Implement automated smart contract deployment with GitHub Actions

[Copilot]

This PR implements a complete automated deployment system for smart contracts using Hardhat and GitHub Actions, addressing the requirement to automate deployment on main branch merges.

Key Changes

Enhanced Deployment Script (scripts/deploy.js)

The existing deployment script has been enhanced to meet the requirements:

• Deployer logging: Now logs the deployer's account address and ETH balance before deployment
• Deployment summary: Provides a comprehensive summary including contract addresses, network info, and chain ID
• Network awareness: Works with multiple networks through environment variables

GitHub Actions Workflow (.github/workflows/deploy.yml)

Created a production-ready CI/CD pipeline that:

• Triggers automatically on pushes to the main branch
• Compiles contracts using Hardhat before deployment
• Deploys securely using GitHub Secrets for sensitive data
• Uploads artifacts for deployment verification and audit trails
• Uses Node.js 18 with proper dependency management

Network Configuration (hardhat.config.js)

Enhanced Hardhat configuration with:

• Multi-network support: Mainnet, Sepolia testnet, and Polygon
• Environment variables: Secure handling of private keys and API keys
• Infura integration: Ready-to-use RPC endpoints for all networks

Security & Best Practices

• Environment protection: Added .env.example and updated .gitignore
• Secret management: GitHub Secrets integration for PRIVATE_KEY, INFURA_API_KEY, and NETWORK
• Verification tools: New verification script for post-deployment checks

Developer Experience

• NPM scripts: Added convenient deployment commands for all networks
• Documentation: Comprehensive README with setup and usage instructions
• Verification utility: scripts/verify-deployment.js for contract state verification

Usage

Once GitHub Secrets are configured (PRIVATE_KEY, INFURA_API_KEY, NETWORK), deployments will automatically trigger when code is merged to main. Manual deployment is also available:

npm run deploy:mainnet  # Deploy to mainnet
npm run deploy:sepolia  # Deploy to Sepolia testnet
npm run verify:mainnet  # Verify deployment

The system is production-ready and provides a secure, automated deployment pipeline for the SEQICO and SEQToken contracts.

This pull request was created as a result of the following prompt from Copilot chat.

Task: Automate Smart Contract Deployment\n\n1. Write a deployment script for your smart contract using Hardhat.\n\n2. Configure GitHub Actions to trigger deployment automatically on specific events, such as merging to the main branch.\n\n### Required Changes:\n\n#### Deployment Script:\n- Develop a Hardhat deployment script that deploys the smart contract (e.g., scripts/deploy.js).\n- Log the deployer’s account address and balance.\n- Deploy the contract and log its address.\n\n#### GitHub Actions Configuration:\n- Create a GitHub Actions workflow file (e.g., .github/workflows/deploy.yml).\n- Automate the deployment process to execute when changes are merged into the main branch.\n- Include steps to:\n - Checkout the repository code.\n - Set up Node.js.\n - Install dependencies.\n - Compile contracts.\n - Deploy contracts via the Hardhat script.\n- Ensure environment variables (e.g., PRIVATE_KEY, INFURA_API_KEY) are securely passed to the workflow using GitHub Secrets.\n\n### Expected Outcome:\n- A functional deployment script (scripts/deploy.js) that automates the contract deployment using Hardhat.\n- A fully configured GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/deploy.yml) that triggers the deployment script upon merging changes to the main branch.

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[sonnyquinn24]

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