# Architecture Overview

Numex uses a web-first architecture with on-chain infrastructure on Base.

```mermaid
flowchart TB
  subgraph Buyer["Collector Experience"]
    A["Marketplace"]
    B["thirdweb Payments"]
    C["Reveal UI"]
    D["Portfolio"]
    E["Redemption"]
  end

  subgraph Backend["Numex Backend"]
    F["Postgres Database"]
    G["Pack Inventory + Odds"]
    H["Integrity Proofs"]
    I["Chain Transaction Queue"]
  end

  subgraph Chain["Base (On-Chain)"]
    J["NumexRegistryV3"]
    K["NumexMarketplaceSettlement"]
  end

  A --> B --> C --> D --> E
  C --> G
  D --> H
  H --> I
  I --> J
  B --> K
  K --> J
  F --> G
  F --> H
```

## Principles

* The collector experience is about coins, vaulting, redemption, and proof — not crypto complexity
* On-chain infrastructure provides auditability, atomic settlement, and verifiable integrity
* Database state, contract state, and custody state reconcile before production claims are made
* A physical coin cannot be owned by two users simultaneously
* Payments are settled in USDC on-chain; buyers pay with card or crypto via thirdweb Payments

## Proof Architecture

| Component               | Technique                                         | Status      |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| Custody integrity proof | `keccak256(fingerprint, salt)` on-chain NFT       | Live        |
| Pack pool commitment    | keccak256 Merkle root with on-chain verification  | Deployed    |
| Reveal fairness         | Deterministic commit-reveal with Merkle inclusion | Live        |
| Marketplace settlement  | Atomic USDC split with idempotent saleRef         | Deployed    |
| ZK ownership proof      | Noir circuit for private verification             | Implemented |

Current proofs are **verifiable commitments**. See [ZK Roadmap](/numex-docs/zero-knowledge-proofs/zk-roadmap.md) for the planned transition to zero-knowledge proofs.

## Marketplace and Ownership

* Coins are freely transferable ERC-721 tokens on Base
* Marketplace purchases settle atomically on-chain (USDC → token transfer + residual split)
* Pack reveals assign single-owner custody via verified payment
* Curator residuals accrue on each resale and are claimable on-chain
* Both marketplace purchase and pack reveal require completed payment before ownership transfers


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