Chainlink ACE Overview

Chainlink Automated Compliance Engine (ACE) is a compliance layer for EVM smart contracts. It enforces rules — transfer limits, identity checks, sanctions screening, and more — at transaction time, without embedding compliance logic in your application code. Rules can be added, updated, or removed through the ACE Platform — your application contract doesn't need to change.

What problems does ACE solve?

Building compliant applications on the blockchain requires handling:

  • Dynamic policy enforcement that evolves with regulations — without redeploying your core application contracts.
  • Identity verification across chains, without fragmented credentials that force users to re-verify on every chain.
  • Trusted external data (KYC providers, sanctions lists, price feeds, Proof of Reserves, etc.) delivered onchain to inform compliance decisions.

Who is ACE for?

ACE serves three primary audiences:

  • Token issuers and asset managers — Enforce compliance rules (transfer limits, investor checks, sanctions screening) on your smart contracts. ACE separates these rules from your application code, so you can update them as regulations change — without redeploying.
  • Identity verification (IDV) providers — Issue cross-chain credentials (KYC, AML, accredited investor status) that your clients can verify on any EVM chain from a single issuance. No need for users to re-verify on every network.
  • Compliance and legal teams — Monitor and manage compliance rules through a visual interface — no code required. Every policy decision is recorded onchain and queryable through the Reporting API, providing a complete audit trail.

What is ACE?

ACE has two layers: onchain smart contracts that enforce compliance rules on the blockchain, and the ACE Platform that lets you manage those contracts through a UI and APIs.

Onchain contracts

ACE is built on two sets of smart contracts:

  • Policy Management — A dynamic engine that enforces compliance rules on your smart contracts. A PolicyEngine evaluates a chain of modular policies every time a protected function is called. Policies can be added, removed, or reordered without changing your contract.
  • Cross-Chain Identity — A portable identity system for EVM chains. A Cross-Chain Identifier (CCID) links all of a user's wallet addresses across chains to a single identity. Credentials like KYC or AML status are attached to the CCID once and verified everywhere.

These contracts execute automatically at transaction time. For a detailed view of the architecture, see ACE Architecture.

ACE Platform

The ACE Platform provides three managers that let you operate on these contracts:

  • Policy Manager (UI + API) — Configure and deploy compliance rules for your smart contracts.
  • Identity Manager (UI + API) — Manage cross-chain identities and issue credentials.
  • Reporting Manager (API) — Query policy run history, transaction data, and onchain state.

ACE is currently in Beta. See Beta Scope for the current scope and supported features.

Key features

  • Modular policies — Each compliance rule is a self-contained module. Chain them together to build sophisticated rulesets; add or remove individual rules without affecting others.
  • Update without redeploying — When regulations change, update your compliance rules through the ACE Platform. Your core smart contract stays untouched.
  • Cross-chain identity — Verify a user's identity once; the credential is valid across every EVM chain. No re-verification needed when users operate on a new network.
  • Privacy-preserving — Sensitive user data stays offchain. Only verification results (credentials) are recorded onchain, typically as hashes or minimal references.
  • Auditable and transparent — Every policy evaluation is recorded onchain and queryable through the Reporting API, giving compliance teams a complete audit trail.
  • Ready-to-use policy library — Pre-built modules for common scenarios: allowlists, blocklists, volume limits, time restrictions, role-based access, Proof of Reserves minting caps, and identity checks.

How it works: a real-world example

Here's how ACE components work together. Imagine Emma (an institutional investor) wants to buy $50,000 of a tokenized bond on a DEX.

The compliance journey, step by step

  1. Transaction initiated — Emma submits her buy order on the DEX. Before executing, the DEX's smart contract calls the PolicyEngine to validate the transaction.
  2. Credential check executes — The PolicyEngine runs the credential check, which uses the Cross-Chain Identity component to verify Emma has the required credentials (KYC verified, accredited investor). The same identity and credentials would be valid even if Emma were using a different wallet address on a different EVM chain.
  3. Volume limit executes — The engine runs the volume limit policy, which tracks Emma's trading volume over time and confirms the $50,000 trade is within her daily limit.
  4. Transaction approved — With all policies passing, the PolicyEngine allows the transaction to proceed. The DEX executes the trade and Emma receives her tokenized bonds.

The power of this model is that if regulations change tomorrow, the DEX's owners could add a new policy (for example, a time-of-day restriction) without redeploying or altering the main DEX contract. If any policy check had failed, the PolicyEngine would have reverted the transaction, preventing a non-compliant trade.

Where to go next?

Understand ACE

Start here regardless of your role:

  1. ACE Architecture — System components and how they connect.
  2. Key Terms — ACE-specific terminology.
  3. Policy Management — How compliance rules work.
  4. Cross-Chain Identity — How identity and credentials work.

Build with ACE

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