Introduction
Ethereum is the most widely used blockchain network and this is not new. If we remember the 2017 ICO boom, we noticed that the new tokens were almost which was launched exclusively on the Ethereum network. This use was driven by the arrival and spread of DeFi platforms. Even with several other blockchains, which emerged from 2017, and which present greater processing capacity, ie scalability and low tariffs, Ethereum still reigns as the network with the highest traffic, largely due to its smart contracts and the Solidity language, which is the standard for building smart contracts.
To use Ethereum network it is necessary to pay a fee to the miners, using the protocol’s native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH). However, Ethereum’s success, especially in the area of decentralized finance (DeFi), ended up congesting the network. This problem also affects Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, known as the scalability dilemma. The Ethereum network is a proof of work (PoW) network with inherent scalability problems, high gas and congestion rates and logically slow in processing transactions.
To solve these problems, a new Ethereum 2.0 blockchain will definitely be implemented, significantly increasing its speed and processing capacity, possibly up to 100 thousand transactions per second. Ethereum 2.0 chose to abandon mining, a model that requires a large amount of energy, associated with the machines that perform this computational effort. But there is still no scheduled date for this migration and, therefore, other solutions that solve these scalability problems are needed.
Layer 1 and Layer 2
Layer-1 is the term used to describe the underlying main blockchain network. Ethereum can be considered a layer 1 protocol, as it acts as the underlying blockchain system in which other DApps can be deployed.
If we think of layers, layer 1 would be a bottom layer and other layers would be placed on top of this bottom layer.
Layer 2 (L2) protocols are structures built on top of an existing L1 blockchain system. The main purpose of these protocols is to increase the speed of transactions and the scalability of L1 blockchain networks.
How do L2 protocols do this?
L2 protocols scale applications by managing off-chain transactions avoiding to handle them in the Ethereum network. For this reason, L2 protocols are often called “out-of-chain” scaling solutions.
Solving the scalability problem, increasing transaction speed and consequently decreasing network traffic, layer 2 solutions do not require any significant changes to the main chain, which maintains its original properties.
There are several types of frameworks and algorithms that solve scalability problems, such as Sidechains, ZK-rollups and Optimistic Rollups and an L2 protocol can adopt one of these solutions.
Optimistic Rollups
Optimistic Rollups are layer 2 scaling solutions that leverage the Optmistic Virtual Machine to allow for a roughly 100x throughput increase compared to the current Ethereum network.
Optmistic Rollups accumulate a large number of transactions and publish them to a smart contract on the main chain. In short, Aggregators are trusted to deploy contracts, process user transactions and including them in a “rollup block”. This process allows for consensus to be achieved on a batch of transactions rather than the network having to reach consensus on each and every transaction. That is, the heavy computational work is done outside the chain, not overloading the L1 blockchain.
Cartesi
Cartesi (CTSI) is a layer-2 protocol, which aims to enable complex and intensive computations to run in a Linux environment, outside the blockchain, without compromising decentralization. Cartesi allows developers to build their dApps off-chain without compromising on-chain decentralization and security. Cartesi aims to make dApps significantly more powerful, cost-effective, easier to develop, and portable. Cartesi was one of the Binance Launchpad Projects in 2020.
Cartesi’s core technology relies on its virtual machine that emulates a RISC-V ISA, called the Cartesi Machine. It has been designed to run computationally-intensive decentralized logic off-chain, on a Linux environment.
Cartesi Optmistic Rollups are being implemented on the Cartesi Machine to allow running off-chain heavy computation that would be impossible to run on-chain.
Using Cartesi Rollups, smart contracts will run off-chain on a Cartesi Machine, a Linux virtual machine where developers have the option to bypass the constraints and limitations of Solidity and the EVM to code smart contracts on top of the same software stacks running on Linux. That is, Ethereum smart contracts will run on the top of the Linux virtual machine.
According to Erick Moura, Cartesi’s CEO:
“Allowing mainstream programmability means that dApp developers have an entirely new expressive power to create from simple to rather complex smart contracts. It also means opening doors for extensive adoption of regular developers who have never programmed for blockchain, as they will create decentralized applications with a coding experience similar to desktop or web.”
Recently Cartesi announced a partnership with Elrond (EGLD), one of fastest-growing blockchain projects in the market, to integrate optimistic rollups for high computational scalability and enabling a Linux runtime for smart contracts. Through this collaboration, developers building smart contracts on Elrond will be able to use the Cartesi machine and process complex computacional off-chain tasks.
Conclusion
While there is no doubt that the Ethereum blockchain will continue to reign in the DeFi world, scalability solutions will be increasingly necessary so that Dapps can be used democratically and at minimal cost to users.
Cartesi Optimistic Rollups are not restricted to the Ethereum network, but can be used in other blockchains, as demonstrated by the partnership with Elrond. It is a crosschain solution, thanks to the interoperability that its Linux virtual machine offers.
Cartesi is ready to offer a fast, secure and mainly scalable development environment for all types of DApps, from the simplest, but especially the most complex ones that do not have adequate solutions to their needs.
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