Frequentlyasked.
Everything people ask before they use, stake on, or build on Sanect. If something is missing, ask in the community — answers get folded back in here.
The basics
What is Sanect?
A Layer 1 blockchain that combines EVM compatibility with native privacy — a portmanteau of Sanctuary and Connect. Run standard Solidity, use MetaMask, and optionally shield transfers so the sender is never visible on the explorer.
How is Sanect different from other privacy blockchains?
Most privacy solutions are either a separate chain (Zcash, Monero) or a bolt-on mixer. Sanect is an EVM L1 where shielded transfers are a native primitive — same chain, same wallets, chosen per transaction. No new seed phrase, no bridge, no per-circuit setup ceremony.
Is this a mainnet or a testnet?
Mainnet has been live since 22 June 2026 with chain ID 7628 (cosmos: sanect_7628-1). The testnet (76287) keeps running for development; testnet SNCT has no value.
What is the native token?
SNCT pays gas, is staked by validators and carries governance weight. Genesis supply is 1,000,000,000 across ten transparent buckets with no VC allocation. Inflation auto-adjusts between 7% and 20% toward a 67% bonded ratio, with a 2% community tax.
What does SNCT stand for?
SNCT on a T9 keypad is 7-6-2-8 — the chain ID. Sanect is Sanctuary + Connect.
How do I check my balance or history?
Use scan.sanect.com: enter your address to see balance, transactions, token holdings and internal transactions. Or check directly in your wallet once the network is added.
What wallets work?
Any EVM wallet: MetaMask, Rabby, Coinbase Wallet, Trust, Frame, OKX and others. No Keplr or Cosmos-specific wallet is needed.
Privacy
How does a shielded transfer work?
A Zcash-Sapling-style note pool inside an EVM contract. To spend, your wallet produces a Noir zk-SNARK proving the note commitment is in the Merkle tree, you hold the spending key, and inputs balance outputs. Only the proof and a nullifier are published — the sender is never revealed.
What proof system does Sanect use?
A custom 2-in/2-out Noir circuit proven with Aztec’s Barretenberg UltraHonk backend, generated in your browser (about 2–3 seconds on a laptop) and verified on chain by a Solidity verifier. Notes use Poseidon-2 over BN254.
Why no trusted setup?
Proofs use Aztec’s Barretenberg backend (UltraHonk) over a universal structured reference string that is already public and audited. There is no per-circuit ceremony and no toxic waste. Security rests on standard hardness assumptions over BN254.
Does shielding hide the recipient?
The recipient is hidden inside an encrypted memo which their wallet trial-decrypts with a viewing key. See the privacy-modes page for exactly what each send mode hides.
Can I use my existing wallet for shielded transfers?
Yes. Sign one canonical message once; the signature is hashed into a viewing key and a spending key. Your existing wallet security covers both paths.
Is Sanect legal to use?
Sanect is neutral infrastructure, like HTTPS or end-to-end encrypted messaging. You are responsible for compliance in your jurisdiction; the protocol neither enforces nor advises on it.
How large is the anonymity set?
The whole shielded pool — every note ever shielded, across users and assets. It grows with every shield; the wallet shows the live size rather than pretending.
Can I audit shielded transactions?
Yes, with viewing keys. A viewing key reveals incoming notes without granting spend authority — share it with an auditor or regulator to prove history without exposing it publicly.
What if I lose my device?
Keys derive from your wallet signature. On a new device: connect the same wallet, sign the same message, and the keys are re-derived. No backup beyond your seed phrase.
Validators & staking
Why a top-50 active set?
Fifty validators balance decentralisation with sub-second BFT finality. Registrations are unlimited: the top 50 by stake form the active set and the rest wait-list by rank. Jailed for downtime? The staking dApp has a one-click unjail.
How do I become a validator?
Run a node meeting the hardware bar, self-delegate at least 1,000 SNCT on mainnet, and register via the staking app or precompile. Rank in the top 50 and you are active; otherwise you rotate in when your stake passes rank 50.
What happens if a validator is slashed?
Double-signing burns 5% of bonded stake; prolonged downtime burns 0.01%. Delegators share the loss proportionally, and the validator is jailed until the operator unjails.
Can I stake without running a validator?
Yes — delegate to any active validator and earn a proportional share of rewards. Non-custodial: redelegate or unbond any time; unbonding takes 21 days.
What hardware does a validator need?
Minimum 4 cores, 16 GB RAM, 500 GB NVMe, 100 Mbps. Local NVMe matters: networked storage adds latency that degrades block time. Vultr HF, Hetzner Cloud or bare metal are proven.
What are the staking rewards?
Block inflation (7–20% per year, targeting 67% bonded) plus transaction fees. A 2% community tax is deducted before distribution; the proposer bonus is 1–5% of block rewards.
Ecosystem
How do I bridge from Ethereum?
Use the Bridge tab on swap.sanect.com. Hyperlane-powered; 14 assets supported (USDC, USDT, WBTC, WETH, DAI, LINK, UNI, AAVE, MKR, COMP, LDO, SHIB, PEPE, CRV). One canonical token per asset; transfers typically land in 1–3 minutes.
What is the .snct name service?
Human-readable names like alice.snct: sealed-bid auctions for premium names, a marketplace, reverse records so dApps show your name, and a price oracle. Manage at domain.sanect.com.
How does the airdrop work?
300M SNCT across four phases at Day 180, 270, 360 and 450 — 75M each. Points come from a product matrix (DEX, LP, farming, names, shielded usage, bridge, delegation, governance…); each claim vests over 180 days; points reset per phase. No testnet airdrop.
What is the LP farm?
MasterChef liquidity mining: 100M SNCT over five years across SNCT/USDC, SNCT/USDT, SNCT/WETH and SNCT/WBTC, with TVL-tiered per-pool caps. Stake LP tokens on the Farm tab of swap.sanect.com.
Which DEX pairs exist?
Fifteen pairs: USDT against USDC, WBTC, WETH, DAI, LINK, UNI, AAVE, MKR, COMP, LDO, SHIB, PEPE, CRV and WSNCT, plus USDC/WSNCT.
Is there a mobile app?
No dedicated app. Every Sanect dApp is web-based and works in mobile browsers with MetaMask Mobile or any mobile EVM wallet.
Developers
Can I deploy existing Ethereum contracts?
Yes. Solidity contracts, Hardhat scripts, Foundry suites and ethers/viem front-ends work unchanged — point the RPC at https://rpc.sanect.com/ with chain ID 7628.
What are precompiles?
Built-in contracts that expose Cosmos SDK modules to the EVM. Solidity can call staking (0x…800), distribution (0x…801), governance (0x…805) and slashing (0x…806) directly.
Is the code open source?
The node software is publicly viewable at github.com/sanect/sanect-node under a source-available licence: you can read and audit it, but copying or modifying it needs written permission from Sanect UK Limited. The smart contracts (shielded pool, DEX, name service, bridge) are verified on the block explorer and the Noir circuit source is published in the repository.
Is there a grant programme?
Yes — the Community & Ecosystem bucket (100M SNCT, capped at 20M per year) funds grants, hackathons and partnerships. See the grants page for tiers and the application flow.
How do I connect to the RPC?
EVM JSON-RPC https://rpc.sanect.com/ · WebSocket wss://rpc.sanect.com/ws · Cosmos REST https://rpc.sanect.com/rest/ · CometBFT RPC https://rpc.sanect.com/rpc. All standard eth_*, net_* and web3_* methods are supported.
Security & trust
Has the code been audited?
An external engagement is underway; firms and full reports will be published. Treat the shielded pool as pre-audit until then. The bug bounty is active on mainnet and testnet.
What is the bug bounty?
Up to 50,000 SNCT for critical findings (fund theft, double-spend, proof forgery). Tiers and the disclosure process are on the security page.
Who controls Sanect?
No single entity. Contributors are pseudonymous; there is no foundation veto. Governance is on chain — SNCT holders vote on protocol changes. Code is public under a source-available licence.
What happens if a critical bug is found?
The protocol-governance multisig (3-of-5 Safe, migrating from role EOAs) can pause the ShieldedPool in an emergency. Non-emergency upgrades go through governance.
Bridge & interoperability
Which chains can I bridge from?
Ethereum mainnet today, via Hyperlane. Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, BSC, Polygon and Avalanche are planned on the same pattern. IBC for Cosmos chains is architecturally possible but not deployed.
How long does bridging take?
Typically 1–3 minutes from Ethereum. No multi-day withdrawal windows.
Is my bridged asset the same as the original?
Bridged assets are Hyperlane synthetics on Sanect, backed 1:1 by collateral locked in adapters on the source chain. One canonical synthetic per asset.
What if my chain isn’t supported yet?
Route through Ethereum: bridge to mainnet first, then to Sanect.