Smart Contract Safeguards

AetherCycle’s contracts integrate a layered security approach, blending industry best practices with custom modules to ensure the PerpetualEngine remains resilient.

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1. Checks–Effects–Interactions Pattern

All state-changing functions, particularly in the PerpetualEngine, strictly enforce the Checks–Effects–Interactions pattern to prevent re-entrancy attacks.

• Checks: Preconditions are validated immediately (e.g., cooldowns, balance thresholds).

• Effects: Internal state is updated before any external calls (e.g., lastPublicProcessTime).

• Interactions: External calls are executed only after state integrity is secured.

This ordering ensures that recursive exploits cannot manipulate stale state data.

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2. Two-Key Security Model for Tax Processing

Critical operations such as tax handling are safeguarded by a dual-approval mechanism:

1. Community Approval (Key 1): Any participant may call approveEngineForProcessing() on the AECToken contract, granting the Engine an allowance to operate.

2. Engine Execution (Key 2): The PerpetualEngine then processes the funds only within its runCycle().

This separation ensures that the Engine cannot autonomously access funds without explicit, verifiable approval.

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3. Adaptive Liquidity and Error Handling

The PerpetualEngine employs an Adaptive Liquidity Algorithm when adding to DEX liquidity.

• Liquidity is deployed in smaller simulated chunks to reduce slippage and minimize failure risk.

• If an unsafe swap is detected, the Engine dynamically reduces trade size until safe execution is achieved.

• All external calls are wrapped in try/catch. Failed calls are logged, while unprocessed funds remain preserved for future cycles.

This prevents the protocol from stalling and ensures operational continuity.

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4. Built-in Contract Safeguards

Each subsystem includes specific fail-safes:

• PerpetualEngine Cooldown: Mandatory delay between runCycle() calls prevents spam and manipulation.

• FairLaunch Minimum Raise: $10,000 USDC threshold guarantees either a valid launch or full refunds.

• AECToken Dust Protection: Transfers below MIN_TRANSFER_AMOUNT are reverted to block dust attacks.

• FounderVesting Max Cliff: Vesting extensions are capped at 10 years, preventing perpetual lock scenarios.

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Closing Note

These layered mechanisms reflect AetherCycle’s commitment to preventive and adaptive security. By integrating established patterns, dual-control models, adaptive algorithms, and hard-coded safeguards, the protocol is structured to minimize systemic risk while ensuring resilience and continuity under adverse conditions.