Compliance Depth
Which chains
embed compliance,
and how deep?
Stablechains are blockchains designed from genesis for stablecoin compliance. They embed compliance mechanisms at L2 and L3 — deeper than general-purpose chains, which bolt compliance on at L4–L5. This matrix makes the difference visible.
Chain Profiles
Three tiers of compliance depth
General-Purpose
TRON · Ethereum · Solana
Compliance is external. Screening, monitoring, and filing happen at L4 (APIs like Chainalysis) and L5 (wallet-level KYC). No chain-native compliance mechanisms below L4.
L2 / Rollup
Base
Inherits from Ethereum via OP Stack. Adds compliance at L3–L4 through Coinbase infrastructure: CDP smart wallets, ERC-4337 account abstraction, CCTP bridging.
Stablechain
Arc · Tempo · Pharos
Compliance embedded at L2–L3 from genesis. Permissioned validators, regulatory view keys, confidential transfers, enshrined policy engines. Compliance cannot be bypassed — it is the chain.
Definition
What is a stablechain?
A blockchain designed from genesis for stablecoin compliance. Stablechains share three distinguishing properties that general-purpose chains cannot retrofit:
Permissioned Validation
Validators are known entities with regulatory standing. Blocks can only be produced by approved operators.
Regulatory View Keys
Designated authorities can inspect transaction data without requiring on-chain transparency — selective disclosure by design.
Enshrined Compliance Policies
Token rules, transfer restrictions, and reporting triggers are compiled into the consensus layer — they execute with the same finality as token transfers.