# Introduction

> **The Trust Layer.** A high-performance, EVM-compatible Layer 1 secured by TEE-attested validators and BFT consensus.

Welcome to the AEREDIUM developer docs. If you've built on Ethereum, you already know how to build on AEREDIUM — every standard JSON-RPC method works, MetaMask connects out of the box, and Hardhat/Foundry/viem/ethers all run unmodified. Just point them at our RPC.

## Network at a glance

| Property           | Value                               |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------- |
| RPC endpoint       | `https://rpc.aeredium.io`           |
| WebSocket endpoint | `wss://rpc.aeredium.io`             |
| Chain ID           | `1000`                              |
| Network ID         | `1000`                              |
| Native currency    | `AER` (18 decimals)                 |
| Block time         | 1 seconds                           |
| Finality           | 1 block (instant)                   |
| Consensus          | TEE-BFT with USIG anti-equivocation |
| EVM compatibility  | Full (Cancun-equivalent)            |

## What's different from Ethereum

AEREDIUM is a drop-in target for Ethereum tooling, with a few extensions worth knowing about:

* **Instant finality.** A block is final the moment it's committed — no reorgs, no waiting for confirmations. `latest` and `finalized` are equivalent.
* **TEE-attested validators.** Every block is co-signed by validators running inside hardware enclaves (AWS Nitro, Intel SGX, AMD SEV-SNP). You can query attestations via [`aer_*` methods](/developer.aeredium.io/json-rpc-api/aeredium.md).
* **ZK-STARK execution proofs.** Each block has a verifiable proof of correct execution. Useful for light clients and bridges.
* **Bitcoin anchoring.** Periodic block hashes are anchored to Bitcoin for long-range immutability.

## Get started in 60 seconds

```bash
curl -X POST https://rpc.aeredium.io \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'
```

You should get back something like:

```json
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":"0x12a05f"}
```

Next steps:

* [Connect MetaMask](/developer.aeredium.io/network/metamask.md)
* [Quickstart with curl, ethers, viem](/developer.aeredium.io/network/quickstart.md)
* [Deploy a contract with Hardhat](/developer.aeredium.io/tooling/hardhat.md) or [Foundry](/developer.aeredium.io/tooling/foundry.md)
* [Full JSON-RPC reference](/developer.aeredium.io/json-rpc-api/json-rpc.md)

## Support

* Issues / questions: [github.com/aeredium](https://github.com/aeredium)
* Status / incidents: status page (coming soon)
* Contact: <ops-team@aeredium.com>


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