Technical Documentation

Protocol Documentation

Technical reference for the Ornyx RWA protocol — contracts, architecture, and grant proposal materials.

Smart Contracts Architecture Grant Proposal FAQ

Architecture Overview

// Ornyx Protocol — Three-contract architecture
OryxCompliance   -- KYC & viewing keys
      |
OryxAsset      -- AIP-20 token (private balances + public supply)
      |
OryxRegistry   -- Public asset catalog

Public State

+Total token supply

+Asset name, symbol, class

+Issuance events

+IPFS document hash

+Approved issuer list

+Compliance event log

Private State

*Individual balances (UintNote UTXO)

*Transfer amounts & recipients

*KYC-approved investor list

*Identity of all holders

*Transaction history

Smart Contracts

OryxAssetNoir

AIP-20 compatible RWA token with hybrid public/private state

contracts/ornyx_asset/src/main.nr

Function	Visibility	Caller
`mint_private(to, amount)`	private	issuer
`transfer(to, amount, nonce)`	private	holder
`burn(from, amount, nonce)`	private	issuer
`balance_of_private(owner)`	private view	owner
`total_supply()`	public view	anyone
`set_paused(pause)`	public	issuer

mint_private(to, amount)

privateissuer

transfer(to, amount, nonce)

privateholder

burn(from, amount, nonce)

privateissuer

balance_of_private(owner)

private viewowner

total_supply()

public viewanyone

set_paused(pause)

publicissuer

OryxComplianceNoir

KYC approval, revocation, and selective regulatory disclosure

contracts/ornyx_compliance/src/main.nr

Function	Visibility	Caller
`approve_investor(investor, expires_at)`	private	officer
`revoke_approval(investor)`	private	officer
`is_approved(investor, ts)`	private view	asset contract
`grant_regulator_view(reg, asset, key_hash, ts)`	public	issuer / officer

approve_investor(investor, expires_at)

privateofficer

revoke_approval(investor)

privateofficer

is_approved(investor, ts)

private viewasset contract

grant_regulator_view(reg, asset, key_hash, ts)

publicissuer / officer

OryxRegistryNoir

On-chain catalog of all issued RWA assets

contracts/ornyx_registry/src/main.nr

Function	Visibility	Caller
`register_asset(name, symbol, class, ...)`	public	approved issuer
`update_doc_hash(id, hash)`	public	issuer / admin
`delist_asset(id)`	public	issuer / admin
`get_asset_count()`	public view	anyone

register_asset(name, symbol, class, ...)

publicapproved issuer

update_doc_hash(id, hash)

publicissuer / admin

delist_asset(id)

publicissuer / admin

get_asset_count()

public viewanyone

Grant Proposal

Aztec Foundation Grant Application

Ornyx: Privacy-First RWA Infrastructure for Aztec

We are requesting a grant to build and deploy the Ornyx protocol — the first modular RWA issuance and transfer infrastructure on Aztec Network.

Phase 1 (Weeks 1–4)

Core Protocol

Three Noir contracts: OryxAsset, OryxCompliance, OryxRegistry. Audit-ready with integration tests.

Phase 2 (Weeks 5–6)

Demo Application

Next.js dApp with issuer, investor, and compliance interfaces. Deployed on Aztec testnet.

Phase 3 (Week 7)

Documentation

Developer docs, Aztec Forum post, GitHub repository, and recorded demo video.

Full Grant Proposal Forum Post Draft

Frequently Asked Questions

Why build RWAs on Aztec instead of Ethereum?+

Ethereum is fully transparent — every transfer, balance, and counter-party is visible to anyone on-chain. For institutional RWA holders, this exposes competitive and financial information. Aztec is the only production-grade zkRollup with native private state, making it the only chain where you can have truly private holdings while still meeting regulatory requirements.

How does compliance work without revealing everything?+

KYC approvals are stored as private notes encrypted with the compliance officer's key. When a transfer happens, the smart contract verifies (via ZK proof) that both parties have valid approvals — without revealing who they are to the public. The proof system guarantees the check happened correctly; the public sees only a proof hash, not the identities.

What is a viewing key and why does it matter for regulators?+

A viewing key is a cryptographic secret derived from the asset's private state. When the issuer grants it to a regulator (e.g., the FCA), the regulator can decrypt and read all notes in the private state tree for that asset. This lets them audit holdings without breaking the privacy of other investors. The grant itself is logged on-chain as an immutable audit record.

Is this legal? Does privacy enable money laundering?+

Ornyx's compliance by design model is specifically architected to prevent this. KYC is enforced at the protocol level — no unapproved address can ever hold or transfer Ornyx assets. This is stricter than many traditional financial systems. Regulators get more visibility through cryptographic, auditable access — not less.

What is the Noir programming language?+

Noir is a domain-specific language (DSL) developed by Aztec Protocol for writing zero-knowledge circuits. It compiles to ZK proof circuits that run on Aztec's private execution environment. All three Ornyx contracts are written in Noir.