EVM + NATIVE MESSAGING
Ethereum revolutionized trustless value transfer and programmable money. But it wasn't designed for communication and data storage.
What if you just want to publish a message with finalized ordering and archive-backed retrieval, without deploying a contract or paying per-byte gas fees?
Obsidian isn't replacing Ethereum—it's extending it for the data-first future. A dedicated messaging layer that operates alongside the traditional transaction system.
| Layer | Ethereum | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Transactions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Smart Contracts | ✓ | ✓ |
| State Changes | ✓ | ✓ |
| ERC-20 / ERC-721 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native Messages | ✗ | ✓ (archive-backed, no EVM) |
Messages publish through the native data layer of Obsidian so they don't compete with DeFi for block space.
Messages bypass the EVM entirely, reducing overhead. No gas computation, no state machine execution.
Basic messages cost nothing—just compute a small VDF proof. Priority lane available when fast inclusion matters (paid in OBS).
Data availability is verified by consensus, with validators retaining erasure-coded chunks during the serve window and archive nodes preserving long-term history for RPC retrieval.
Your Ethereum skills transfer directly. Same tooling, same languages, same developer experience—plus new capabilities.
// Your existing Solidity works
contract MyToken is ERC20 {
constructor() ERC20("My Token", "MTK") {
_mint(msg.sender, 1000000 * 10**18);
}
}
// Deploy with Hardhat
npx hardhat deploy --network obsidian// No contract needed
await provider.send(
"eth_sendMessageBlob",
[{
from: myAddress,
data: "0x" + toHex("Hello!"),
signature: sig,
nonce: nonceHex,
chainId: "0x1a5"
}]
);
// Zero gas, archive-backed retrieval| Feature | Ethereum | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Contracts | Full EVM | Full EVM |
| Transaction Fees | Gas (variable) | Gas (variable) |
| Data Storage Cost | ~$0.50-5.00/KB | Feeless (SM) |
| Max Data Per TX | ~128 KB (calldata) | 8 KB/msg, 100 MB/slot |
| Native Messages | No | Yes |
| Contract Required for Data | Yes | No |
| Data Permanence | Calldata (prunable) | Native (archive-backed) |
| Silica Protocol | No | Yes |
Obsidian gives you both options. Use the right tool for the job.