# Core Architecture

{% hint style="info" %}
LibertySwap is one of the applications that leverages Liberty Shield to facilitate private swaps. See [Liberty Shield vs Liberty Swap](/general-information/introduction/liberty-shield-vs-liberty-swap.md)
{% endhint %}

Liberty SHIELD enables users to move assets into and out of Railgun and other privacy protocols seamlessly, while preserving strong privacy guarantees and reducing cross-chain complexity.

Liberty Shield abstracts away gas management, relayers, and liquidity fragmentation, allowing users to focus on outcomes rather than infrastructure.

<div><figure><img src="/files/QCXIlXDNxUGY0eXDIKkb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="/files/F360MuMQFPVFMPyN28rw" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Functionality

*At launch, Liberty Shield supports the following flows on*&#x20;

* Shield ETH:\
  Convert public ETH on Ethereum into a private Railgun balance instantly.
* Unshield ETH:\
  Convert ETH held in a Railgun balance back into public ETH on Ethereum instantly.

These operations are executed directly from the Railgun system and do not rely on external liquidity pools.<br>

*In the future state:*

* Users can shield multiple assets, such as ETH and stablecoins, from many source blockchains into Railgun and other supported privacy protocols and layers.
* From a shielded balance, for example a Railgun balance, users can unshield assets to any supported destination chain.
* The destination chain does not need native Railgun or other privacy protocol or layer support.
* Liberty Shield becomes the universal entry and exit point for leading privacy protocols and layers.

## How Shielding Works

1. Users start with assets on a public blockchain.
2. Liberty Shield routes the assets into Railgun or other privacy contracts.
3. Funds appear as shielded balances inside Railgun or other privacy contract balances.
4. Public transaction history is broken, and assets gain strong privacy guarantees.

From this point forward, all actions originate from shielded balances.

## How Unshielding Works

1. Users choose a destination chain and asset.
2. Liberty Shield routes funds out of Railgun or other privacy contract balances
3. Assets are delivered directly to the destination chain.
4. The user receives funds without revealing source history.

This works even if the destination chain does not natively support Railgun.

\
Fees and Execution Model
------------------------

Liberty Shield uses a simple fixed fee model:

0.5% total fee, covering:

* Blockchain gas fees
* Railgun fees
* Relayer fees
* Cross chain execution costs
* Gasless for users
* Instant execution
* No liquidity constraints

There are no variable fees, no gas estimation issues, and no need to manage multiple tokens for gas.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.libertyswap.finance/liberty-shield/core-architecture.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.