A Pivotal Moment in Blockchain Technology: Onboarding Thousands of Developers to Build a Crypto-Centric Future

High Rollers:

We are at a pivotal moment in modular blockchains, moving away from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

This shift promises to bring thousands of previously hesitant developers into the crypto realm. However, this transformation is not happening on the EVM. In this article, we explore the limitations of EVM, the potential of other Virtual Machines, and the pioneers leading this change.

Despite the EVM’s historical dominance, it’s time to embrace new technologies shaping the future of blockchain.

Cheers,

The Rollup

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𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐕𝐌 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫…

The teams in touch with non-crypto developer communities have been waiting patiently for this moment.

Imagine if we can onboard thousands of previously unwilling developers from various backgrounds to contribute in building the crypto-centric future we all are yearning for…

𝑇𝘩𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠:

That reality is happening right here, right now and we are about to onboard thousands of capable devs in the next few years.

𝑇𝘩𝑒 “𝑏𝑎𝑑” 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠:

Its not happening on EVM.

In todays post, you’ll learn about the state of EVM and its constraints, why other VMs based on years of tech stacks may reign superior, and a few key pioneers trailblazing this space forward now 👇

As an Ethereum evangelist, I must say, its tough have negative opinions about EVM.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine has dominated the landscape serving as the backbone for countless decentralized applications, and for good reason:

You can think of it as an execution layer, as the EVM handles the smart contract execution and basically manages all transactions.

You can create any type of smart contract and program using the EVM, which has inspired the “programmable money” narrative.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐕𝐌 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:

Firstly, its quite new. There aren’t very many “codebases” for lack of better term (compilers, libraries etc) when compared to traditional code libraries.

Also, Solidity is quite difficult to learn from a developer POV, and has restraints when compared to other languages (Rust, Move, JavaScript).

There are also economical constraints with EVM vs. other VMs at the execution layer. We are seeing cheaper options with more functionality come into exist.

As we look ahead, it’s clear that the narrative is shifting and the time has come to answer the following question:

𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐕𝐌 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫?

I believe that 2024 is the year of the novel execution layer. High-performance and non-EVM execution environments will become the standard as DeFi protocols look to minimize noise fee markets and games/app look for high throughput environments.

This new narrative is not about abandoning Ethereum, but about embracing diversity and exploring new possibilities in the modular space.

It’s about recognizing that the world of modular blockchain designs is vast and varied, and that Ethereum is just one (important) piece of the puzzle.

𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥:

Polygon Miden and Risc Zero are pioneering new approaches to VM design, focusing on efficiency and scalability in the zkspace.

Cartesi 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐱 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐌. It emulates a traditional computer chip (64bit RISC-V ISA) in a reproducible deterministic fashion.

This allows it to boot a full OS (e.g. unmodified Ubuntu), allowing developers to run traditional computer programs, languages and libraries in a verifiable way.

Devs who understand Linux can come into the Cartesi app-specific rollup ecosystem and build any dApp.

Recently, a dev who knew nothing of solidity/EVM came in and built an LLM based dApp, ChainGPT using Cartesi’s VM.

Aztec Network is pushing the envelope in terms of privacy, developing a VM that enables private transactions on public blockchains.

Fluent xyz is reimagining how VMs can be used for data processing, creating a platform that combines the power of blockchain with the flexibility of VMs.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐌 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬: Movement Labs.

​​The Move VM is designed with a focus on performance and security. It addresses and mitigates common vulnerabilities like re-entrancy, establishing a secure environment for developers.

Movement Labs has decoupled the virtual machine from the blockchain stack, making it portable and modular. Move parallel processing and safeguards are coming to EVM for the first time!

All of this is powered by the Movement SDK. dApps living within the SDK have the freedom to flexibly deploy to any Move environment on any networks the SDK integrates with.

Also living within the SDK is the Fractal Transpiler, which enables Solidity dApps to upgrade their smart contracts to Move without writing a single line of Move code.

In short, Movement Labs is democratizing development with novel virtual machines and smart contract development languages and enabling their dApps to come to market in a Web3 native way via the Movement SDK.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐌, 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬: Fuel Network.

The FuelVM is a parallel processed virtual machine for scaling Ethereum and the modular stack. It is a very advanced smart-contract execution engine, designed with the philosophy that every computation matters.

As seen below, FuelVM (like the rest) are used at the execution layer for higher performance.

The FuelVM brings several unique benefits to the VM space that goes beyond parallel transaction execution, including an asset-centric design with native assets, predicates, and state-minimized design.

Light clients, parallel execution, and efficient fraud proofs are big kickers. Developers choose the FuelVM for its superior developer experience and the ability to go beyond the limitations of the EVM.

As we move into 2024, it’s clear that the world of VMs is set for a major shakeup. Stani Kuchelov, a pioneer of DeFi, put out a tweet recently highlighting this shift…

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in crypto, its to follow the gigabrains who are early to trends.

The new narrative is about building modular designs, incentivizing new innovation, and optionality.

𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝, 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

As we embark on this exciting journey together, the call to action is clear: 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓.

We are going to have a serious uptick in developer count as a result of expanding away from EVM.

𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑔𝘩𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝘩𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙.