Elements

Build your own sidechain.

Elements is the open-source blockchain platform behind the Liquid Network. It is based on Bitcoin Core, so anyone can use it to launch a Bitcoin sidechain.

Get the code What it does

Elements is the framework the Liquid Network runs on. It forks Bitcoin Core and adds confidential transactions, issued assets, and a federated peg, then hands the whole thing to anyone who wants to build their own sidechain.

The platform

A blockchain you can shape to your own rules.

The Liquid Network is the best-known network built on Elements, but it is one of many. The platform ships the features a sidechain needs out of the box, from private transactions to native asset issuance, and leaves the parameters open. Set the block time, the federation, and the assets your chain supports, then run it.

What Elements adds

The building blocks of a Bitcoin sidechain.

Confidential Transactions

Hide the amounts and asset types in a transaction while keeping it fully verifiable on the chain.

Issued assets

Create and transfer custom assets natively on the chain, alongside the pegged Bitcoin that secures it.

Federated peg

A two-way peg moves Bitcoin in and out of the sidechain, secured by a federation rather than a single party.

Signed blocks

A federation signs blocks for fast, predictable finality, instead of waiting on proof-of-work confirmations.

Based on Bitcoin Core

It starts where Bitcoin starts.

Elements forks the Bitcoin Core codebase, so a sidechain inherits the same battle-tested foundation that secures Bitcoin itself: the consensus engine, the scripting system, and the wallet and node tooling developers already know. The platform layers the sidechain features on top of that base.

  • Bitcoin CoreThe base layer: consensus rules, script, the P2P network stack, and node and wallet tooling.
  • ConfidentialityConfidential Transactions blind amounts and asset types while keeping balances provable.
  • AssetsNative issuance lets a chain carry many assets alongside its base coin.
  • Peg & blocksA federated two-way peg and signed blocks replace proof-of-work for fast finality.

Open and yours to run.

Type
Open-source blockchain and sidechain platform
Based on
The Bitcoin Core codebase
Confidentiality
Confidential Transactions for blinded amounts and asset types
Assets
Native issuance and transfer of custom assets
Peg
Federated two-way peg to Bitcoin
Consensus
Federation-signed blocks for fast, predictable finality
In production
The Liquid Network, the best-known network built on Elements
Source
Published on GitHub at ElementsProject/elements

Start building on Elements.

Read the platform, see it running on Liquid, and add verifiable smart contracts with Simplicity.

Read the docs View on GitHub
Liquid Network The production sidechain built on Elements, for fast settlement and digital assets. Simplicity A new language for Bitcoin smart contracts you can verify before they run. Developers Everything Blockstream builds in the open, from Lightning to the Explorer API. elementsproject.org Platform documentation, tutorials, and the full feature reference.