How the Network Works

Qubic operates in Epochs and processes transactions and computation in a continuous sequence of ticks. Computors in the current Epoch execute the same inputs and use Quorum to agree on results. Miners provide computation results and participate in competition for Computor seats in later Epochs.

These processes run at the same time. Ticks advance current network state, while Epochs organize the node set and mining Score over a longer operating period.

Epoch: the network operating period

An Epoch usually lasts about one week and contains many consecutive ticks. It provides a common time boundary for:

the current set of Computors participating in consensus;
the Score of Candidates and Computors;
the accounting of Solutions submitted by Miners;
some data and parameters that the protocol updates periodically.

When a new Epoch begins, the Computor set and period-based counters enter a new stage. Persistent state such as QUBIC balances, assets, and smart contracts continues with the network.

Tick: the point of execution and consensus

A Tick is Qubic's basic unit for processing transactions and establishing results. Ticks have increasing numbers, and Computors process the inputs for each point according to shared rules.

A typical transaction follows this sequence:

A wallet constructs a transaction containing the sender, destination, amount, input data, and a future target Tick.
The wallet signs it with private key material and broadcasts it to the network.
The transaction propagates to Computors.
When the target Tick arrives, Computors validate and execute the transaction.
Enough Computors derive the same result to form Quorum.
Nodes, wallets, and indexing services can then read the resulting state.

Whether a transaction is executed in its target Tick depends on conditions such as its signature, balance, input format, target Tick, and network propagation. Wallets normally combine the Tick result and subsequent state to present a transaction status to the user.

Computor: executing network state

A Computor is a node in Qubic's current consensus set. It receives transactions and network data, runs Core and smart contracts, and calculates the state that follows a Tick.

The current architecture has 676 Computor seats. When at least 451 Computors agree on a result, the network reaches Quorum. The result therefore comes from independent nodes executing the same rules rather than from a single node's decision.

Candidates and Miners: competing for future seats

A node identity outside the current Computor set can participate as a Candidate. Miners perform the computation task currently specified by the protocol and submit valid Solutions to an associated Computor or Candidate identity.

These results contribute to Score. At an Epoch boundary, Score participates in determining future Computor seats, connecting contributed computing resources with changes to the consensus node set.

Public pools provide connectivity, statistics, and settlement services along this path. Shares, Solutions, hashrate, and earnings are pool-specific representations of the submission process. At the protocol layer, the focus is the valid computation result and its contribution to Score.

Quorum: establishing a common result

Computors execute the same rules on the same input and are expected to derive the same output. Quorum confirms that a sufficient number of nodes produced the same result.

The mechanism applies to Tick state and is also reused by other Qubic capabilities. Oracle Machines, for example, collect Computor answers to external questions, while Outsourced Computation uses Quorum to authorize a specific operation by an external system.

How state is read

Network operation produces current state, Tick data, and logs. Different components use these sources to provide different views:

Data layer	Main content
Core state	Current QUBIC, asset, and smart-contract state
Tick data	Transactions and consensus results for an execution point
Bob and archival nodes	Longer-range retention and access to Tick data
Explorers and indexing services	Searchable transaction records, statistics, and other views assembled from lower-level data

The same transaction can therefore appear in wallets, node interfaces, and explorers, while the time each interface updates and the range of history it covers may differ.

The complete relationship at a glance

User or application
   │  signed transaction
   ▼
Target Tick ──► Computor execution ──► Quorum ──► network state update

Miner
   │  Solution
   ▼
Identity Score ──► Epoch settlement ──► future Computor set

The next page, Assets and Applications, describes how Identity, QUBIC, issued assets, shares, and smart contracts build on this network.