📖 Charpter 1 - Foundations

  • What's Layer 1?
  • What's Layer 2?
  • Why Layer 2?
  • How Layer 2? Rollup?
  • Optimistic Rollup? ZK Rollup?
  • The battle and debate

🙋 What's Layer 1?

  • Base blockchain. Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Avalanche, BSC Layer 1 blockchains
  • A network of node operators
  • A network of block producers
  • The consensus mechanism for the network
  • The blockchain itself and the history of transaction data
  • Polkadot sometimes call itself Layer ZERO

🙋 What's Layer 2?

  • Ethereum Community loves Layer2. Vitalik / Ethereum Concept
  • A layer 2 is separate blockchain that extends Ethereum and inherits the security guarantees of Ethereum.
  • Utilizing layer 1 security, data availability, and decentralization, while layer2s handles scaling

🙋 Why Layer2?

A problem known as the blockchain trilemma

Solving scalability issues.

🙋 Benefits of Layer2

  • Lower fees
  • Maintain security
  • Expand use cases

🙋 How does Layer2 work?

  • Rollups bundle (or ’roll up’) hundreds of transactions into a single transaction on layer 1
  • User shared the txn cost
  • case study
  • Optimistic rollups vs Zero-knowledge rollups

🗞️ Optimistic rollups

Optimistic rollups are 'optimistic' in the sense that transactions are assumed to be valid, but can be challenged if necessary. If an invalid transaction is suspected, a fault proof is ran to see if this has taken place.

Pros:

  • EVM Compatible
  • First hand effect

Cons:

  • Long withdraw period due to fraud check (3rd party bridge can help)
  • Economic attacks
  • Still centralized
Further Reading

🗞️ Zero-knowledge rollups

Zero-knowledge rollups use validity proofs where transactions are computed off-chain, and then compressed data is supplied to Ethereum Mainnet as a proof of their validity.

Pros:

  • Math and cryptographic proofs verified
  • Instant funds withdraw and not require economic bound

Cons:

  • Special high spec computers required to calculate proof
  • No EVM Support
Further Reading

⚔️ Debate and Battle between L1 and L2?

A lot of arguments around why do we need L2? Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos, Avax (subnet).

We can have a good debate around this question.