Skip to main content
Z is composed of several integrated components. Upon launch, the inference layer comes online: users get private access to a range of models through a single API surface, routed across providers and trust tiers, with hardware-attested TEEs backing the higher tiers and a unified credit ledger handling payment across fiat and on-chain rails. Shortly after launch, the rest of the core platform ships: a neutral ledger with its consensus mechanism, the ShieldedPool privacy primitive, the initial Zcosystem utilities (Z Trade, Z Lend, USDZ, and more), and the bridges that connect Z to outside liquidity. Ultimately, the platform will expand further with additional utilities, tools, and features built on top of these foundations. Each component ships on the timeline detailed in the roadmap.

​
The architecture at launch

  1. The Z Inference Gateway. A single OpenAI-compatible API surface. Routes inference requests across upstream providers and trust tiers. Enforces tier boundaries cryptographically.
  2. The payment layer. A unified credit ledger fed by Stripe (fiat top-ups), x402 (per-request on-chain settlement on Base and Solana), and MPP (pre-authorized session payments). Inference debits the credit pool regardless of the rail of origin.
  3. The TEE substrate. Hardware-attested TEEs back Tiers 3 and 4 of the inference gateway. Attestation verification, revocation propagation, and per-tier routing isolation are operational.
These pieces compose into a system where an integrator can send an inference request, pay through any of three rails, and choose a cryptographically enforced trust level.

​
The broader architecture

The broader Z Protocol architecture additionally includes:
  • The Z ledger. A sovereign blockchain with Zcash Satoshi Plus consensus, EVM compatibility, and integrated privacy primitives.
  • The bridge stack. Bridges between Z Chain and external networks (LayerZero at chain launch, a ZEC SPV bridge subsequently, FROST-based withdrawal).
  • The validator network. Permissionless validator operation under Zcash Satoshi Plus consensus, dual-staked by ZEC and Z.
  • Zcosystem utilities. USDZ, Z Trade, Z Lend, and other tools for agentic on-chain usage.
These are described in detail in documentation that ships alongside the corresponding capability. The roadmap tracks their status.

​
Where to read more