High-Level Architecture
Liminal is composed of four logical layers that together define a complete, deterministic cross-chain deployment system. Each layer has a clearly scoped responsibility and remains as simple as possible. The architecture is intentionally modular at the conceptual level, while remaining tightly coupled in terms of guarantees.
The key design goal is to standardize deployment semantics without introducing new trust assumptions or cross-chain coupling beyond what is strictly necessary.
Solana Layer
The Solana layer is responsible for SPL token creation and ownership.
Liminal assumes the existence of a standard SPL mint deployed using Solana’s native token program. The mint parameters such as supply, decimals, and mint authority are expected to be immutable once deployment is complete. Liminal does not modify SPL behavior, introduce custom Solana programs, or impose additional constraints beyond mint existence.
At this layer, the SPL token behaves exactly like any other Solana-native asset. It can be transferred, traded, or integrated into Solana applications independently of any cross-chain considerations.
By keeping the Solana layer untouched, Liminal preserves Solana’s native security and composability guarantees and avoids introducing new attack surfaces on the Solana side.
Identity Layer
The identity layer is the core abstraction of Liminal.
From a given SPL mint address, Liminal derives a deterministic, chain-agnostic bytes32 identity. This derivation is purely functional: the same SPL mint will always produce the same identity, regardless of environment, network, or execution context.
This identity does not depend on on-chain registries, governance decisions, or off-chain coordination. It can be recomputed by anyone at any time, making the system transparent and verifiable.
The identity serves as the canonical reference for the token across chains. It is the single source of truth that links the Solana representation to its Base representation, enforcing a strict one-to-one relationship.
By isolating identity into its own layer, Liminal removes ambiguity and prevents accidental or malicious misconfiguration of cross-chain mappings.
Base Layer
The Base layer is responsible for deploying the ERC-20 representation of the token.
Using the derived cross-chain identity, Liminal deploys an ERC-20 twin via a factory contract on Base. The deployment parameters are intentionally minimal and include only the identity and SPL metadata such as name, symbol, and decimals.
The factory enforces uniqueness and idempotency. For a given identity, only one ERC-20 representation can exist. Any attempt to redeploy an already existing identity will either return the existing deployment or revert, depending on factory semantics.
The deployed ERC-20 is a fully native Base asset. It follows standard ERC-20 behavior and integrates seamlessly with existing EVM tooling, DeFi protocols, and infrastructure.
No wrapper logic, escrow contracts, or proxy patterns are introduced at this layer.
Routing Layer
The routing layer handles token movement between Solana and Base after both representations exist.
Once deployment is complete on both chains, bridging becomes a routing problem rather than a configuration problem. The routing layer operates on already-defined representations and does not affect deployment state or identity guarantees.
Routing logic is generic and stateless. It does not require token-specific configuration or custom integration per asset. This allows the same routing infrastructure to support all tokens deployed through Liminal.
Failures at the routing layer are isolated. A failed bridge operation does not impact token deployment, identity resolution, or ownership on the source chain.
By decoupling routing from deployment, Liminal ensures that cross-chain movement remains optional and recoverable, while deployment guarantees remain stable.
Architectural Summary
Each layer in Liminal has a single responsibility:
The Solana Layer defines the native SPL asset
The Identity Layer defines the canonical cross-chain identity
The Base Layer defines the native ERC-20 representation
The Routing Layer moves supply between representations
This separation allows Liminal to standardize deployment without tightly coupling chains, introduce determinism without registries, and enable cross-chain expansion that scales predictably.
Last updated