According to Cointelegraph, Offchain Labs, the original developer of the Arbitrum blockchain and Stylus, has announced the mainnet launch of Arbitrum Stylus. This backward-compatible virtual machine aims to eliminate common barriers to decentralized app (DApp) development for Web3 by allowing developers to use familiar WebAssembly (WASM)-compatible languages. This convergence is expected to facilitate the creation of powerful Web3 applications with low gas fees.
Speaking at the Korea Blockchain Week conference on September 3, Offchain Labs co-founder and chief scientist Ed Felten explained that Stylus unifies the two primary methods of writing smart contracts on blockchains: Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and traditional programming languages such as Rust, C, and C++. Felten highlighted that developers now have the option to develop their contracts in either style, ensuring full interoperability and composability on the same chain. He emphasized that Stylus' multi-language support encourages developers to build on Arbitrum using the tools that make the most sense for them.
In a parallel announcement, Steven Goldfeder, CEO and co-founder of Offchain Labs, noted that developers can use Stylus to expand their current market offerings. Felten added that some Stylus programs have outperformed those built on EVM, particularly in applications requiring high computational power. He mentioned that some applications run up to 70 times faster on Stylus, allowing for more transactions within the gas limit and reducing overall costs. This performance boost meets the need for efficient and secure smart contract languages while expanding the design space for onchain applications.
Offchain Labs also plans to integrate other popular protocols, such as ZK-proofs, into Arbitrum, which currently demands high costs and computation. Felten shared his vision for the future of Web3, suggesting that a hybrid protocol combining optimistic and ZK elements would be more economically viable in a non-specialized environment. He anticipates that Stylus' cost reduction will enable the development of more sophisticated decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
