EVM Simulator

Nethereum includes a full in-process Ethereum Virtual Machine supporting all opcodes through Prague/Cancun, with native precompile implementations, call tracing, state change extraction, and step-by-step debugging. It passes all Ethereum VM and State tests.

The EVM simulator is the foundational engine that powers several higher-level Nethereum systems:

System	How It Uses the EVM	Frontend
Wallet Transaction Preview	Simulates transactions and extracts all balance changes (ETH, ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155) before the user signs	Nethereum.Wallet.UI.Components.Blazor
DevChain	Powers the in-process development node for local testing	—
CoreChain	Full chain execution engine for application chains	—
Account Abstraction Bundler	Validates UserOperations via ERC-7562 simulation rules	—
Solidity Debugger	Source-level debugging with Solidity source maps and step navigation	Nethereum.Blazor.Solidity

The Simple Path

For most developers, the EVM simulator is used through the transaction simulation pipeline:

// 1. Connect to blockchain state
var nodeDataService = new RpcNodeDataService(web3.Eth, new BlockParameter(blockNumber));
var executionState = new ExecutionStateService(nodeDataService);

// 2. Build execution context
var ctx = new TransactionExecutionContext
{
    Mode = ExecutionMode.Call,
    Sender = from, To = to, Data = calldata,
    GasLimit = 10_000_000,
    ExecutionState = executionState,
    TraceEnabled = true
    // ... block context fields
};

// 3. Execute
var executor = new TransactionExecutor(HardforkConfig.Default);
var result = await executor.ExecuteAsync(ctx);

// 4. Decode and extract
var decoder = new ProgramResultDecoder(abiStorage);
var decoded = decoder.Decode(result, callInput, chainId);

var extractor = new StateChangesExtractor();
var stateChanges = extractor.ExtractFromDecodedResult(decoded, executionState, userAddress);

This pipeline handles gas calculation, EIP-1559 fees, sub-call execution, ABI decoding, and balance change extraction automatically.

Capabilities

• All opcodes including PUSH0, MCOPY, TSTORE/TLOAD, BLOBHASH, BLOBBASEFEE
• EIP-1559, EIP-4844 (blobs), EIP-7702 (authorization lists) transaction types
• Call frame tracking and access list (EIP-2929) with warm/cold gas accounting
• Full transaction execution pipeline with gas accounting
• ABI-aware decoding of call trees, events, and errors
• State change extraction for ETH, ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 transfers
• Balance validation (fee-on-transfer, rebasing token detection)
• Interactive debugging sessions with source map support
• Bytecode disassembly and function signature detection
• Configurable hardfork rules (Cancun, Prague)
• Precompiled contracts: ecRecover, SHA-256, RIPEMD-160, identity, modexp, alt_bn128, blake2f, BLS12-381, KZG

Packages

Package	Description
Nethereum.EVM	Core EVM simulator, transaction executor, decoder, state changes extractor, debugger
Nethereum.EVM.Contracts	ERC-20 contract simulator with storage layout discovery
Nethereum.EVM.Precompiles.Bls	BLS12-381 precompile (EIP-2537)
Nethereum.EVM.Precompiles.Kzg	KZG Point Evaluation precompile (EIP-4844)

Guides

Simulation & Decoding

Guide	What You'll Learn
Transaction Simulation	Simulate transactions locally and preview all state changes before signing — the wallet preview pattern
Call Tree Decoding	Decode the full call hierarchy with function names, decoded parameters, and sub-calls
Log Extraction	Extract and decode events, and consolidate token transfers into net balance changes
Revert Decoding	Decode revert reasons, custom errors, and Solidity panic codes

Advanced

Guide	What You'll Learn
ERC-20 Simulation	Simulate token transfers, approvals, and detect fee-on-transfer tokens
Bytecode Execution	Execute raw EVM bytecode step-by-step with full stack, memory, and trace access
EVM Debugging	Interactive source-level debugging with Solidity source maps
Bytecode Disassembly	Parse and analyze bytecode structure, detect function signatures