n-VM: A Multi-VM Layer-1 Architecture with Shared Identity and Token State

TL;DR

n-VM introduces a shared, multi-VM Layer-1 blockchain architecture that unifies identity and token management, enabling efficient cross-VM interactions and high throughput on commodity hardware.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel multi-VM Layer-1 architecture with shared identity and token state, formalizes its semantics, and demonstrates its high throughput potential.

Findings

Formalized cross-VM transfer atomicity and identity isolation.

Achieves projected throughput of 16,000 to 66,000 TPS.

Supports multiple VMs including EVM, Bitcoin Script, and TVM.

Abstract

Multi-chain ecosystems suffer from fragmented identity, siloed liquidity, and bridge-dependent token transfers. We present n-VM, a Layer-1 architecture that hosts n heterogeneous virtual machines as co-equal execution environments over shared consensus and shared state. The design combines three components: a dispatcher that routes transactions by opcode prefix, a unified identity layer in which one 32-byte commitment anchors VM-specifific addresses, and a unified token ledger that exposes VM-native interfaces such as ERC-20 and SPL over a common balance store. We formalize routing, identity derivation, and token transfer semantics, and prove cross-VM transfer atomicity and identity isolation under standard cryptographic assumptions. We describe a concrete instantiation with five VMs: a native runtime, EVM, SVM, Bitcoin Script, and TVM. We also present context-based sharding and a write-set scheduler for parallel execution. Under an analytical throughput model, the architecture admits a projected range of about 16,000 to 66,000 transactions per second on commodity hardware.