Original author: Haotian
Just when everyone is debating the DA legitimacy of Ethereum @VitalikButerin they are all discussing giving up the definition of layer 2.
Indeed, the naming of layer 2 can easily directly correspond to Rollup, and since it is Rollup, DA is not on the main network and is questioned whether it is Ethereum layer 2 or Make Sense.
Because Ethereum’s expansion solutions include Plasma, Rollup, Validium, etc.:
Plasma strictly limits DA to be on the main network; Rollup is relatively broad, and can be all DA on the main network or mixed DA. For example, ZK-Rollup will mostly compress and back up the data to the chain, and the off-chain environment calculation will ultimately base the state on ZK Synchronized to the chain; Validium is more flexible. DA is completely off-chain. It only needs to submit a SNARK certificate to the main network after calculation to ensure data consistency.
In fact, these expansion plans are the result of balancing the three impossible triangle problems of security, decentralization, and scalability.
From the perspective of expansion, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Plasma is suitable for a second-tier payment solution with security guarantees, Validium is suitable for an independent application chain with higher scalability, and Rollup has become mainstream precisely because of a compromise called Tradeoff. .
That’s why Vitalik believes that the definition of layer 2 is too narrow. It can be divided into Strong L2 and Light L2 based on Security or Scale preferences. Only in this way will the layer 2 industry not be limited by Rollup, and some expansion solutions such as Plasma and Validium will also stay. in public view.
So the question is, cant we just keep Rollup in layer 2? Vitalik also gave an explanation (commenting on the 4 points mentioned by Vitalik):
1) Validium is more secure than some Rollups that use multi-signature governance. This actually implies that if an expansion plan uses off-chain DA but the results are synchronized to the main network in the form of SNARK, the main network can trace it back and ensure the integrity and accuracy of the data. sex.
Compared with the Rollup solution that relies on a multi-signature governance committee to ensure this level of security, Validium is actually better. Although Rollup is more popular, if it only relies on multisigs to ensure security, it is not recognized; this implies that the Rollup project must make up for the shortcomings of the mainnet Rollup solution that relies on multi-signature security as soon as possible.
2) The security of the strict Rollups solution will be better than that of Validium. This actually means that Rollup can ensure the availability and integrity of data on the chain, and Ethereum Validators have the ability to verify and ensure security. This is different from Validium, which relies on off-chain security. Mechanically, security is more direct and pure.
It is precisely because of this that everyone pays too much attention to Rollup, which makes Validium appear illegal; this seems to emphasize the legality of Validium.
3) The security of on-chain SNARKs + off-chain data is better than that of pure on-chain fraud proof + off-chain data, because on-chain SNARKs can at least ensure the consistency and integrity of off-chain data. If you make a set of data off-chain, just rely on On-chain fraud proof challenges, in actual application scenarios, the former is more secure than the latter.
This is actually a criticism of some schemes that store data off-chain and rely on on-chain fraud proof. Fortunately, such schemes are rare, and most of the data using on-chain fraud proofs are also on the chain;
4) Finally, Vitalik also emphasized that Rollups is not equal to Layer 2, implying that there will be many opportunities in directions such as Plasma and Validium. Layer 2 cannot be limited to the Rollup level. If it does not work, revoke the definition of layer 2.
In my opinion, it is wise for Vitalik to stand up and strip away the definitions of Rollup and Layer 2, because once the layer 2 that everyone knows becomes Rollup, Ethereum will fall into a passive position in the face of the invasion of third-party DAs such as Celestia. .
Now let’s open up the concept from a high level. It’s no problem for developers to use third-party DAs like Celestia. Then if you SNARKs to the main network, it will be Ethereum’s Validium expansion plan. In addition, developers can also make updates based on ZK+Plasma. Explore vast expansion options. No matter how the market changes, Ethereum always defines everything.
It is not difficult to see that the Lego Building of Ethereum is completely supported by Vitalik’s forward-looking thinking!
