Sealed Bid Auctions
A fullstack tutorial for cross-chain confidential sealed bid auctions on IBC-connected chains.
Overview
This tutorial explains how to upload a confidential sealed bid auction contract on Secret Network, which you can execute and query for private auctions on any IBC-connected chain. 🚀
The SDK abstracts IBC interactions with the Secret Network for applications that use Cosmos wallets. It introduces a secure method for generating confidential messages and reliably authenticating users at the same time using the chacha20poly1305
algorithm.
In this tutorial you will learn:
How to run the fullstack cross-chain Next.js application in your browser.
How to use the core smart contract logic for confidential cross-chain auctions using IBC hooks.
How to deploy your very own auction contract on Secret Network.

Getting Started
Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/writersblockchain/cosmos-ccl-encrypted-payloads-demo
cd
into next-frontend
and install the dependencies:
cd next-frontend && npm install
Add environment variables in cosmos-ccl-encrypted-payloads-demo/next-frontend
:
NEXT_PUBLIC_SECRET_CHAIN_ENDPOINT="https://lcd.mainnet.secretsaturn.net"
NEXT_PUBLIC_SECRET_CHAIN_ID="secret-4"
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONSUMER_CHAIN_ID="osmosis-1"
Start the application:
npm run dev
The fullstack Next.js application should now be running in your browser! You can use it to create confidential auctions and bids. Now that you have the application running in your browser, let's dive into the smart contract logic!
Understanding the contract
Execution Messages
To encrypt auction bids using the SDK, we use the enum
called InnerMethods
, which wraps the possible actions in the auction smart contract, namely, CreateAuctionItem
and Bid, with the SDK encryption logic:
#[cw_serde]
pub enum InnerMethods {
CreateAuctionItem {
name: String,
description: String,
end_time: Uint64
},
Bid {
auction_id: Uint64,
amount: Uint128
},
}
pub type ExecuteMsg = GatewayExecuteMsg<InnerMethods>;
InnerMethods
leverage the SDK by using the GatewayExecuteMsg
to structure encrypted execution messages for cross-chain auction management and bidding:
#[cw_serde]
pub enum ExecuteMsg {
Encrypted {
payload : Binary,
payload_signature : Binary,
payload_hash : Binary,
user_key : Binary,
nonce : Binary,
}
ResetEncryptionKey { },
Extension {
msg: {
CreateAuctionItem { ... } / Bid { ... },
}
}
}
Understanding the Encryption SDK
The magic of Secret Network's encryption SDK happens here, with handle_encrypted_wrapper:
let (
msg,
info
) = sdk::handle_encrypted_wrapper(
deps.api, deps.storage, info, msg
)?;
The Extension
variant inExecuteMsg
leverages the functionality of handle_encrypted_wrapper
because the wrapper decrypts and verifies the entire message payload before the Extension
message is processed. Here’s how it works:
handle_encrypted_wrapper
Applies to the Entire Input:When the
execute
function is called, themsg
andinfo
parameters are initially encrypted.handle_encrypted_wrapper
is invoked with these parameters:let (msg, info) = sdk::handle_encrypted_wrapper(deps.api, deps.storage, info, msg)?;
This function decrypts and verifies the wrapper (encrypted payload) to produce:
A decrypted
msg
(of typeExecuteMsg
).A decrypted
info
(with verified sender details).
Decrypted
msg
Can ContainExecuteMsg::Extension
:After decryption, the
msg
can match any variant ofExecuteMsg
, includingExecuteMsg::Extension
.For example:
ExecuteMsg::Extension { msg } => { match msg { InnerMethods::CreateAuctionItem { name, description, end_time } => { /* logic */ }, InnerMethods::Bid { auction_id, amount } => { /* logic */ }, } },
Here,
Extension
contains an additional layer of messages (InnerMethods
) which define specific functionality.
How
handle_encrypted_wrapper
AffectsExtension
:The
msg
insideExecuteMsg::Extension
(i.e.,InnerMethods
) is also encrypted in the original input.handle_encrypted_wrapper
ensures:The outer
msg
is decrypted (revealingExtension
).The inner data (e.g.,
InnerMethods
) is now in cleartext and ready for logical execution.
Without this decryption, the contract could not access or process
InnerMethods
within theExtension
.
Validation and Security:
By verifying and decrypting the entire payload at the wrapper level, the contract ensures:
The
Extension
message is authentic and unaltered.The sender (
info
) is authenticated and valid.Any operations within
InnerMethods
(like bidding) are authorized based on the decryptedinfo
and secure data.
Frontend Encryption Logic
Now that you understand how the encryption SDK functions, let's look how it's connected to the frontend. The Next.js encryption logic can be found in Gateway.ts:
const create_auction = async (name: string, description: string, end_time: string = "60") => {
const contract = contractConfig.auctions;
const msg = { create_auction_item: { name, description, end_time } }
return await execute_gateway_contract(contract, msg);
}
const bid_auction = async (auction_id: string, amount: string) => {
const contract = contractConfig.auctions;
const msg = { bid: { auction_id, amount } }
return await execute_gateway_contract(contract, msg);
}
Both of these functions access a confidential auction contract
already deployed on Secret Network (at the end of this tutorial, you will learn how to deploy your own).
Then, we call the execute_gateway_contract
function, which is where all of the cross-chain SDK logic is implemented using IBC hooks:
const execute_gateway_contract = async (contract: Contract, msg: object) => {
const ibcConfig = loadIbcConfig(chainId);
const keplrOfflineSigner = (window as any).getOfflineSigner(chainId);
const response = await sendIBCToken(
cosmosjs!,
keplrAddress!,
contract.address,
token!,
"1",
ibcConfig.consumer_channel_id,
await gatewayChachaHookMemo(
keplrOfflineSigner,
{ extension: { msg } },
chainId!,
contract,
)
);
return response;
};
You can further examine sendIBCToken
and gatewayChachaHookMemo
in the CCL-SDK ibc.ts
file here.
Query Messages
There are two types of queries using the CCL SDK:
Unauthenticated queries ie
Extension
, which are queries that don’t require sensitive or protected data. Example: Retrieving a list of auctions, which is public.Authenticated queries ie
Inner Queries
(WithPermit
,WithAuthData
), which are queries that requireauth_data
from the caller for permission validation. Example:MyBid { auction_id: u64 }
retrieves a user-specific bid.
Extended Queries
Inner Queries
Data Access Level
Public or general data
Private or user-specific data
Authorization
No extra authentication required
Requires auth_data
or permit
Processing Function
query::query_extended
query::query_with_auth_data
Use Cases
Public info like auctions
Personal data like a user’s bids
To query encrypted bids using the CCL SDK, use the enum
InnerQueries
, which wraps the possible queries in the auction smart contract, namely, MyBid
, with the CCL SDK encryption logic:
#[cw_serde]
pub enum ExtendedQueries {
Auctions {},
Auction { auction_id: u64 },
AllBids { auction_id: u64 },
Result { auction_id: u64 },
}
#[cw_serde]
pub enum InnerQueries {
MyBid { auction_id: u64 },
}
pub type ExecuteMsg = GatewayExecuteMsg<InnerMethods>;
pub type QueryMsg = GatewayQueryMsg<InnerQueries, CosmosAuthData, ExtendedQueries>
InnerMethods
leverages the SDK by using the GatewayQueryMsg
types to query encrypted cross-chain bids. You have the choice of using two different types of encrypted queries: query_with_auth_data
and query_with_permit.
In this tutorial, you we will learn how to implement query_with_permit
.
pub fn query_with_auth_data(
deps : Deps,
env : Env,
auth_data : CosmosAuthData,
query : InnerQueries
) -> StdResult<Binary> {
auth_data.verify(deps.api)?;
auth_data.check_data(deps.storage, &env)?;
let address = auth_data.primary_address()?;
query_inner(deps, env,address, query)
}
pub fn query_with_permit(
deps : Deps,
env : Env,
permit : Permit,
hrp : Option<String>,
query : InnerQueries
) -> StdResult<Binary> {
let address = secret_toolkit::permit::validate(
deps,
PERMIT_PREFIX,
&permit,
env.contract.address.to_string(),
hrp.as_deref()
)?;
query_inner(deps, env, address, query)
}
Now let's take a look at the frontend code to see how query_with_permit is implemented. 😄
Frontend Query Logic
The Next.js query decryption logic can be found in Gateway.ts:
const query_auctions = () => {
return query_contract_public(contractConfig.auctions, { extension: { query: { auctions: { } } } });
}
const query_my_bid = (auction_id: number, message?: string) => {
return query_contract_auth(contractConfig.auctions, { my_bid: { auction_id } }, message);
}
Because bids are encrypted, we must decrypt them in order to query a wallet's bids. The frontend function query_contract_auth
securely queries the Secret smart contract using query permits, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive data. Query permits are cryptographic credentials that:
Prove the user’s ownership of a wallet.
Allow contracts to verify the user’s identity.
Avoid exposing the private key.
const query_contract_auth = async (
contract: Contract,
query: object,
data: string = "Query Permit"
): Promise<any> => {
const storageKey = `${keplrAddress}:${contract.address}:queryPermit}`;
const queryPermitStored = localStorage.getItem(storageKey);
let credential: CosmosCredential;
if (queryPermitStored) {
credential = JSON.parse(queryPermitStored) as CosmosCredential;
} else {
const toSign: DataToSign = {
chain_id: "secret-4",
contract_address: contract.address,
nonce: toBase64(Random.getBytes(32)),
data: btoa(data)
}
const message = toUtf8(JSON.stringify(toSign));
const signRes = await (window as any).keplr.signArbitrary(chainId, keplrAddress!, JSON.stringify(toSign))
credential = {
message: toBase64(message),
signature: signRes.signature,
pubkey: signRes.pub_key.value,
hrp: keplrAddress!.split("1")[0]
}
localStorage.setItem(storageKey, JSON.stringify(credential));
}
const res = await queryGatewayAuth(contract, query, [credential]);
console.log("query:", query, " res:", res);
return res;
}
You now should have all the tools you need to use the IBC CCL toolkit! Lastly, let's learn how to deploy your own auction contract on Secret Network 👏
How to upload a voting contract to Secret Network
cd
into deploy-scripts
and install the dependencies:
cd deploy-scripts && npm install
Add your wallet mnemonic to .env
. Then compile the contract:
make build-mainnet-reproducible
Compile the typescript upload script so you can upload the compiled vauction contract:
npm run build
Once you run the above command, the typescript upload file in ./src
will be compiled as javascript file in ./dist
.
Upload and instantiate the voting contract on Secret Network Mainnet:
node dist/deploy_auction.js
In your terminal, a codeID
, codeHash
, and contractAddress
will be returned:
"code_id": 8882,
"code_hash": "f3c2e28cd1574d128ded60ce967cdb46f7515d807be49127bcc9249c5fd97802",
"address": "secret1q0mycclu927u5m0tn50zgl5af4utrlkzz706lm"
Finally, update config.ts with your contract's code_hash and address:
const contractMultiConfig: ContractMultiConfig = {
auctions: {
address: "secret1jtc7f8cj5hhc2mg9v5uknd84knvythvsjhd66a",
hash: "ff8443878e8a339637c45c13abc4385c4f0c5668b992afc912e5f59e5d098654"
},
};
Conclusion
Congratulations on completing this on using Secret Network's IBC SDK to encrypt auction bids cross-chain using Secret Network smart contracts! 🎉 You've explored the intricacies of encrypted messaging, cross-chain IBC interactions, and secure smart contract execution using the Secret Network CCL SDK. By building and running the fullstack IBC application, you’ve gained hands-on experience in contract deployment, frontend integration, and secure querying with Secret Network query permits. 🚀
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