Written by: ILLIA POLOSUKHIN; Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow
Most Dapps today are not actually real Dapps (decentralized applications ). If the user needs to leave the app to start using it, it's not actually an app, it's just a front-end. Have you really built an app if users have to manually sign up with an exchange and manage multiple accounts, gas fees, and bridging? I think not, which may explain why only a few million people in the world are using Dapps.
If we want to see By the time Web3 becomes a mainstream application, we believe that a more open, decentralized Internet that supports everyone's self-sovereignty will be more beneficial to the world, and then we need to do better.
Today's mainstream Web3 The narrative is modularity, or the separation of different functional layers of the blockchain for the sake of scalability, namely settlement, data availability, and execution. Two-layer solutions, optimistic and ZK rollups, data availability layers, sidechains, and state channels are all examples of modular solutions.
Blockchain and The continuous increase of Rollup has led to the degradation of user and developer experience. A world of modularity and numerous chains has led to more liquidity, application and user fragmentation, and the user experience has become very complex. This also applies to developers, who feel the pressure to stick to a specific technology stack while limiting the audience for their apps. Now, when you build a Dapp, by choosing a single chain, you limit yourself to a niche.
I would like to propose a A better vision for the entire Ethereum ecosystem and all of Web3: let’s work together to advance mainstream adoption through chain abstraction. The idea is that blockchains must be separated from users so that they do not become a barrier to entry or participation. NEAR has been focused on this vision since 2018 and is now the most user-friendly network in Web3: 12.4 million monthly active users and 34 million total users.
Here's how we do it Reach billions of users through Dapps and eliminate Web3 fragmentation.
This What does it mean for users?
Let’s imagine what it should be like to use a Dapp: easily transact between different networks and browse different experiences using a single interface. For example, Alice picked up her phone and opened KAIKAI from the lock screen. She ordered a smoothie from a local store, saw a sale on the app at Maison, her favorite clothing store, and ordered a pair of spring shoes. Alice discovered that she had earned enough KAICHING rewards to redeem badges at Maison, but she did not know it was an NFT on Polygon and redeemed it in her account.
When she was on the same day While browsing Maison in the KAIKAI app later that night, she noticed her new badge showing an offer for tickets to an exclusive event in their store with her favorite DJ. She purchased the tickets with KAICHING and received two tickets, which she still didn’t know were NFTs on Arbitrum. Because she had an extra spot, Alice invited her friend Bob to come with her and asked for his address.
Bob sends to Alice Got his NEAR address and opened his app to view tickets. He sends Alice some ETH to express his gratitude for the invitation and looks at the different cryptocurrencies in his account. Since he was on the subway and had some time, he decided to buy some BTC and stake it using USDC so he could mint a Fighting Dragon NFT on Magic Eden. His friend Charles had previously messaged him saying they could play in a new game on NEAR where their dragons could fight each other for tokens they could stake.
All these interactions and Transactions can all be conducted within a single interface and are completely private. There are no wallets, no switching networks, and no transaction fees to deal with; these are all embedded directly into the exchange or purchase and handled on the user’s behalf. Alice doesn't need to worry about which network the ticket is on, Bob can send her the funds for the ticket in any cryptocurrency he wants, and the next second he can easily purchase another cryptocurrency. It all happens within one application, and that's the level of seamlessness we should be aiming for as an ecosystem.
We How to implement chain abstraction?
Everyone building an application in Web3 will benefit from having access to such a large market of potential users (as in this example), that is, anyone who uses the application. Whereas today, developers choose networks based on access to liquidity or users of a specific rollup or chain, in a future where chains are abstracted, they can simply choose the best technology to build on. Users will show up for the best experience.
Imagine if Gmail users can't send messages to Outlook addresses, how unreasonable that would be. The same is true for Web3 addresses. The core assumption of chain abstraction is that end users don’t care about the underlying blockchain. They just want the application to work. In reality, blockchain is just the infrastructure to extract value from Web3: asset security from seizure, economic opportunity, elimination of transaction middlemen, global permissionless identity, data provenance, entertainment experiences, and more.
Chain abstraction The core goal is to address Web3's increasingly fragmented modular landscape. While this is most evident in the user experience layer, liquidity and account fragmentation are only possible thanks to innovations in the security layer.
Zero knowledge (ZK ) introduces a completely new approach to ledger security. Where before people needed to trust a decentralized set of validators, now even a single computer can prove with simple proofs that rules are being followed. This means that where previously developers were either forced to build on a shared chain or spend huge resources launching a new chain, they can now quickly launch a chain on their own single server.
This new Paradigm introduces the concept of cross-settlement: as more and more chains become fully provable ZK, if some proof is published on other chains, there will be no way to revoke this chain without revoking the other chains. Transactions from one chain can also be settled on multiple other chains through ZK proofs. This provides mesh security as all proofs are continuously aggregated, allowing assets to be moved securely between these chains.
In order to achieve unified Security, at the bottom of the stack requires two things: data availability, providing a way for everyone to synchronize even if the operator is offline, and a decentralized sequencer for applications without a central operator.
The next layer is Unify identity and security. Users can have an address on all possible chains and move assets between them freely. From the user's perspective, this should be a single account where they can interact with applications on different chains and assets are automatically bridged or exchanged.
I call it "Account Aggregation" and will share more details in another article soon. NEAR will launch the next version of FastAuth in March 2024, which will feature the ability to map NEAR addresses to EVM, Bitcoin, and other addresses. NEAR accounts can request to sign transactions for another chain. This allows them to build multi-chain applications directly in smart contracts on NEAR.
The last layer is A unified experience layer, or application layer (such as DapDap), provides a way to interact with applications on different chains without requiring users to switch or leave a single interface. A decentralized front-end can provide easy-to-build chain abstraction components. NEAR enables this with NearJS, combining data indexing and a decentralized front end – V2 will also be launched in March 2024.
How does NEAR implement chains? Abstraction?
Since 2018 , the NEAR ecosystem has been working towards a vision of chain abstraction, focusing on usability, flexible account models, and a highly scalable blockchain that can support mainstream applications for billions of users. Today, the stack has expanded to support full-chain abstractions across chains and various applications.
Scalable, integrated blockchain, the number of daily active accounts can grow To 1 billion+
The secure aggregation stack consists of NEAR DA, zkWASM (in partnership with Polygon Labs) and Fast Finality powered by EigenLayer
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Account aggregation is performed on this basis to use a single account to conduct transactions on all chains
The data layer supports monolithic, integrated, modular, and private chains and permission chaining to everything that queries the data with predictable protocols.
Intent relayers can use this infrastructure to execute complex intentions across chains
The decentralized front-end is Multiple applications on the chain provide discoverability and composability, built into one experience.
Super (app) wallet is user friendly and provides a way to browse the entire Web3 without switching networks or dealing with gas tokens and bridging.
Importantly, each of these layers supports builders from all aspects of Web3, including Ethereum, Rollup, and L2, and the multi-chain future is becoming the future of chain abstraction.
Finally
2024 is the year of hidden multi-chain foundation A year of facility complexity to deliver the Web3 experience we are working towards. Improving usability and discoverability should be a top priority for all Web3 builders, while addressing liquidity fragmentation and security tradeoffs.
Let's make the chain Abstraction becomes a movement. The NEAR ecosystem invites builders from all aspects of Web3 to take advantage of the solutions we offer and collaborate with us to co-build additional chain abstraction solutions.
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