The blockchain space has come a long way since its inception, with developers constantly looking for ways to improve scalability, security, and decentralization. The traditional all-in-one approach of a single chain handling all tasks often faces challenges in terms of scalability, upgradeability, and validator node hardware requirements. To cope with these limitations, the concept of modular blockchain emerged as a promising alternative.
Different from the integrated blockchain model, the modular blockchain adopts a multi-layer architecture that can divide each major task into specialized functions. By assigning specific functions to different layers, modular blockchains can create more scalable and customizable systems without compromising decentralization or security.
Modular blockchains usually run the four main functions separately, namely execution, settlement, consensus and data availability. Execution involves transaction processing, settlement ensures the security of the transaction destination address, consensus verifies the authenticity of the transaction, and data availability takes care of transaction data storage. This modular design is more flexible and efficient, providing an effective solution to the scalability in the blockchain trilemma.
The implementation of modular blockchain is diverse and each has its own characteristics. Well-known ones include aggregation, validity, and sovereign aggregation.
Aggregation is the execution layer that processes transactions. After the transaction is processed, the data is published to the Layer 1 network (L1).
Validium is another form of aggregation that processes transactions off-chain before submitting the data to L1. Validium also relies on a network of proof-of-stake validators.
Sovereign Rollup is unique in that it is both an execution layer and a settlement layer, with data blocks published directly to the rollup. Sovereign rollups do not require L1 smart contracts for verification.
Compared with integrated designs, modular blockchain architecture has significant advantages, such as greater scalability, flexibility, and interoperability. But in addition to the above advantages, the construction of modular blockchain will be more complicated. For users and developers, the learning threshold is still not low.
1. Enhanced scalability: Modular blockchain spreads resource-consuming tasks across different layers, thereby increasing overall throughput without affecting decentralization and therefore being scalable Excellent in sex.
2. Flexibility and Interoperability: The modular base layer is designed to be highly flexible to facilitate interoperability between multiple Layer 1 and Layer 2 chains. With this flexibility, developers can run the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) or other virtual machine of their choice.
3. Multifunctional application development: The modularity of blockchain supports the development of universal applications, reducing users’ obstruction in the blockchain ecosystem. With this support, secure and efficient multi-functional decentralized applications (DApps) will emerge in an endless stream.
4. Customizable technology stack: Developers are free to choose a virtual machine that suits their needs and provide a customizable computing stack, which helps create an environment that is easier for developers to operate and more flexible.
1. Complexity of development: Building on a modular blockchain is more challenging than an all-in-one blockchain. This complexity makes learning difficult for users and developers, and may slow down application adoption and development.
2. Limited testing: Unlike monolithic networks like Ethereum or Bitcoin, modular networks have insufficient real-world testing. Mature chains have undergone extensive testing and verification, while modular networks are still incomparable. People cannot help but worry about whether the network can successfully adapt to high-traffic real-life environments.
3. Early stage of development: Modular blockchain development is still in its infancy. While the market has shown significant interest in modular networks, the reality is that these networks lack the extensive real-world testing and validation required for mature networks. Modular blockchain is still in the early stages of development, and its long-term stability and effectiveness are still uncertain.
Celestia is a modular network within modular blockchains that allows for secure scaling of blockchains without performance impact. Aggregation and Layer 2 networks use Celestia to make transaction data available to anyone and enjoy fast and efficient data availability. To this end, Celestia implements various features such as data availability sampling and sovereign aggregation. As more nodes join the network, Celestia can expand the block size through data availability sampling.
Dymension is a network of modular blockchain "RollApps" that are easy to deploy quickly. Dymension works similarly to traditional full-stack web applications. The RollApps network acts as the front-end for user interaction, while Dymension serves as the back-end, responsible for coordinating the entire ecosystem. In addition to this, the data availability network acts as a database, providing data when necessary.
Modular blockchains are versatile and interoperable and will lay the foundation for improving the efficiency and security of decentralized ecosystems. The modular network may eventually support more DApps and use cases, which is expected to push DeFi to new heights. The development team will continue to focus on solving the scalability trilemma, and the application of modularity in the cryptocurrency field is expected to expand.
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