Author: Arrow@go2mars; Source: Author Twitter @ArrowCrypto_eth

Let's continue to talk about modular blockchain and Layer3. After talking about the Layer2 scheme and mechanism yesterday, I found that many people do not understand the impact of OP Stack on the Layer2 ecology. In fact, it can be called a "Chain SaaS" tool, creating (Layer2) chain as a service.

In teacher NingNing @OxNingOx's long tweet "How long can L2s fight for the red flag of fluffing hair?", it is clearly mentioned that many project parties "develop a L2 based on OP Stack+ for the wool party".

The description of this phenomenon is very realistic. After all, Optimism Bedrock is the first implementation of OP Stack. After the upgrade, the average Gas is reduced to 25% of the original level, which can actually save users a lot of on-chain costs. There are also more and more project parties using this cheating "one-click release chain" tool to build a second-layer chain.

Whether it claims to be about to do or has already been done, there are too many projects to be created based on OP Stack, such as Base, Zora Network, opBNB, Worldcoin, Loot Chain, DeBank Chain, and the emerging Layer2 that will be released continuously. But do we really need so many Layer2s? At the same time, this question may also be asked on Layer3 later.

The role provided by Layer3 is customized expansion, which is different from the general expansion of Layer2.

Let's first talk about what Layer3 is. First of all, what is Layer2, then the next layer of nesting is Layer3. In essence, Layer3 is also a solution for capacity expansion. Layer3 is to Layer2 just like Layer2 is to Layer1, and continues to do nesting. What Layer3 needs to do is to pack and compress the data to Layer2, so as to reduce costs, increase efficiency and become more professional.

Of course, if nesting continues according to this logic, L4, L5, L6, Ln, etc. may also appear in the future, but in fact, because of the reduced versatility on Layer3, it cannot provide huge gains in scalability through simple stacking , so the story first talks about Layer3 for the time being.

When discussing Layer3, we first introduce a background. The concept of Layer3 was first proposed by the StarkWare team in the article "Fractal Scaling: From L2 to L3". Starkware also proposed the concept of fractal expansion, and first discussed the main organization of the multi-layer architecture. The StarkNet it developed is a decentralized, permissionless ZK-Rollup (based on ZKP), which uses ZKSTARK technology to achieve exponential expansion without compromising privacy.

In this context, they believe that due to the reduction of cost/gas and the enhancement of liquidity, users will mainly conduct business on Layer 2 in the future, but some special applications need to be customized, that is, to provide services through a separate new layer, Layer 3, which is located in Between the underlying public chain and the middle layer protocol. The core idea is: L2 is used for general-purpose expansion, and L3 is used for customizable expansion, so as to achieve exponential growth expansion.

Three visions of Layer3:

①Layer2 is used for extension, and Layer3 is used for customized functions, such as privacy.

②Layer2 is used for general extensions, and Layer3 is used for custom extensions.

③Layer2 is used for untrusted extension (summarization), and Layer3 is used for weak trust extension (verification).

In essence, under the concept of modular blockchain, Layer 3 is specialized layering based on Layer 2. Layer 3 will serve as a specific application chain to meet the different needs of different applications, such as privacy and efficiency.

Here is an example. On June 9th, I participated in the Nautilus Chain & Stanford Blockchain hackathon in Shanghai. The theme was "Discussion on the Development of Layer3 Modular Blockchain", which aroused my interest in Layer3. interest.

Eclipse is a customizable modular rollups, as Layer2 it is compatible with multiple Layer1 blockchains, Celestia is the first modular consensus and data availability network, enabling anyone to quickly deploy decentralized blockchains, Without the overhead of bootstrapping a new consensus network. Eclipse uses Celestia as a lower-level support. On the contrary, Celestia builds a modular blockchain based on the DA layer and provides support for Eclipse development tools.

Nautilus Chain is a modular blockchain built on Eclipse and Celestia, formerly known as Zebec Chain. Nautilus Chain is a custom modular Rollup chain built through Eclipse, focusing on function processing and improving customization efficiency.

Let's go back to the three visions of Layer3 in italics above:

①Layer3 is used for customized functions: Nautilus Chain is aimed at instances that emphasize data privacy protection, DEX instances with high real-time response, game instances with weak interaction on the chain, etc.

②Layer3 is used for custom expansion: each function of Nautilus Chain has an independent data processing set, and has a separate interface with Layer2.

③Layer3 is used for weak trust extension (verification): Nautilus Chain verification function is undertaken by the bottom layer.

As a conceptual application of a modular blockchain, Layer 3 has attracted attention for its more focused and customized function development.

In the future on-chain world, Layer 1 may be used as the underlying public chain for verification, Layer 2 for general expansion of ecological construction, and Layer 3 for auxiliary directional expansion of specific functions, each performing its own duties, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.