Key Management
The Encrypted Marginal Price (EMP) auction module uses a version of the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) to provide the necessary encryption for users to submit sealed bids onchain. In order to create an EMP auction, the seller must create a BN254 keypair and provide the public key. Then, to decrypt and settle the auction after it concludes, the private key for that matches the provided public key must be submitted.
It's possible for the seller to generate their own BN254 key pair and remember their private key for later submission. However, the user experience isn't very good. Additionally, bidders would have to rely on the seller to submit the private key for the auction to successfully conclude. A better option is to use a key management service, which creates, stores, and releases the keys publicly based on certain criteria (such as an auction ending).
Axis Cloak is a key management service that creates BN254 key pairs on demand, provides the requestor the public key, stores the private key, and releases the private key once an auction concludes. It has several components:
- MongoDB database
- API
- Watcher bots
- Admin scripts
Deployments
We have deployed the service for use in the following environments, and it is open to use by integrators.
| Environment | API URL | Chains Supported |
|---|---|---|
| Testnet | https://api-testnet-v2.railway.app | Arbitrum Sepolia, Blast Sepolia, Mode Sepolia |
| Mainnet | Not yet deployed | None (currently in testnet) |