to build on our network, apply here.

Our L1 blockchain is currently in private testnet. If you’re interested in building applications with native AI computation, scheduled transactions, or heterogeneous compute capabilities, reach out to the team for early access. The chain is fully EVM-compatible, so Ethereum developers can port their applications seamlessly while accessing Ritual’s advanced features. For documentation and code samples, check out our tutorials section.

Rather than committing to a single verification approach, Ritual is proof system agnostic. We recognize that different applications have different requirements for security, cost, and performance. Our modular computational integrity system lets developers choose and combine:

• ZKML for maximum security and privacy
• OPML for efficient verification of larger models where interaction is acceptable
• PPML for cheap, non-interactive statistical verification through backdoors
• TEE for hardware-based security

The goal is to match the right verification strategy to your specific needs, not force one approach for all use cases.

It depends on how you want to participate:

For Building Applications:

• No special hardware needed - if you can write Solidity, you can build on Ritual
• Standard development environment for EVM-compatible chains
• Familiar tools like Hardhat, Foundry work out of the box

For Running Nodes:

While Ritual Chain is currently in private testnet, we’ve designed our architecture to enable broad participation when we go public. Whether you have a basic home setup or datacenter-grade hardware, Ritual’s sophisticated node specialization system will ensure your node contributes meaningfully to the network. Our goal is to make running a node accessible to everyone while optimally utilizing the diverse compute capabilities across our network.

Yes, through both infrastructure and research. Our storage layer integration enables immutable object history, while our research work (like vTune) provides novel techniques for verifying model fine-tuning through watermarking and backdoors. This creates a foundation for verifiable AI model provenance and trustworthy model marketplaces. We also natively support the ability for integrating in other provenance gadgets, in line with our proof system answer above around staying neutral as different use cases require different gadgets.

No, many of our users only care about certain properties (remote compute access, minimal verifiability, micropayments, and more) that Ritual provides without having to interface with smart contracts or blockchains.

In the ideal state, the same way you would hit OpenAI endpoints. We want to make life as simple as possible for web2 users. Reach out to us if life isn’t simple enough for your use case. We’ll make it happen.

Ritual fully supports the use of Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) as part of its comprehensive approach to enabling heterogeneous compute on the blockchain. Ritual allows developers to leverage TEE-based computation through a dedicated precompile contract, enabling smart contracts to offload sensitive or computationally intensive tasks to a secure enclave while maintaining the overall security and decentralization guarantees of the blockchain. Ritual sees TEEs as an important component complementing other verification methods, and is committed to supporting secure hardware-based execution environments.

Today, you can participate by running an Infernet node, or as a user of any app or protocol that leverages Infernet. Other ways to participate will be announced as we continue to open-source more.

No, we support a host of other AI operations, such as fine-tuning via our vTune work.

Both! Our thoughts on this are here and here. We are also collaborating with folks in the space to architect special purpose cryptographic schemes for various classes of models.

EVM++ extends the standard EVM with expressive compute precompiles, native scheduling capabilities, built-in account abstraction, and support for the most requested EIPs. This enables developers to build more sophisticated applications while using familiar tools and maintaining backwards compatibility.

Sidecars are modular extensions to the EVM that enable specialized computation (like AI inference or ZK proving) while maintaining EVM compatibility. They handle complex operations asynchronously and provide verified results back to the main chain.

Our modular storage system allows for flexible data storage solutions optimized for different types of data (like AI model weights or transaction history). It supports various storage backends while maintaining data availability and verification guarantees.

Ritual enables nodes to specialize in specific types of computation (AI inference, ZK proving, TEE execution) while maintaining network decentralization through Symphony’s distributed verification. Node operators can choose their specialization based on their hardware capabilities and expertise.

Ritual uses a combination of techniques including Symphony’s EOVMT paradigm, specialized compute nodes, and efficient proof systems. This allows for parallel processing of AI workloads while maintaining security and decentralization.

Ritual’s native scheduling mechanism allows transactions to be executed based on time or conditions without relying on external keepers. This is built into the protocol level, ensuring reliability and reducing gas costs compared to traditional keeper networks.

Resonance, our transaction fee mechanism, uses a market-driven approach to match compute supply with demand. It enables dynamic pricing based on workload characteristics and resource requirements, ensuring efficient pricing for specialized computation.

Ritual provides built-in mechanisms for proving autonomous operation through a combination of on-chain verification, scheduled transactions, and transparent decision-making rails.

Through Infernet and our chain abstraction sidecar, Ritual enables verified AI computations across different blockchains. This allows developers to build cross-chain applications that leverage AI capabilities while maintaining security and verifiability.

Ritual offers a comprehensive suite of tools including the Agent Launchpad, specialized sidecars, EVM++ development kit, and integration with popular Ethereum tools like Foundry, Hardhat, and ethers.js. We also provide SDKs for AI model integration and cross-chain development.

Ritual provides native support for model versioning and updates through our enshrined AI models feature. This includes mechanisms for model governance, seamless updates, and backward compatibility, ensuring consistent behavior across the network.

Ritual employs multiple layers of security including TEE attestations, ZK proofs, and distributed verification. Models are executed in secure environments with verifiable computation trails and tamper-proof execution guarantees.

Guardians are specialized nodes that monitor network health, verify complex computations, and ensure protocol compliance. They form an additional security layer beyond traditional validators, particularly for heterogeneous workloads.

Ritual provides multiple privacy options including TEE-based confidential computing, homomorphic encryption for data-in-use privacy, and multi-party computation. Developers can choose the appropriate privacy mechanism based on their needs.

You can reach the Ritual Foundation via Twitter DM (@ritualfnd) or on Discord at https://discord.com/invite/ritual-net. You can also email us at hello@ritualfoundation.com. Finally, the team will also be around in-person at ETHDenver and other conferences this year. Follow us on Twitter for details and updates.