Foresight Ventures: "Combined for a long time must be divided" modular blockchain and data availability layer

Foresight

特邀专栏作者

2022-07-06 14:00

This article is about 9538 words, reading the full article takes about 14 minutes

The modular blockchain may become the basis for the extensive engineering and practice of the blockchain.

AI Summary

Expand

The modular blockchain may become the basis for the extensive engineering and practice of the blockchain.

Original Author: msfew@Foresight Ventures

text

Original Author: msfew@Foresight Venturesfirst level title,0. The bottleneck of Rollup

if you read the previous

Rollup article written by meThen it is likely to find that in the final comparison between Optimistic and zk Rollup, a hole was left intentionally or unintentionally.

The conclusion reached at that time was: because there is no Proving Overhead, Optimistic Rollup will be far better than zk Rollup in the long run. However, in the development of different time periods, the performance of Optimistic and zk Rollup will actually lead alternately:

Different types of Secured Rollups in different stages have different bottlenecks, and now for them,
In order to solve this performance problem of Rollup at this stage, we have two methods:

Upgrade the main network of Ethereum, and wait for it to be upgraded successfully. The disadvantage is that you cannot grasp the initiative, which may take a long time.

Switch the type of Rollup (such as changing to Validium), and directly use the data availability solution with better performance. The disadvantage is that some security is sacrificed.

first level title,1. Modularization of blockchain

The Secured Rollups (Arbitrum, etc.) we are referring to are actually an implementation of modular blockchains. In the future, there will be more and different implementations of modular blockchains, or Rollups of different variants.Ethereum's Rollup route embodies the blockchain's modular trend

Previous Rollup Articles

Two routes for capacity expansion are mentioned, one is to upgrade the blockchain itself, and the other is to use the Rollup method to better use the blockchain.

The modular blockchain combines two routes, 1+1 > 2, completely switching the single structure of the blockchain, making the new modular blockchain network the most suitable soil for Rollup growth, and giving these Rollup solutions More module choices and higher performance.secondary title:

a) Two levels, four modulesA blockchain can be split into
Two levels, including a total of four modulesSecurity layer:
Guarantee the security of the blockchain.Data Availability Module(hereafter referred to as DA): Ensure that transaction data can be used (guaranteed to be stored and verifiable and available).,Consensus module:
Determine the order of transactions, etc. (PoW, etc. are mechanisms to prevent attacks
It is the basis of the consensus and does not represent the whole of the consensus).Execution environment layer:
Provides the execution environment of the blockchain.Settles out the state promise.

inExecution module:,Calculate individual state transitions.in

For each level, two modules using the same scheme are more secure

less trust assumptions,

If the security of Ethereum is adopted for both settlement and execution > only settlement is adopted of Ethereum, and the security of Arbiturm environment is adopted for execution.Representatives of the monomer blockchain include Ethereum itself, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, etc., representatives of the Secured Rollup include Arbitrum, Optimism, etc., representatives of the DA layer include Celestia's DA, Polygon Avail, etc.
If the block chain module is compared to the computer structure, then:The execution module of the blockchain ⇒ the operating system of the computer (
The environment in which the instruction is actually executed)Blockchain's DA module ⇒ computer's memory

Blockchain settlement and consensus module ⇒ computer CPU

(The hardware guarantees the correctness of instruction execution)

In subsequent articles, we will refer to these "modules" as "layers", but they are actually modules.secondary titleb) Predict the trend of modularization from the development of the Web

We can learn from the development of the Web

learn fromThe future modular development route of blockchain:The blockchain network is actually a more decentralized and more stable cluster, allowing nodes to gather computing power to form large trusted computers all over the world.The modular division of the blockchain is very similar to,Distributed Systems in Web2(not equal to the distribution of distributed databases). It is essentially thebusiness split

with the picture below

Uber's architectureSimilarly, modules perform their duties.
The distributed system of Web2 and the modularity of the blockchain of Web3 bring us two questions to think about:to split

connect:

Ensure communication and security between modules. This is why modules of the same origin are more secure, because no additional connections are required, avoiding the dangers exposed during the process.

The problem of splitting has been clearly defined, but the problem of connection has an impact on the modular architecture. How to improve security and user experience may be a problem that the modular blockchain needs to solve.

secondary title

c) Why modular?After the modular blockchain decouples the single blockchain, the new network structure = multiple different Rollups like Arbitrum and StarkEx + an underlying mainnet like Ethereum.The main point of their improvement is that it is no longer necessary to verify and guarantee DA through the Proof of Replication caused by the traditional monomer blockchain coupled with consensus and DA (limiting performance and greatly increasing the size of the full node affects decentralization).

This means that the modular blockchain network no longer needs to wrap the consensus of the single blockchain, but

After decoupling, use a dedicated layer to process DA directly. Under the priority of mainnet security, reduce the waste of redundant computing power and storage, improve throughput, and skip consensus bottlenecks.
In this way, the TPS of the thousand or ten thousand level is further improved.In addition to the overall performance that can break through the bottleneck and leap to the next era, what are the significant benefits of the modular blockchain?
better blockchainsafety:
The Rollup layer borrows security from underlying security layers like Ethereum.
Execution performance:Flexibility to adopt faster execution or/and settlement modules.
Composability in development: Module decoupling. Modules allow for more radical proposals and faster innovation.

pluggable

: More chain development solutions and technology stack options.

Rollup secondary titled) Different implementations of modularity?In fact, a modular blockchain network can build a very wide variety of "chain" practices. There are three main categories and countless subcategories:
Multi-Monolithic (including Sovereign or Secured Rollup, etc., seeCevmosprevious article
Subnet. such as Ethereum/Celestia Security Layer + Execution Environment / or Execution Only Module.)

(like Tendermint/Substrate Security Layer +The execution environment of the stack and Recursive Rollup. Celestia itself actually belongs to this architecture and is part of the Cosmos ecosystem.),(Assembling the most free modular blockchain is not able to inherit security, but more emphasis on deployment and development efficiency.)

The three modular blockchains and monolithic blockchains
different direction
Features also vary:
Multi-Monolithic: Shared security, communication composable and interoperable, application chain has sovereignty, but performance is not necessarily good.

Subnet: Deployed in seconds, the solution is mature, but the degree of security and decentralization is not necessarily good.

Monolithic: "Complete" degree of freedom, but the solution is too heavy, and the whole system may be too coupled.secondary title.

e) Impact of the modular concept?
After the advent of the era of modular blockchain, the traditional concepts of L1 and L2 may have to be replaced

redefine

Single block chain: L1 refers to single block chains such as Ethereum, and L2 refers to Rollup based on the combination of Ethereum-based security layer and execution module.Modular blockchain: L0 refers to the social consensus and trust assumptions on L1, L1 refers to the security layer (DA and Consensus) of the modular blockchain, and L2 refers to the execution environment layer (Settlement and Execution) of the modular blockchain
besides:
Performance measure:

Definition: It should be noted that, for Rollup such as Arbitrum, the Arbitrum network = the execution environment of Arbitrum + the security layer and settlement module of Ethereum. For Ethereum itself, the network of Ethereum = the execution environment of Ethereum + Ethereum The security layer and settlement module. When the scheme can be modularized and deconstructed, they can all be called a practice of modular blockchain. And a network suitable for L1, such as Ethereum, can be called a module the blockchain network.

Trend: When an application wants more functions, reduced operating costs, enhanced security, and greater sovereignty, the application can choose a solution that suits it from a basket of modules, thereby developing App-chain or App-rollup or App -subnet.

In the future, perhaps each application will choose to become a modular blockchain.

first level title2. DA layer

Rollup draws attention to the impact of the DA layer on performance, and the emergence of Rollup also inspires the concept of a modular blockchain network focusing on multiple Rollup ecologies.

a) The modular blockchain allows the blockchain to overcome the consensus bottleneck of the monomer era and enter the era when the modular concept focuses on DA.?

"Rollup is to take the execution layer off-chain, and the next step is to take DA off-chain."secondary titleWhat is DA:

Current Data AvailabilityFor modular blockchain and Rollup networks,

The complete data needs to be there and guaranteed to be available, thus ensuring the network'sDecentralization and Security

: Why do you need the latest state root and tx data to be available when generating blocks?

Because to generate new blocks, all these data need to be disclosed in L1, so that other nodes can re-execute to achieve verification, and this process must ensure the security of the light client

(They only check block headers! Do not reject invalid transactions).

Archive Data Availability: After the block is valid, does the tx data still need to be kept and guaranteed to be available?
Rollup and Modular Blockchain: What does Current Data Availability mean for Rollup and different future Modular Blockchain practices?

b) Current Data Availability

Optimistic Rollup: When a new block is produced, the state root data needs to be available to be verified. During the challenge period, the tx data needs to be available to make the challenge Sequencer feasible and ensure security.

zk Rollup: When the Sequencer runs away, the state root data is needed to rebuild the state and withdraw funds.

secondary title

The availability of up-to-date data affects the security and performance of the network itself.

When we speak of DA, it is usually what we are referring to.Monolithic blockchain era:DA scheme: Since the consensus and DA are not decoupled, it relies on the full node Proof of Replication.

The data is there: through a bunch ofFull node replicates complete datato guarantee.

Data available: viaLinear Complexity Download Complete Datato verify that the data is available.

tx validity: passedRe-run,To verify the validity of tx.question:Too much redundancy

And if the nodes only store a part of the data on average,

There is a high probability of data loss(similar to the birthday paradox).

The era of modular blockchain:DA Program: DedicatedStandalone DA solution.

erasure codeData Availability Sampling(the data protection scheme employed by CDs and satellites) guarantees data availability.

Data available: viaData Availability Samplingtx validity: passedpolynomial commitment(similar to the Optimistic mechanism) orValidity certificateeven directly

c) Archived Data Availability

Validity certificate

(We usually call it zk proof) to ensure that the erasure coding is correct and tx is valid.

secondary title
The availability of archived data only affects infrastructure such as blockchain browsers outside the network itself, which may be optional for the network itself, but must be available for user use.
The first thing we want to explain is that the Web3 storage solution of Arweave or Filecoin cannot provide a direct DA for Current Data Availability:

Arweave: SPoRA. In essence, it is a kind of probabilistic storage under the assumption of Moore's Law and economic model (of course everything is probability...). In use, it usually needs to wait more than ten blocks to confirm the "permanence" of data, and it cannot guarantee instant DA very well .

Filecoin: PoSt. A point-to-point distributed storage network. Miners who store data can withhold data, and decentralization and DA cannot be guaranteed.In addition, Arweave and Filecoin are still multi-copy redundant models of single blockchains to ensure data availability, and it is difficult to establish an efficient sampling mechanism.

Although they are not suitable as "memory" to provide availability of recent data, they are suitable as "hard disk" to provide availability of archived data.

first level title

3. Choice of modular blockchain

We are now the architects of a 10,000-level TPS project to make some choices for our application and combine a suitable application chain.

secondary titlea) DA layer ecologyThe DA layer is the direction that everyone is paying close attention to recently. But judging from our decision map, there is actually not a high probability to make so many "right" choices in a row, and finally make the choice of DA.

Apart fromThe self-built private DAC (performance + sovereignty) or side chain DA solution most likely to be adopted by the project
In addition, there are basically three options for the DA scheme:Highest Security:Consistent with the consensus layer, for example, both DA and consensus use Ethereum or Celestia.).
Extreme Throughput:Sacrifice security and add additional trust assumptions, such as off-chain data committees (

Security is the same as multi-signature, poor

Both:Through Restaking mode, get high security and high throughput, such as DataLayr.
The business structure of the DA scheme will basically be as follows:Business model: Oriented to the application chain, by providing
For DA to collect the "protection fee" paid by the application chain.Two levels of comparison: security and throughput. And the one with better throughput can easily win an overwhelming victory.

Value capture: Since there are not many examples for analysis and comparison in practice, we can think about the following questions:

If the market value of the DA layer is much lower than that of the application chain (like the relationship between Chainlink and DeFi applications), does the entire protocol have security shortcomings? The DA layer alone cannot form a complete application ecosystem, how can tokens capture value?

secondary title

b) Execution layer ecology
If the modular blockchain is compared to a kitchen with a high degree of division of labor, the performance of the blockchain is the speed of serving food, then the DA layer with greater throughput is a bigger pot, and a better execution environment is more proficient and knowledgeable. Cook more cuisines.FuelVM (There are basically several options for the execution layer solution:,Existing mature solutions: EVM and its ZK or OP variants, WASM and its variants, etc.

Future frontier solutions:

The workflow is as shown belowFor the executive layer, I think EVM will still maintain its dominant position in the future because of its excellent ecology.

For the value capture of cutting-edge execution layer solutions, they can be easily combined into Optimistic Rollup to form an application ecology,

Therefore, in terms of value capture, they have natural advantages over the DA layer.

secondary title
c) Consensus layer ecology
For a modular blockchain, the consensus layer needs to:

Security priority: ensure the stability and security of the underlying layer.

Smart contract environment: It is convenient to verify various outputs on the chain.
Social and economic consensus: It needs to be a "highly respected" public chain, so that there is no need for additional trust assumptions.
So we are left with few suitable options:
Barely suitable: Bitcoin, Arweave (there is no Turing-complete smart contract on the two chains, and the settlement is carried out on the application chain), etc.

Probably best fit: future Celestia, future Ethereum.

first level title

4. Thinking about the modular schemesecondary titlea) Explore furtherstatelessnessThe state explosion problem makes the network entry threshold too high and weakens the decentralization of the network

executive layer. What we stated in the DA paragraphIt is only weak statelessness, that is, only block producers need to store state data, and more optimizations are needed later, so that all nodes do not need to store all state data.(Parallelization),: The current modular division of labor only opens up many execution layers (Sharding), and when

After a certain execution layer is fully loaded, its performance still cannot meet the requirements of Web3. Then what we need to expand is the performance of a single execution layer

Such as Fuel and Solana.

secondary titleb) Demand and supply

We may need more users onboard to stimulate a real large demand for modular solutions.

c) Security

At the same time, we have also seen countless module options, and it is a process of exploration and screening to find out which ones can be actively used.

secondary titlec) Security
There are two aspects to modularity, splitting and joining:Will the split cause the entire blockchain network to have shortcomings?The more complex a system is, the more exposed places it can be attacked.SafetyWhether the "connection" between modules may be attackedSafety)

) ? (In the previous article we

Opinions on the dangers of composabilitysecondary titleA decentralized modular system may only

Different execution layers lead to the separation of user experience and funds. At the same time, will it lead to the separation of developer experience due to different development tools?

How are MEVs handled?Similar to Apple's transition from Intel chips to m-series SoCs,

5. Summary

Will the relatively fragmented architecture of the modular blockchain be reunified after a few years due to ecological or experience issues, and will the monolithic blockchain return to its dominant position? Will the modular blockchain have the same interoperability as Cosmos IBC protocol?

secondary title

About Foresight Ventures

Foresight Ventures bets on the innovation of cryptocurrency in the next few decades. It manages multiple funds: VC fund, secondary active management fund, multi-strategy FOF, special purpose S fund "Foresight Secondary Fund l", with a total asset management scale of more than 4 One hundred million U.S. dollars. Foresight Ventures adheres to the concept of "Unique, Independent, Aggressive, Long-term" and provides extensive support for projects through strong ecological forces. Its team comes from senior personnel from top financial and technology companies including Sequoia China, CICC, Google, Bitmain, etc.

Website: https://www.foresightventures.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ForesightVen

Medium: https://medium.com/@foresightventures-zh

Substack: https://foresightventures.substack.com

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/jYtyfxfB

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/foresightventures

Foresight Ventures: "Combined for a long time must be divided" modular blockchain and data availability layer

text

Upgrade the main network of Ethereum, and wait for it to be upgraded successfully. The disadvantage is that you cannot grasp the initiative, which may take a long time.

Two routes for capacity expansion are mentioned, one is to upgrade the blockchain itself, and the other is to use the Rollup method to better use the blockchain.

(The hardware guarantees the correctness of instruction execution)

Ensure communication and security between modules. This is why modules of the same origin are more secure, because no additional connections are required, avoiding the dangers exposed during the process.

pluggable

Subnet: Deployed in seconds, the solution is mature, but the degree of security and decentralization is not necessarily good.

Trend: When an application wants more functions, reduced operating costs, enhanced security, and greater sovereignty, the application can choose a solution that suits it from a basket of modules, thereby developing App-chain or App-rollup or App -subnet.

a) The modular blockchain allows the blockchain to overcome the consensus bottleneck of the monomer era and enter the era when the modular concept focuses on DA.?

b) Current Data Availability

c) Archived Data Availability

Although they are not suitable as "memory" to provide availability of recent data, they are suitable as "hard disk" to provide availability of archived data.

3. Choice of modular blockchain

Value capture: Since there are not many examples for analysis and comparison in practice, we can think about the following questions:

For the value capture of cutting-edge execution layer solutions, they can be easily combined into Optimistic Rollup to form an application ecology,

Probably best fit: future Celestia, future Ethereum.

first level title

After a certain execution layer is fully loaded, its performance still cannot meet the requirements of Web3. Then what we need to expand is the performance of a single execution layer

c) Security

) ? (In the previous article we

Different execution layers lead to the separation of user experience and funds. At the same time, will it lead to the separation of developer experience due to different development tools?

5. Summary

About Foresight Ventures

Related Reading