OpenLiquid

An open-source, high-performance decentralized exchange (DEX) with on-chain order books, inspired by Hyperliquid.

What is OpenLiquid?

OpenLiquid is a custom Layer 1 blockchain that runs two execution engines under a single HotStuff-BFT consensus:

• OpenCore: High-performance order book DEX for perpetuals and spot trading
• OpenEVM: EVM-compatible smart contract environment with direct DEX integration via precompiles

This unified architecture eliminates traditional bridge risks while achieving >100k orders/sec with sub-second finality.

Project Status

🚧 Early Development - Currently in specification and initial implementation phase.

Getting Started

For Contributors

1. Choose your area: Consensus, Core DEX, EVM Integration, Applications, or QA
2. Read the docs: Check out /docs/GETTING_STARTED.md for detailed setup instructions
3. Pick a task: See /docs/IMPLEMENTATION_CHECKLIST.md for active work items
4. Write tests first: We follow TDD - see test specifications in /docs/TEST_SPECIFICATION.md

Documentation

• Start here: docs/GETTING_STARTED.md - New contributor guide
• Architecture: docs/implementation_spec.md - High-level system design
• Implementation: docs/IMPLEMENTATION_CHECKLIST.md - Task tracking
• Full docs: docs/README.md - Complete documentation index

Building the Project

# Build all crates
cargo build

# Run tests
cargo test

# Run specific crate tests
cargo test -p consensus
cargo test -p core
cargo test -p evm

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Areas of focus:

• Consensus Layer: HotStuff-BFT implementation, networking, cryptography
• Core DEX: Order book, matching engine, clearing, liquidations
• EVM Integration: Precompiles, state synchronization, CoreWriter
• Applications: Market making vaults, trading interfaces, tooling
• Testing & QA: Test infrastructure, fuzzing, security analysis

Before contributing, please:

1. Review docs/GETTING_STARTED.md
2. Check existing issues and PRs
3. Follow the TDD workflow
4. Ensure all tests pass before submitting

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         OpenLiquid L1 Blockchain        │
│     (HotStuff-BFT Consensus)           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                         │
│  ┌──────────┐       ┌──────────┐      │
│  │ OpenCore │◄─────►│ OpenEVM  │      │
│  │  (DEX)   │       │ (Smart   │      │
│  │          │       │ Contracts)│      │
│  └──────────┘       └──────────┘      │
│         └──────┬──────┘                │
│                ↓                        │
│         Unified State                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

Community

• GitHub Issues: Bug reports and feature requests
• Discussions: Architecture discussions and Q&A

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