The crux of the modular blockchain thesis is a concept related to the separation of roles. Modular blockchains seek to optimize one or more of the four core functions - Execution, Settlement, Data Availability (“DA”), and Consensus - by delegating responsibility to a separate layer.
One of the critical bottlenecks in realizing the full potential of Layer-2s (“L2s”) for scaling lies in the DA layer, prompting a strong focus on advancing DA capabilities. The developments in the DA space introduce new opportunities for the broader modular ecosystem.
EIP-4844 is set to enhance Ethereum's DA capabilities by drastically reducing DA costs, which presently constitute a major portion of the L2 overhead. However, there is growing demand towards the adoption of alt-DA layers, driven by the need for greater scalability.
Celestia is the first public network that is designed to be optimized for DA. Celestia’s approach to scalability centers on the decoupling of execution from consensus, and the introduction of key technologies such as Data Availability Sampling (“DAS”) and Namespace Merkle Trees (“NMTs”).
Eclipse is Ethereum's first Solana Virtual Machine (“SVM”) L2. Specifically, Eclipse takes advantage of the parallel-processing design of the SVM to run a L2 with settlement on Ethereum and DA on Celestia.
Manta Pacific is a modular L2 that became the first to migrate to Celestia DA. Manta Pacific has grown to become the third largest L2 by TVL, boasting an impressive US$1.9B.
It’s not all about modularity, with scalability improvements also occurring within monolithic Layer-1s (“L1”). Notably, Monad is bringing parallel execution to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (“EVM”).
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