One chain

Transistor → canvas → tapeout → circuit → processor → container. This chapter lays out each building block; one or two lines each is enough.

Logic gates: NAND and LATCH

• NAND: output 0 only when both inputs are 1, otherwise 1. NAND alone can build any logic circuit — adders, comparators, even a whole CPU.
• LATCH: remembers one bit of state, updated on each "heartbeat". Without it a circuit can only compute from the current inputs and cannot recall the previous step.

TapeOut ships only these two parts. The manifesto puts it: one basic element and one cell of memory — from these two you can build the whole universe.

Transistor tokens

Once NAND and LATCH go on-chain they become tokens, collectively called transistors.

• ERC-1155: suits assets where one kind has many identical copies;
• they are minted first, and can also be traded on the market;
• every processor has its own transistor contract, e.g. TapeOut 0xCC42…808, Behemoth 0xE2Df…550c, Genesis 0x1d23…DFE6.

Transistors from different processors are not the same thing: before buying, check which processor's NAND/LATCH you are getting, or you may tape out to the wrong place or fail to mine.

Processors: a transistor "issuing plant"

A processor (also called a "project" in the UI) is created by the factory contract — a transistor factory plus circuit numbering system:

• anyone can open one for 0.001 BNB;
• at creation the total transistor supply, mint price and revenue share are fixed; revenue from others minting is claimed manually on the detail page;
• processors are numbered in creation order, from 0, only growing;
• as of 2026-09-25 the factory contract shows 1,043 processors; only circuits on Behemoth (#1) and TapeOut (#30) can join PoD mining.

Canvas and tapeout

The canvas is the site's circuit design tool: drag NAND and LATCH in, pull a wire from one output to another input, and you have made a connection. It simulates in your own browser, off-chain and free — retry as much as you like.

When happy, press "tape out on-chain":

• the transistor tokens you used are really burned;
• an ERC-721 circuit NFT is minted, each one unique;
• the logic is stored on-chain as data (which gate feeds which), officially the netlist.

Two things to know: one tapeout transaction cannot hold a huge circuit — data over roughly 40,000 bytes fails, so large circuits are split into several; and with Yosys/ABC you can import an exported BLIF file straight into the canvas. Tapeout is irreversible: burned transistors do not come back.

A circuit: a function that is always on

After tapeout a circuit becomes a function anyone can call:

• calls are read-only (a view call): no transaction, no gas, no wallet. A circuit has no "call someone else" operation and no writable state — so, the manifesto says, taking in a stranger's circuit "at worst returns a wrong answer";
• the canvas lets you drag an existing circuit in as a "black box" and reuse it — this is referencing (REF), which the manifesto calls "LEGO-style processor building".

REF and mining: the protocol allows references, but current PoD mining bars circuits that contain references (see the "$BEM & Mining" chapter).

Containers, names and mining: a first look

• Circuit container: each circuit can open an on-chain account to hold assets, host a site and receive messages;
• .tape names: e.g. 4246.0.tape, meaning circuit #4246 on processor 0;
• PoD mining: a qualified circuit can act as a "miner" and share $BEM by the rules.