Architecture Overview

Execution Model (IrysVM)

This section describes how smart contracts execute on Irys and how they interact with stored data through Irys's execution engine, the IrysVM.

IrysVM is the virtual machine that executes smart contracts on the Irys network. It provides an EVM-compatible environment that allows contracts to run deterministically while accessing verified onchain data.

• Native execution environment
  Irys provides a native, EVM-compatible execution environment. Smart contracts are written and deployed using familiar Ethereum tooling and semantics.
• Execution with data access
  Smart contracts on Irys can access stored data during execution and can reference verified data that already exists publicly on the network. This data is retrieved and made available as part of the native execution process.
• Deterministic execution
  Execution on Irys is deterministic. Given the same inputs and the same referenced data, smart contract execution produces the same result across the network. This determinism is enforced by the protocol and is a prerequisite for verifiability and consensus. Execution results can therefore be relied on by other applications without ambiguity.
• Coordinating behavior with data
  Because data is persistent and directly accessible, contracts can coordinate behavior around shared datasets. Multiple applications can reference the same data and apply logic to it without copying or re-validating it. Contracts can enforce permissions, ownership, or rules based on data that persists across executions. This coordination model enables applications to build on top of existing data rather than starting from a blank state each time.
• Execution and performance isolation
  Execution is isolated from storage throughput. Increases in stored data volume do not reduce execution capacity or introduce unpredictable congestion. Execution fees reflect computation costs rather than storage demand. This separation ensures that data-heavy systems can grow without degrading performance.

From the perspective of a smart contract, execution on Irys is straightforward:

• smart contracts run in a familiar EVM environment
• stored data is accessible during execution
• execution is deterministic and verifiable
• performance remains predictable as data grows

The next section describes how verifiability and trust are enforced across execution and storage, and how the protocol ensures these guarantees over time.