What is a Nervos RPC Node?
Access asset preservation layer
A Nervos RPC node provides applications with access to CKB — a Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for long-term asset preservation rather than high-frequency transaction processing. Through proof-of-work security comparable to Bitcoin and sustainable state rent economics, CKB creates infrastructure for storing valuable digital assets and critical state with maximum security guarantees. This represents a fundamentally different blockchain design philosophy prioritizing security and preservation over speed and computational throughput.
Why separate concerns matter
Monolithic blockchains force asset storage and computation onto the same layer, creating impossible tradeoffs between security and performance. Nervos's layered architecture separates concerns — CKB (Layer 1) focuses exclusively on security and asset preservation while Layer 2 solutions handle high-frequency computation and transactions. This enables maximum security for valuable assets while maintaining scalability through computational layers built on top.
Nervos CKB advantages:
- Proof-of-work — Bitcoin-equivalent security model
- Cell model — generalized UTXO with programmability
- Asset focus — optimized for long-term value storage
- State rent — sustainable storage economics
- RISC-V VM — flexible smart contract execution
- Layer foundation — base for multi-layer architecture
Cell model innovation
The Cell model represents a significant evolution beyond Bitcoin's UTXO while maintaining its verification advantages. Each Cell is a first-class state object containing data, code, and capacity (storage rights). Unlike account-based models where state is mutable, Cells are immutable — transactions consume existing Cells and create new ones. This provides Bitcoin-like parallel verification properties while enabling Turing-complete smart contract logic through RISC-V virtual machine execution.
How Cell model works:
- Cells are fundamental state units on CKB blockchain
- Each Cell contains data, code (lock/type scripts), and capacity
- Transactions consume input Cells and create output Cells
- Immutability enables parallel transaction verification
- RISC-V VM executes scripts for flexible programmability
- Cells can represent any digital asset or state
Sustainable state rent economics
CKB introduces state rent through its tokenomics design — users pay ongoing costs for occupying blockchain storage. One CKByte token represents the right to store one byte of data on CKB perpetually. This creates sustainable economics where storage isn't artificially free, properly aligning long-term incentives for network health. Unlike blockchains where state bloat eventually degrades performance and decentralization, CKB maintains economic sustainability through market-based storage pricing.
This economic model ensures CKB can preserve valuable assets for decades while remaining secure and decentralized.