The future of the internet is decentralized and powered by blockchain technology, also known as the third version of the internet, i.e. “Web3”. But before this vision becomes reality, there is still a major hurdle to overcome, which is scalability in crypto networks. No one wants to stand in line at Starbucks waiting for thirty people and their transactions to confirm every morning so that they can just begin their day with their favorite coffee.
So why would anyone want a technology where they have to wait several minutes just for their transactions to finalize?
Starbucks would be expected to increase the number of counters, reducing the amount of people in one line and ultimately reducing the wait time for a person. This is essentially what Layer 2 chains, or scaling solutions, accomplish for scalability in crypto networks.
One exciting example in the crypto industry would be SuperDapp, which is a decentralized social application reflective of Web3’s potential, equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI), and built on Rollux, a Bitcoin Superchain, running on Syscoin as Layer 2 EVM. The Syscoin blockchain itself is a Layer 0 Bitcoin blockchain, which bridges any blockchain or superchain like Rollux to Bitcoin.
Layer 2 chains are genius innovations made by developers designed to essentially take the pressure off the main network by redirecting traffic. Think of them as extra lanes on a highway, processing transactions efficiently off-chain, or at least off the primary chain. This reduces the load of the main blockchain, or Layer 1, granting faster and cheaper transactions to users. Hence, making the network highly scalable to achieve the promise of Web3.
A normal user at this point would question why there is a queue of transactions pending after all? Why isn’t the next big technological innovation (blockchain technology) faster than the Web 2.0 applications we use on our phones and computers?
The users have every right to ask these questions. Before we dive deeper into the importance of scalability and Layer 2 solutions in the Web3 world, let’s better understand why we need scalability in crypto networks.
Need for Scalability in Crypto Networks
The promise of Web3 – a decentralized internet fueled by blockchain technology is undeniable, and scalability in crypto networks without serious compromises to the other quadrants of the trifecta, decentralization and security, is the only hindrance that stands in their way.
Just like the traffic on the road comes to a halt when burdened with too many vehicles, popular blockchains today struggle with slow transaction processing and high fees. This “scalability squeeze” discourages increased user participation and innovations in the Web3 ecosystem.
Some other things that scalability in crypto networks brings to the table are:
Faster Transactions
Slow transaction speeds on current blockchains create a frustrating user experience. Scalability in crypto networks the way for faster processing, making Web3 applications more user-friendly.
Reduced Fees
High transaction fees are a significant barrier to entry for many users, especially those who stand to benefit the most from blockchain’s promise of making individuals their own banks in underserved regions of the world without reliable or affordable financial infrastructure. Scalable solutions aim to lower these fees,opening the doors for a broader Web3 audience.
Innovation
Limited scalability in crypto networks restricts the types of applications that can be built on blockchains. Scalability in crypto networks increases the potential for a wider range of innovative dApps to emerge and shape the future of Web3. SuperDapp from the Syscoin ecosystem shows the potential of these next-gen dApps.
Let’s understand how Layer 2 solutions solve the problem of scalability in crypto networks.
What are Layer 2 Chains and How Do They Solve the Problem of Scalability?
Layer 2 solutions are protocols built on top of existing blockchain networks such as Ethereum or Bitcoin to address scalability in crypto networks issues. These solutions aim to improve the efficiency and throughput of blockchain networks by handling transactions off-chain, ideally whilst maintaining or enhancing the security of the underlying network.
Layer 2 solutions enable transactions to be processed off-chain, meaning they do not need to be recorded on the main blockchain immediately. Instead, transactions are settled using smart contracts or other off-chain mechanisms.
Faster transaction confirmations, reduced fees, and increased scalability are the primary propositions of Layer 2 solutions. Since this lightens the load as transactions are not competing for limited space of the underlying chain, this allows fees to decrease.
Additionally, Layer 2 solutions significantly increase the scalability in crypto networks by taking the transactions off-chain. This allows the main blockchain to focus on handling critical operations such as settlements, while routine transactions occur off-chain.
Lack of scalable blockchains are no good for the future of Web3.
The good news? Amazing Layer 2 protocols like Rollux have emerged to address these challenges. Rollux’s solution operates on top of Syscoin, which running in compliance with Bitcoin through its use of merged mining in order to guarantee an enhanced level of security that is second to none.
This makes Rollux a powerful Bitcoin Superchain, allowing developers to build decentralized applications or “dApps” that have the security and immutability of Bitcoin while enjoying the blazing-fast speeds and lower fees of the Rollux scaling solution.
This combination might seem impossible at first glance. How can a dApp inherit the unmatched security characteristics of Bitcoin? Innovations like Syscoin’s application of merged mining allow it, and Rollux, to share Bitcoin’s mining-derived proof-of-work security without costing miners any additional resources.
SuperDapp: A SocialFi Dapp Built for Speed on Syscoin’s Rollux
Traditional social media applications have always been centralized and faced problems anathema to blockchain’s ideals like censorship. Imagine a social media platform where you can connect and interact with friends and communities without the limitations of traditional, centralized applications. SuperDapp, which is built on the Rollux Superchain, makes this vision a reality.
What makes SuperDapp truly special is its ability to handle a growing number of users and transactions without sacrificing performance, even supporting features like video calls in addition to group messages and personal chats, all being encrypted to ensure the privacy and peace of mind of its users.
The secret to this scalability in crypto networks of SuperDapp lies in its foundation: Rollux. This next-generation Layer 2 solution employs an OP Stack (a fork of Optimism) rollup to speed up transaction processing. Using this amazing, open-source technology, SuperDapp achieves incredible processing speeds at a fraction of a cost, ushering in a new era of dApps essentially built on Bitcoin.
Some of the features of the underlying Syscoin blockchain that make it so scalable are:-
Syscoin Rollux: OP Stack Rollup
SuperDapp is deployed on the Rollux Superchain. This is a Layer 2 solution, which uses Optimistic rollups, a kind of rollup that assumes transactions are valid by default. Any participant can challenge an invalid transactions, but disputes will warrant a waiting period to achieve a resolution.
Rollux, as a Bitcoin Superchain employs an OP Stack rollup, enhancing it to take full advantage of Syscoin’s modular architecture, wherein contracts can be executed with the blazing speed of Rollux’s Layer 2 solution.
Layer 2 Bitcoin Data Availability
Rollux leverages Syscoin’s Layer 1 Bitcoin Data Availability, formerly named PoDA or Proof-of-Data Availability, solution to increase the scalability in crypto networks along while importantly maintaining security. In other words, it tackles the challenge of scalability by separating the tasks of transaction processing and data storage.
The rollup handles processing of transaction data while there is a separate dedicated data availability layer to store the actual transaction data. This layer can be a separate blockchain or a specialized protocol.
Merged Mining
Some blockchains rely on proof-of-work consensus mechanisms pioneered by Bitcoin, but like any other Layer 1, the network becomes congested as the number of users and transactions increase. Syscoin uses merged mining to solve this challenge through its modular innovations, particularly Rollux for smart contracts and dapps, and these benefits are passed directly to SuperDapp, making it the first Web3 SocialFi dapp of its kind to enjoy Bitcoin-derived security.
Mining pools and individuals co-mining Syscoin share the processing power gained from Bitcoin. Rollux uses this to its advantage to validate the transactions at a faster speed and handle a higher volume of transactions, all contributing to greater scalability in crypto networks.
Syscoin NEVM (Network-Enhanced Virtual Machine)
After embedding and enhancing the security of Bitcoin in Syscoin, its developers thought, “Why not make it the most complete blockchain in the industry ? This is how Syscoin’s Layer 1 NEVM chain was born as a modified version and alternative to the Ethereum Virtual Machine, but what exactly is it?
Syscoin’s NEVM chain runs parallel its native UTXO (Bitcoin-like) chain, making for Syscoin’s dual-chain architecture. The goal for the NEVM chain was always to pave the way for faster and cheaper transactions by making it the base for the Layer 2 scaling solution that came to be known as Rollux.
By separating its simple value transactions similar in purpose to Bitcoin’s from smart contract transactions akin to Ethereum, and scaling these on the Layer 2, Rollux, Syscoin employed modularity to achieve the best of all world’s and pave the way for next-gen dApps like SuperDapp, all thanks to scalability in crypto networks.
Commenting on this architecture, the Syscoin’s Lead Core Developer stated,
“Syscoin has been pioneering dual-chain architecture since 2014 and building to solve tomorrow’s scalability challenges by combining the capabilities of the world’s leading blockchains, Bitcoin and Ethereum”
In this manner, SuperDapp takes advantage of Syscoin’s answer to the classic blockchain trilemma, to usher in a new era of Web3 dApps built on a foundation of unmatched scalability in crypto networks.
Conclusion
As we come to an end of this insightful journey, let’s rewind and remind ourselves of the key takeaways. In this article we have clearly made a point that the future of the decentralized internet depends on overcoming the hurdle of scalability in crypto networks.
Layer 2 solutions like the Rollux Superchain built on Syscoin offer a promising way to achieve this. Processing transactions off-chain and making use of an OP Stack rollup effectively paves the way for faster, cheaper and much more user friendly dApps.
SuperDapp is a perfect example of the new age of faster and more efficient decentralized social applications running on cutting-edge blockchain technology integrated with AI.
Along with continued innovation in Layer 2 technology, yes, the dream of a scalable and secure decentralized internet is becoming a reality, all thanks to significant advancements in scalability in crypto networks.
