Assets and Applications

Qubic's network state contains more than QUBIC balances. It also includes issued assets and smart-contract data. Users interact with these forms of state through identities, while wallets and applications turn protocol data into interfaces that can be used directly.

Identity: an entity identifier in the network

An Identity is a public identifier used to represent an entity in Qubic. People, services, Computors, and smart contracts can all appear in network interactions through identities.

A wallet derives private keys and a public Identity from a Seed. The Identity can be shared to receive QUBIC or assets. Private key material creates signatures and is kept by its holder. The network verifies transaction signatures without requiring a user's name or account profile.

QUBIC: the network's native unit

QUBIC is Qubic's native unit. It can transfer value between identities and is also used in smart contracts and some protocol functions.

Ordinary QUBIC transfers do not carry the base network fee commonly found in traditional blockchains. Smart contracts, DEXs, pools, exchanges, and other services can still define burns, fees, or settlement differences according to their own rules. These belong to the economic design of the specific feature or service.

Spectrum: QUBIC state

Spectrum describes network state related to identities and QUBIC. After executing a Tick, Computors derive a new Spectrum state so that all nodes participating in consensus can agree on current balances.

Wallets normally read Spectrum through a node or data service and present the result as a familiar balance. Historical transaction lists can be assembled separately from Tick data, Bob, archival nodes, and explorers.

Universe: issued-asset state

Qubic supports creating and transferring issued assets. Universe records issuance and holding relationships for these assets. Two common concepts are:

Ownership: an Identity's ownership of an asset;
Possession: an Identity's current control or possession of an asset.

An asset is identified by both its name and issuer. Two assets can use the same name while being issued by different identities, so wallets and markets commonly display both fields.

Shares: interests defined by smart contracts

Shares commonly represent an interest or right defined by a particular smart contract. They can participate in distribution, rewards, or governance logic, with their exact meaning determined by that contract.

QUBIC, issued assets, and shares can all express economic relationships, but they come from different data structures:

Type	Origin	Main state
QUBIC	Qubic protocol	Spectrum
Issued asset	Asset issuer	Universe
Share	Particular smart contract	Contract state and related asset relationships

Smart contracts: application logic in the protocol

Qubic smart contracts are written in restricted C++ and integrated into Core. A contract can keep its own state, execute Procedures in response to transaction input, and update results according to deterministic rules.

Ecosystem functions that can be implemented through smart contracts include:

asset issuance and exchange;
staking and reward distribution;
auctions and markets;
governance or treasury management;
shared capabilities used by other contracts.

A contract's behavior in the network is determined by its code and current state. Front-end applications organize the interaction flow, while Computors perform the execution and establish consensus.

Oracle Machines and external information

Smart-contract execution is deterministic, while real-world data originates outside the network. Oracle Machines allow Computors to answer external questions and make a Quorum result available to protocol logic.

This lets applications refer to prices, time, event outcomes, or other external information. The data source, question design, and answer process are part of the particular Oracle implementation.

Outsourced Computation and external operations

Outsourced Computation lets the protocol send a Quorum-authorized instruction to an external system. It has a different direction from smart contracts and Oracle Machines:

Capability	Data direction	Role
Smart Contract	Inside the protocol	Executes deterministic logic and updates state
Oracle Machine	External to protocol	Brings answers to external questions into the network
Outsourced Computation	Protocol to external system	Authorizes an external system to perform a particular operation

Together, these capabilities provide a foundation for Qubic applications. The functions available at a given time still depend on the current Core version and deployed contracts.

Wallets, explorers, DEXs, and pools

Ecosystem products provide different entry points to the protocol:

Service	Main protocol capabilities it connects to
Wallet	Manages an Identity, creates signatures, and reads balances and assets
Explorer	Indexes ticks, transactions, identities, assets, and contract data
DEX	Calls exchange or market contracts and presents asset prices and order state
Pool	Receives Miner submissions, records Shares or Solutions, and settles earnings

These products can use different data sources, refresh intervals, and interaction designs, while ultimately connecting to Qubic's identity, transaction, state, or computation mechanisms.