Buy & Swap Cartesi (CTSI)

Linux inside a blockchain app

At the heart of Cartesi is the Cartesi Machine, a virtual machine built on the RISC-V architecture. Cartesi says it can boot Linux or other mature operating systems, and run a full Linux and RISC-V stack in a composable, verifiable rollup environment.

For developers, the point is familiarity. Instead of rewriting everything for a blockchain, they can use the programming languages, code libraries and open-source tools they already know.

Cartesi says this also frees builders from the design trade-offs of the EVM, Ethereum's own execution environment, so they can focus on their app's logic.^{[1], [2]}

One rollup per app

Rather than sharing one busy chain with everyone, Cartesi is designed around app-specific rollups. Each app gets its own rollup with dedicated compute.

Cartesi says this brings significant gains in computing capacity without giving up decentralisation, security or censorship resistance. Because resources are dedicated, it says apps benefit from predictable, stable fees.

The framework is modular. Cartesi rollups can run as a layer two, a layer three or as sovereign rollups, and developers get more control over things like gas metering and data-availability choices.^{[3], [4], [5]}

Security borrowed from Ethereum

Cartesi apps inherit security and censorship resistance from Ethereum, the base layer.

The site says its rollups are backed by a fraud-proof system and are categorised as Stage-2 by L2BEAT, an independent site that rates how decentralised rollups are. Stage 2 is its highest category.^{[6], [7]}

An open, public ecosystem

Cartesi describes itself as an open-source project built by independent teams, companies and individuals, working transparently and in public.

The site highlights use cases across AI, DeFi and gaming — areas where heavier computation helps. It offers developer docs, a quickstart guide, a Rollup Lab, a bug bounty and a Discord where newcomers can talk to core contributors.

Governance has its own hub, and the CTSI token has a dedicated page linked from the site, alongside a whitepaper published by the Cartesi Foundation.^{[8], [9], [10]}

What CTSI does

Cartesi's token page identifies CTSI as an ERC-20 asset with roles in governance and staking. Staked CTSI gives one vote per token in Snapshot proposals, including decisions about grants and the project's Technical Evolution Plan. The public voting record lets anyone see which proposals attracted support and how voting power was used.

The staking system offers several levels of involvement. A holder can delegate to a decentralised pool, operate a private node to compete for CTSI block rewards from the Mine Reserve, or use a custodian that supports staking. Cartesi says there is no protocol-enforced minimum stake, although running infrastructure for a very small amount may not be economical.

Cartesi also describes a planned Validator Marketplace. The idea is that holders will be able to delegate CTSI to validators or support individual applications. It is a future part of the design, not something treated here as already available.

Together, these roles connect CTSI to both the project's present community decisions and its intended future security market. The distinction matters: Snapshot governance and existing staking choices can be checked today, while the Validator Marketplace belongs to the roadmap and should not be described as a finished product.^{[11], [12], [13]}

Token details

The official pages confirm governance, staking and the planned Validator Marketplace, but live reward rates and the marketplace's final operating rules can change. Those current figures are UNKNOWN here rather than projected.^[10]