◼️Custom Modules with ZONA SDK

ZONA Protocol is built on top of the ZONA SDK, a modular and extensible framework inspired by ZONA SDK. This architecture empowers developers to go beyond smart contracts and implement custom native modules directly into the blockchain runtime.

Whether you're building advanced governance mechanics, staking variations, custom mint logic, or protocol-native GameFi rules ZONA SDK gives you full control.

⚙️ What Is a Module?

A module is a pluggable component of the blockchain’s application layer. Each module handles specific functionality (e.g. bank, staking, gov) and interacts with others through a shared message-passing interface.

ZONA ships with built-in modules such as:

  • auth – account and signature validation

  • bank – token balances and transfers

  • staking – validator and delegator management

  • gov – governance proposals

  • ibc – inter-blockchain communication

  • evm – Ethereum compatibility via Ethermint

You can create and plug in your own module alongside these.

🛠️ Why Use Custom Modules?

While smart contracts are powerful, native modules offer:

  • ⚡ Higher performance (executed in Golang, not EVM bytecode)

  • 🔐 Deeper protocol access (access to internal chain state)

  • 🔄 Deterministic upgrades through governance

  • 🧩 Tighter integration with staking, slashing, and IBC

Perfect for core protocol logic, chain-native games, or extensions to staking/governance.

🧱 Basic Module Structure

A ZONA module is typically structured as:

/myapp/x/mymodule/
  ├── keeper/           # Business logic & state access
  ├── types/            # Types, constants, keys
  ├── msg_server.go     # Message routing
  ├── handler.go        # Msg → logic dispatcher
  ├── genesis.go        # Genesis config
  ├── module.go         # Module definition (AppModule interface)

🔧 Registering the Module

In your chain's app.go:

app.MyModuleKeeper = mymodule.NewKeeper(
  appCodec,
  keys[mymodule.StoreKey],
  ...
)

app.mm.SetOrderBeginBlockers(mymodule.ModuleName)
app.mm.SetOrderEndBlockers(mymodule.ModuleName)

app.mm.RegisterServices(
  module.NewConfigurator(...),
)

🔐 Security Note

Because modules operate at the lowest level, improper use can lead to chain-halting bugs or governance failure. Always:

  • Write full unit and integration tests

  • Use parameter guards (ParamStore)

  • Handle panic recovery on critical operations

📚 Resources

✅ When to Use Custom Modules vs Smart Contracts

Use Case
Recommended Approach

dApp logic, token launches

Solidity (EVM contract)

Chain-native staking logic

Custom module (ZONA SDK)

IBC relaying & bridging

Module

Governance proposal types

Module

NFTs, DeFi vaults, DEX

Smart contracts

ZONA SDK gives you full control to design, extend, and evolve the blockchain at the protocol level without waiting on EVM limitations.

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