Multi-Chain Architecture

Circular’s multi-chain design supports isolated, purpose-specific chains across a unified node network, letting organizations segment workloads by privacy, jurisdiction, or operational domain.

Overview

Circular is architected as a multi-chain infrastructure. Each blockchain instance is logically and cryptographically isolated, with its own block history, certificate registry, and validation rules. These chains operate independently while sharing core node infrastructure such as consensus, identity management, and system services.

This architecture allows institutions to run public, private, or hybrid chains in parallel, adapting to the privacy and regulatory needs of different operational domains without fragmenting the network.

Public Chains

Public chains are designed for high transparency and interoperability. Any node participating in the Circular network can access the chain’s block history and certificate data, depending on its reputation and access settings.

Use cases include:

• Public research data registries

• Open AI training data repositories

• Industry-wide certification networks

Private Chains

Private chains are isolated to a defined set of nodes and are not visible to the broader network. These chains enable organizations to:

• Maintain confidential internal records

• Anchor sensitive certificates

• Operate under strict data governance policies

All data, certificates, and block activity remain accessible only to the authorized participants.

Hybrid Chains

Hybrid chains allow a combination of restricted write access and broader read access. These are useful when organizations want to share verifiable outputs (such as certificates) without exposing the full underlying context or data.

Hybrid chains are often used in collaborative or oversight-heavy environments, such as:

• CRO–sponsor workflows

• Regulatory data synchronization

• Third-party validation scenarios

Execution Model

Each chain executes independently and maintains:

• Its own block history

• Chain-specific certificate records

• Validation workflows isolated from other chains

There is no shared transaction pool. Each chain processes, validates, and stores data based on its own scope and rules.

Certificate Scope

Certificates are bound to the chain in which they are issued. They are cryptographically signed and timestamped within that chain’s block structure. Circular supports anchoring between chains by publishing certificate hashes externally, but certificate movement between chains is not supported.

Node Behavior

Nodes are configured to participate in specific chains. For each chain, a node will:

• Store the full block and certificate history

• Participate in consensus rounds (if authorized)

• Validate incoming transactions based on that chain’s logic

Nodes ignore data from chains they are not subscribed to.

Consensus Isolation

Consensus is executed per chain using Circular’s Proof of Reputation (PoR) mechanism. Validator participation, weight, and response reporting are scoped to the chain context. Consensus on one chain has no impact on other chains, even if the same nodes are involved.

Interoperability via Anchoring

While state is not shared between chains, interoperability is enabled by anchoring. This allows one chain to publish a hash or certificate reference to another chain, enabling timestamped validation or audit logging without exposing the original data.

Anchoring supports:

• Cross-chain verification

• Public timestamping of private actions

• Decentralized audit trails

Summary

Circular’s multi-chain design enables secure, privacy-conscious collaboration without sacrificing auditability or performance. Each chain operates in isolation, giving organizations full control over access, scope, and compliance boundaries while preserving a unified infrastructure for execution and verification.