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The Ultimate Guide to Modular Blockchain Stack
Below is an article by Erick de Moura, co-founder of Cartesi.
Despite over a decade of evolution, traditional blockchains continue to struggle with the proverbial “blockchain trilemma,” balancing decentralization, security, and scalability. The larger a blockchain becomes (more users, more dApps, more activities and transactions), the greater the demand on the underlying infrastructure.
AS adoption increases, the network’s ability to handle the growing demand decreases. The result: network congestion, rising gas prices, and processing delays, none of which paint a picture of the better internet we were promised.
While we who work in the blockchain sector are very clear about the value and potential of website3we have yet to collectively agree on the optimal way to design it. Countless solutions have been proposed, but few have taken root.
However, over the past 12 months, we have seen the blockchain space increasingly move towards a new paradigm: modularity. While monolithic chains, such as the early Ethereal OR Solana – are built with a predefined set of design and infrastructure choices, modular infrastructure separates the crucial functions of the blockchain into separate modules that can be composed together to create even more powerful applications.
This article explores how modularity represents not only a technical upgrade, but also a strategic reimagining of blockchain infrastructure, promising a more robust framework for future applications.
Exploring the Modularity Thesis
Ethereum’s move to a rollup-centric roadmap was probably the first major shift towards a modular framework by outsourcing execution to layer 2 like zkSync and Optimism. It was an admission that a monolithic blockchain simply could not optimize every layer of its operations beyond a certain threshold, leading to a major decoupling of a critical operation from the main chain.
However, using level 2 (whose primary purpose is to offload layer 1 transactions) to expand the computational capacity of a blockchain only takes us much further. It moves traffic but does not remove it entirely.
Imagine a ferry overloaded with too many passengers, in danger of capsizing. You could move a number of passengers onto a tugboat attached to the larger ship to lighten the load, but that wouldn’t solve much of the root problem.
Blockchain modularity essentially expands on this idea. The thesis proposes that instead of a single blockchain handling all aspects of operations, with the current primary focus areas being execution, settlement, data availability, and consensus, these functions should be completely separated into differentiated, specialized layers that can function independently. And when assembled together, they can serve an even greater variety of operations.
Modularity may have emerged as the blockchain buzzword only in the last 12 months, but some modular solutions have been in development for years. Its guiding ethos is divide, conquer, and (most critically) collaborate. To work, these layers must be able to stack back together, in flexible configurations.
The developer’s challenge
While this is happening at the infrastructure level, developers responsible for actually building dApps on-chain face a distinct set of challenges. The reality is that the on-ramps for developers are steeper than many realize. New programming languages and unfamiliar build environments are just two of the significant obstacles developers face when designing and deploying dApps.
The biggest constraint is the blockchain framework a developer chooses to build on; it’s a one-size-fits-all solution. Everything runs under the same circumstances, subject to the same gas price fluctuations and performance limitations. Reproducibility and scalability issues have made on-chain computing environments very restrictive.
A DeFi developer has a completely different set of requirements to build their dApp than a game developer. Where one might prioritize security, the other might focus more on speed. Each of them should look for a blockchain with the perfect balance of scalability, security, speed, and every other critical dimension for their application. There are inherent trade-offs and compromises that need to be addressed in this selection process.
This limits the parameters and design space a developer can build in. It hinders the development of complex dApps and stifles innovation.
Modularity removes this obstacle. Instead, it allows developers to compose the optimal blockchain stack. They can integrate different modular protocols at each layer, to meet the specific needs of the application they are developing.
Execution: The Developer Gateway
The execution layer is the easiest gateway for developers to start experimenting and building within a modular framework. As technology advances, it should become easier and more affordable for developers to build and deploy dApps on-chain. Designing tools and platforms that provide this ease of use is critical if this framework is to be widely adopted by developers.
Using familiar tools in new, tried, tested, and trusted coding environments can help free developers from the limitations and idiosyncrasies that blockchains impose, particularly the lack of productive, stable development environments.
Alternative virtual machines (alt-VMs) introduce a diversity of operating systems to the blockchain infrastructure that could better provide the conditions needed to build complex and scalable applications. This enables a richer and more versatile development environment that previously did not exist on-chain, a major step forward in blockchain advancement.
Roll-up They also work to allow developers to create and manage their own rollup chain or “app chain.” Much like an app that has a dedicated server, app chains can inoculate dApps built on them from the processing requests of the wider network, resulting in a smoother and more efficient experience.
Through the execution layer, developers can better build and deploy dApps with the least amount of friction possible. Effective solutions should be cost-effective and abstract away many of the complexities faced by most blockchain developers today.
The benefits here are many. The modular framework introduces greater customization and gives developers flexibility and choice when building their dApps. Computations are agnostic to the blockchain, making dApps more portable and interoperable across chains. And with the right execution layer, developers can build in a familiar, secure, and robust environment.
The Modular Map: Building the Optimal Stack
While powerful, our solution is still a module or piece in a much larger mosaic. Modularity is a collaborative effort, with each solution playing an important role; a stark contrast to the zero-sum competitive landscape many of us are used to in the blockchain space.
The modular movement has spurred much more innovation and experimentation. By decoupling each layer of the blockchain stack, teams have focused on providing hyper-focused solutions at the infrastructure level, allowing for greater versatility at the application level, all to the ultimate benefit of the end user.
Ultimately, interoperability is at the heart of the modular thesis. Real-world applications cannot exist in isolation. They depend on rich, complex runtime environments that are invariably built on a modern operating system… and that’s what we’ve designed.
In its simplest configuration, a rollup can interact with Ethereal acting as a single layer of data availability, consensus, and settlement. For developers building ambitious applications that require more flexible or custom configurations, a developer can leverage integrations with Celestia and EigenDA for data availability, Espresso Systems for sequencing, and deployment on Ethereum, Optimism, or Arbitrum.
As more protocols integrate at every layer of the stack, developers will have even more choices in how to compose the underlying infrastructure of their dApps. As the collaborative ecosystem of protocols and solutions expands, so will the development of more complex and innovative, end-user-ready dApps.
A future greater than the sum of its parts
Discussing and launching new modular blockchain projects is certainly faster than the actual development and coding required to bring this vision to life. While our solution has developed over the past six years, the overall modular ecosystem is still in its infancy. Over time, modular infrastructure and tools will become increasingly streamlined so that developers can engage with web3 technologies without the steep learning curves and competitive paradigms that currently act as barriers to progress.
It will take time, investment, and consistent effort for each piece to come together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Once we get there, we will not only solve the inherent limitations of previous blockchain architectures, but we will also set the stage for a more dynamic and collaborative future in blockchain development.