๐๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ "๐ฐ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐", ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐...
Due to the recent Cambrian explosion of modular infrastructure, the advent of the rollup revolution over the last 18 months is quickly turning into a 'modular rollup' focused landscape.
The "build whatever" creator-focused energy of modular blockchains is growing mindshare, and for good reason:
Very soon DeFi power users will experience a previously unfathomable UX, boasting much faster confirmations and dramatically cheaper tx's on modular-based rollups.
In today's post, you'll learn about the recent collaboration between two modular powerhouses, how building modular rollups enables a better UX, and a hint into where I foresee value accrual happeningย
Yesterday, Celestia & PolygonLabs came together to announce the integration of Celestia's data availability layer (DA) with the Polygon CDK.
This is enabling zk L2s launched with Polygon's CDK to integrate Celestia's DA layer.
๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐๐ด๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น๐๐ฝ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐จ๐ซ:
Polygon's Customizable Development Kit (CDK) is a tool that is enabling a rapid development of modular blockchains.ย
Their modular approach allows developers to select specific components they need for their blockchain's usecase, offering a "tailor made" solution to the headaches which come with choosing which stack to deploy your project on.
The true power of the CDK lies in its ability to bring interconnectivity between all blockchains built using the CDK.
Here's what I mean:
As you can see below, builders have the option to pick and choose specific parts of the modular stack to utilize within their chain design.
This gives developers the freedom to choose virtual machines, sequencer types, gas tokens, and data availability solutions while still being able to seamlessly share liquidity with each other and the wider Polygon ecosystem through composable interoperability.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ป๐๐:
1๏ธโฃ ZK-Provers: Type-1 (in future) and Type-2:
Batch processing using Polygon's ZKPs further eases the validation load on each blockchain, granting higher throughput.
The PolygonLabs team is planning to implement type 1 zk-provers in the future to scale even faster.
2๏ธโฃData Availability: Ethereum, DAC, 3rd Party (Celestia):
Ethereum ensures data availability by storing the entire state and transaction history on its blockchain, while its the most expensive, its also currently the most secure.
Next, we have Data Availability Committees (DACs), which are specialized offchain groups that store and provide access to blockchain data, using zk proofs as a means for enhanced security.ย
While the DAC is a secure group of nodes, there is risk of collusion with DAC members.
See below to understand the tradeoffs of different data availability:
Then, we have 3rd Party Solutions such as Celestia which offer a separate data availability layer for other blockchains to utilize, enhancing scalability and finding a happy medium between speed and security.
3๏ธโฃVirtual Machine (VM) - zkEVM, Miden VM (in future):
Polygon zkEVM has been in development for several years and has been rigorously battle-tested for security. Deploying using the Polygon CDK grants builders access to the liquidity, mindshare, infra, and tooling within the zkEVM ecosytem.
Also, following an epic presentation from schmiddominik1 during Epicweb3ย ETH Infra days, I learned that Miden VM is coming very soon for builders to deploy on.
PolygonMiden offers a secure 'actor model' utilizing ZKPs for 'notes', flexible transaction modes, and the creation of a proof for every transaction.
Will be very interesting to see this develop.
4๏ธโฃSequencer: Centralized, Decentralized (in future):
The state of sequencing within Polygon CDK is similar to many rollups currently, a single sequencer.ย
Like many other ecosystem teams, there is a strong focus on building towards a decentralized sequencer to address the single point of failure dilemma.
The challenge is to do this in a way which doesn't affect the state alignment between L2 <> L1, and also the potential economic disadvantages of spreading sequencer fees amongst many.
Polygon's CDK also offers other features such as customization for transaction costs, data storage, and regulatory aspects. It provides EVM compatibility, dedicated throughput, and native gas tokens.
Two recent examples of the Polygon's CDK are CantoPublicย and X1, a project of okx Chain.
Canto, originally a cosmos L1 appchain, transitioned to an Ethereum L2 using Polygon CDK with a focus on developing onchain adoption of real-world assets.ย
The modularity of CDK-based chains makes them suitable for onboarding and transacting with a wide range of real-world assets.
On the other hand, X1, also known as OKX Chain, is a ZK L2 network created to empower builders within its onchain ecosystem and expand into their vast network.
It'll be interesting to see the traction these both gather, but one thing is certain...
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐๐ด๐ผ๐ป'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ "๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ซ" ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ.
Following the integration with Celestia, the status quo for users is likely to be pushed further.
๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง:
"The integration will enable fully onchain applications and can dramatically reduce Ethereum L2 transaction fees by ~100x. Celestia's DA solution will be available to devs launching ZK L2s with Polygon CDK as an easily-pluggable component, early next year."
I expect to see rollup fees sub $0.01 in the busiest of times, compared to $1+ across rollups currently.
This UX improvement is going to be a legitimate 100x for users who care about transacting in a better execution environment.
Frankly, this is one of the major reasons why I'm so bullish on modular blockchain developments...
๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ, ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ.
When you throw in additional layers of the stack such as alternative VMs, the security and developer experience will also significantly increase...see some of my 'highlights' for articles on this.
We are just at the tip of the iceberg, with Celestia and DA layers leading the charge to adoption of modular blockchains.
As we conclude this post, I want to take some time to explain some of my thinking behind where the value will accrue in the modular stack:
Without diving into speculation on any particular asset or segment, I generally think value will accrue to all parts of the ecosystem.
This includes the 'stack providers', DA layers, altVMs, interop protocols, sequencers, and the settlement layers.
While in traditional monolithic vs. modular charts, we only see three layers, I expect the interop and sequencing layer to make its way into new, updated diagrams.
The market is going to slowly figure out how to value these new segments with experimentation and speculation, which is very exciting.
Testing out these new chains, interacting with modular rollups and being on the front lines is definitely a good way to capture this value.
All in all, we are still quite early to the modular thesis and I will be developing value accrual model in-depth as this progresses (so be sure to smash the follow button @ayyyeandy).
As for you, anon:
Prepare yourself for a speedy UX, tons of new modular rollups, and a whirlwind of new chains as easy to spin up as smart contracts.
The builders are eating up this "build whatever" mantra and will run with it like we haven't seen before.
๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ...
Modularism, not maximalism