What is this?
FHEVM is a full-stack framework from Zama for confidential smart contracts: it integrates Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) with EVM-compatible blockchains so encrypted data can be processed directly onchain.
FHEVM is a full-stack framework from Zama for confidential smart contracts: it integrates Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) with EVM-compatible blockchains so encrypted data can be processed directly onchain.So is this a blockchain I deploy, or a framework I build my own dApp with?It's a framework: you write standard Solidity contracts against the FHEVM library and deploy to any EVM-compatible chain. This repo also ships the off-chain stack — a Rust coprocessor, gateway and host contracts, a KMS connector, Helm charts and Docker images.
It's a framework: you write standard Solidity contracts against the FHEVM library and deploy to any EVM-compatible chain. This repo also ships the off-chain stack — a Rust coprocessor, gateway and host contracts, a KMS connector, Helm charts and Docker images.How do I get started building with it?Start from the official documentation and the examples repo. Contracts are written like standard Solidity and built with Hardhat (Foundry support is coming soon); the repo's own e2e suite runs with cd test-suite/fhevm && bun run test.
Start from the official documentation and the examples repo. Contracts are written like standard Solidity and built with Hardhat (Foundry support is coming soon); the repo's own e2e suite runs with cd test-suite/fhevm && bun run test.What does my machine need to run the full stack locally?The e2e stack runs via Docker Compose, deployments use Helm charts, and the base images are golden Docker images for Node.js and Rust; the test script itself runs on Bun. No Python or Go toolchains are involved.
The e2e stack runs via Docker Compose, deployments use Helm charts, and the base images are golden Docker images for Node.js and Rust; the test script itself runs on Bun. No Python or Go toolchains are involved.What are the current gotchas or rough edges?Foundry isn't supported yet — it's marked coming soon, so today you build with Hardhat. Also, only approved contributors who signed the CLA can open pull requests; bugs and ideas from outside go through issues or [email protected].
Foundry isn't supported yet — it's marked coming soon, so today you build with Hardhat. Also, only approved contributors who signed the CLA can open pull requests; bugs and ideas from outside go through issues or [email protected].Do I need to know cryptography to write these contracts?No — FHEVM is explicitly built for developers to write confidential smart contracts without learning cryptography: you define in Solidity what stays encrypted and who can access it.
No — FHEVM is explicitly built for developers to write confidential smart contracts without learning cryptography: you define in Solidity what stays encrypted and who can access it.Who can actually see my transaction data?Nobody — transactions and state stay encrypted end to end, and state updates while remaining encrypted. Decryption goes through a key management system running multi-party computation, so no single party can decrypt alone.
Nobody — transactions and state stay encrypted end to end, and state updates while remaining encrypted. Decryption goes through a key management system running multi-party computation, so no single party can decrypt alone.Can I ship a commercial product on it for free?Not out of the box: the code is BSD-3-Clause-Clear and free only for development, research, prototyping and experimentation. Any commercial use requires purchasing Zama's commercial patent license — the technology is patented.
Not out of the box: the code is BSD-3-Clause-Clear and free only for development, research, prototyping and experimentation. Any commercial use requires purchasing Zama's commercial patent license — the technology is patented.What kind of apps is it actually for?The README lists confidential transfers without mixers, private token and RWA swaps, blind auctions, on-chain games with hidden moves or cards, bribery-proof confidential voting, and encrypted DIDs with attestations that don't need ZK.
The README lists confidential transfers without mixers, private token and RWA swaps, blind auctions, on-chain games with hidden moves or cards, bribery-proof confidential voting, and encrypted DIDs with attestations that don't need ZK.How big can encrypted numbers be?Up to 256 bits of precision, with the full operator set — addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, comparisons, ternary-if and boolean operations — and consecutive FHE operations are not limited.
Up to 256 bits of precision, with the full operator set — addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, comparisons, ternary-if and boolean operations — and consecutive FHE operations are not limited.Why isn't computing on encrypted data painfully slow?All FHE operations run symbolically on the host chain, and the actual computation on encrypted data is offloaded asynchronously to the coprocessor, which the README says keeps execution fast and scalable.
All FHE operations run symbolically on the host chain, and the actual computation on encrypted data is offloaded asynchronously to the coprocessor, which the README says keeps execution fast and scalable.Is the encryption scheme future-proof?Yes — the underlying FHE crypto-scheme is described as quantum-resistant, and the KMS-based decryption via MPC stays secure even if some of the key-holding parties are compromised or misbehaving.
Yes — the underlying FHE crypto-scheme is described as quantum-resistant, and the KMS-based decryption via MPC stays secure even if some of the key-holding parties are compromised or misbehaving.What are similar projects?hashsigs-rs, foundry, hashsigs-solidity, union, cpp-sdk, sismo-badges, openzeppelin-contracts, DeFi-Developer-Road-Map
hashsigs-rs, foundry, hashsigs-solidity, union, cpp-sdk, sismo-badges, openzeppelin-contracts, DeFi-Developer-Road-MapWhich topics is it in?post-quantum, helm-charts, evm, solidity, defi, ethereum, smart-contracts, full-stack, cryptography, web3, blockchain, encryption
post-quantum, helm-charts, evm, solidity, defi, ethereum, smart-contracts, full-stack, cryptography, web3, blockchain, encryption