While Ethereum-based layer-2 solutions have concentrated on hyperscaling the network, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes layer 3s assists a much different purpose — supplying “customized functionality.”
Buterin shared his ideas inside a Saturday post, supplying three “visions” of the items layer 3s is going to be employed for later on.
The Ethereum co-founder stated another layer around the blockchain is sensible only when it possesses a different function to layer 2s, that have been used mainly to boost scaling via zero-understanding (zk) Rollup technology:
“A three-layer scaling architecture that includes stacking exactly the same scaling plan on the top of itself generally doesn’t work well. Rollups on the top of rollups, in which the two layers of rollups make use of the same technology, certainly don’t.”
But, “a three-layer architecture in which the second layer and third layer have different purposes, however, could work,” stated Buterin.
Certainly one of layer 3’s use cases could be what Buterin describes as “customized functionality” — referencing privacy-based applications which may utilize zk proofs to submit privacy-preserving transactions to layer 2.
Another use situation could be “customized scaling” for specialised applications that shouldn’t make use of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to complete computation.
Buterin also stated that layer 3 might be employed for “weakly-trusted” scaling through Validiums, a zk-proof technology. Buterin stated this can be advantageous for “enterprise blockchain” applications by utilizing “a centralized server that runs a validium prover and frequently commits hashes to chain.”
But, Buterin added that it is still unclear whether layer-3 structures could be more efficient compared to current layer-2 model with regards to building customized applications on Ethereum.
Related: A beginner’s help guide to comprehending the layers of blockchain technology
“One possible argument for that three-layer model within the two-layer model is: a 3-layer model enables a whole sub-ecosystem to exist inside a single rollup, which enables mix-domain operations within that ecosystem to occur quite inexpensively, without requiring to undergo the costly layer 1,” Buterin stated.
But, Buterin stated that because mix-chain transactions could be performed easily and cheaply between two layer 2s which have dedicated to exactly the same chain, building layer 3s might not always enhance the efficiency from the network.
Buterin’s comments on possible layer 3 use cases be StarkWare’s recently created recursive validity proofs have the symptoms of possibly put an finish to Ethereum’s scalability concerns.
Declan Fox, the merchandise manager at Ethereum software firm ConsenSys, lately told Cointelegraph that “with recursive rollups and proofs, we theoretically can infinitely scale.”
These recursive proofs happen to be well tested being produced, with StarkWare co-founder Eli-Ben Sasson lately telling Cointelegraph that it is recursive proofs have folded up as much as 600,000 nonfungible token mints in one transaction on Immutable X which 60 million transactions could soon perform them “with more engineering and tweaking.”
