Hey folks
At SKALE we are developing BITE( Blockchain Integrated Threshold Encryption) where the current PoS validator committee is also a Threshold Encryption committee
In addition to provably eliminating MEV, one compelling direction for BITE is enabling smart contracts to perform on-chain decryption via a precompiled contract.
This would allow Threshold Encryption (TE) to become a native primitive in the EVM, making advanced coordination, privacy, and game-theoretic mechanisms not just possible—but practical.
Use Case 1: Multiplayer Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS)
In a 3-player RPS game, each player submits an encrypted move (Rock, Paper, or Scissors). Once all encrypted moves are collected:
- The contract calls a decryption precompile to simultaneously decrypt all inputs.
- This guarantees a fair reveal—no player can adjust their move after seeing others.
Today, this would require an off-chain commit-reveal protocol, which is more complex and less trustless.
Use Case 2: Sealed-Bid Auctions
Participants submit encrypted bids on-chain.
- After the smart contract collects all submissions, a precompiled decryption function is invoked.
- All bids are decrypted at once, enabling a trustless, fair reveal.
This eliminates the need for off-chain reveal phases and complex timeout logic.
Why a Precompiled Contract?
- Security: Deterministic, on-chain decryption avoids front-running and malicious reveals.
- Simplicity: Reduces reliance on off-chain coordination or multi-transaction workflows.
bytes plaintext = DecryptPrecompile.decrypt(bytes ciphertext);The ciphertext would be encrypted using the current TE committee public key and decrypted using the current TE committee
Impact
If implemented, this would unlock a wide range of privacy-preserving, game-theoretic, and multi-party coordination applications on-chain—many of which are currently impractical due to the lack of synchronous, verifiable secret handling in Solidity.
Would love to hear thoughts on:
- Precompile feasibility and gas cost targets
- Threshold decryption protocols best suited for this use
- Real-world dApps this would enable
Looking forward to feedback from the community!
