Beam (Avalanche Subnet)

Beam is a Layer 1 blockchain built on the Mimblewimble protocol, designed to provide strong privacy and confidentiality for all transactions by default. Launched in early 2019, Beam integrates privacy-preserving technologies such as LelantusMW to conceal transaction details, making it suitable for users and developers who require anonymity and confidentiality in decentralized finance (DeFi), asset tokenization, and NFT applications. The platform supports confidential assets, private stablecoins, NFTs, and a decentralized exchange (DEX) with atomic swaps for multiple cryptocurrencies, including BTC, LTC, and ETH.

Beam’s architecture includes a bespoke Beam Virtual Machine (BVM) that enables confidential smart contracts executed via WebAssembly (WASM). This allows developers to build privacy-preserving decentralized applications (dApps) with business logic separated from presentation layers, facilitating wallet integration and user-friendly experiences. Beam offers native wallets across desktop, mobile, and web platforms, supporting both interactive and simple transaction types, enhancing usability without compromising privacy.

What sets Beam apart is its default privacy model, where all transactions are confidential, and its support for confidential assets indistinguishable from native BEAM transactions. The platform also features bridges to Ethereum, enabling wrapped BEAM tokens (WBEAM) and interoperability with Ethereum-based assets. Beam’s governance is transitioning to a DAO model (BeamX DAO) with on-chain voting using BEAMX tokens. Mining is based on a Proof-of-Work consensus with the custom BeamHash III algorithm, optimized for GPU mining. Developers can get started by downloading Beam wallets, accessing comprehensive documentation, and exploring the Beam Shader SDK for smart contract development.