🔒 SilentAuction (Powered by Nautilus)

A privacy-first decentralized auction protocol on Sui. Enables fully encrypted, sealed-bid auctions with off-chain verifiable settlement using AWS Nitro Enclaves.

🏆 Project Highlights

• Ankara Sui Hackathon Winner:
• Live Demo: https://slientauction.netlify.app

---

📖 The Problem

On public blockchains, transparency is a bug, not a feature for auctions.

• Front-running: Bots see your bid pending and outbid you by 1 cent.
• Strategy Leaks: "Whales" are afraid to bid large amounts because it signals the market.
• Hype Manipulation: Users bid just to pump the price, knowing they can withdraw later.

SilentAuction solves this by creating a "Digital Black Box" on Sui. Bids are encrypted client-side and only revealed inside a secure hardware enclave when the auction ends.

---

🏗️ Architecture & Logic

1. The Nautilus Enclave (Rust)

Located in src/main.rs

The "brain" of the operation runs inside an AWS Nitro Enclave, a physically isolated environment with no external network access (except via a secure proxy) and no persistent storage.

The Algorithm:

1. Key Generation: On startup, the Enclave generates an ephemeral ECIES Key Pair (secp256k1). The Private Key never leaves the Enclave's RAM.
2. Decryption: When the auction ends, it receives a list of encrypted bids. It uses the private key to reveal the amount, price, and social_handle.
3. Social Scoring: It applies a multiplier logic (e.g., 2x for "whales" or early adopters) to rank bids based on reputation, not just capital.
4. Limit Order Clearing: It filters bids based on config_min and config_max prices, distributing supply from highest score down.
5. Output: Returns a vector of winners, token_amounts, and sui_payments to the frontend.

2. The Smart Contract (Sui Move)

Located in contracts/auction

The contract acts as a secure escrow and settlement layer.

• place_bid: Accepts SUI coins, locks them in a Table, and emits a BidEvent with the encrypted payload.
• finalize_token_sale: Called by the creator with the Enclave's result. It automatically splits tokens and transfers SUI payments in a single atomic transaction.

---

🚀 Setup & Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+ & NPM
• Rust & Cargo
• Docker (for building Enclave images)
• AWS CLI (configured with Nitro permissions)
• Sui CLI (Testnet)

Step 1: Deploy Smart Contracts

cd contracts/auction
sui client publish --gas-budget 100000000
# Note the Package ID and TreasuryCap ID for frontend config

Step 2: Build & Run the Nautilus Enclave

Must be run on an AWS EC2 instance with Nitro Enclaves enabled.
# SSH into AWS Instance
ssh -i nautilus-key.pem ec2-user@<AWS_PUBLIC_IP>

# Build the Enclave Image
cd nautilus
make ENCLAVE_APP=weather-example run

# Expose to Internet (HTTPS via ngrok)
sh expose_enclave.sh
ngrok http 3000

Step 3: Frontend Setup

cd hackTwoSui
npm install

# Configure Enclave URL in src/utils/socialBidding.ts
# const ENCLAVE_URL = "[https://your-ngrok-url.ngrok-free.app](https://your-ngrok-url.ngrok-free.app)";

npm run dev

🛠️ Tech Stack
Privacy: Nautilus Framework (AWS Nitro TEEs)

Blockchain: Sui Move

Frontend: React, TypeScript, Radix UI, Vite

Cryptography: eciesjs (Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme)

Backend: Rust, Axum, Tokio