The Rollup - Chain Abstraction for The Modular Future with NEAR

In this episode of The Rollup, which took place on March 20, 2024, Robbie, Andy, and Illia discuss NEAR’s data availability layer, account aggregation, and chain abstraction toolkit. Read our notes below to learn more.

Background

Robbie (Host) – Merkle Tree Maxi, Co-Founder of The Rollup
Andy (Host) – zkProof Maxi, Co-Founder of The Rollup
Illia (Guest) – Co-Founder of NEAR
NEAR – a chain abstraction stack

Importance of Chain Abstraction

Illia says that applications need to consider multi-chain functionality from inception to avoid limiting their user base. Fragmentation leads to a proliferation of networks and wallets, making it challenging for users to manage multiple addresses across various chains.
He adds that the concept aims to aggregate all chains into one interface for users, simplifying interactions across different blockchains. The chain abstraction movement is gaining momentum across various ecosystems like Ethereum and Cosmos, focusing on modularity, aggregation, and intense orchestration.

NEAR Protocol’s Approach to Chain Abstraction

Illia says that NEAR Protocol’s journey began with a focus on simplifying blockchain usage for both developers and users. The platform operates as a multi-chain system with different shards bundled together seamlessly for enhanced user experience without requiring deep technical knowledge.
He adds that the NEAR Protocol emphasizes simplifying key processes such as account rotation and contract interactions through NEAR account abstraction. The goal is to extend these simplified experiences beyond NEAR’s ecosystem to benefit the broader Web3 community.

NEAR Protocol’s Contributions

Illia says that NEAR offers a super scalable layer one solution that can dynamically scale by adding more shards based on network demands.
He adds that NEAR Protocol offers a fast finality layer for other rollups and chains. Partnering with EigenLayer to provide this service. Working on adding shards to scale capacity and security.
He adds that they are working with Polygon on ZK Rollups for enhanced security. They aim to aggregate security for more provability. ZK proofs are beneficial not only for blockchain but also for non-blockchain applications like browsers.
Illia says that sharding concepts are used in software like Adobe Photoshop. Primitives are useful for rollups and app chains. He emphasizes the importance of these concepts in enhancing scalability.
He adds that NEAR is exploring the concept of modularity in scaling strategies. Adding shards helps to scale a single-state machine modularly. They are analyzing the implications of adding shards to NEAR layer-1 for scalability.
Illia says that modularity is a shortcut to expand network capacity.
He adds that they are prioritizing user experience over technical aspects initially. NEAR’s approach to sharding differs from traditional concepts.

NEAR Protocol and Ethereum Integration

Illia says that NEAR offers guarantees for settling ZK proofs or optimistic proofs on Ethereum. This integration leverages NEAR’s existing capabilities to enhance scalability. The concept involves running rollups in parallel to NEAR shards, ensuring security guarantees through the proving mechanisms used. The addition of more shards increases throughput significantly. NEAR achieves high throughput (24 megabytes per second), leading to a substantial reduction in transaction fees compared to Ethereum pre-sharding.
He adds that despite Celestia‘s strong market presence, integrating with NEAR provides fast finality data availability along with broader chain abstraction for improved user experience. Developers benefit from a suite of services offered by NEAR for rollups, enhancing interactions, bridging capabilities, communication speed, and overall ecosystem connectivity.

Reliability and Security Measures in NEAR

Illia says that over three years of operation, NEAR has maintained network stability despite occasional instabilities. Frequent protocol upgrades ensure continuous improvement without major disruptions. With Byzantine Fault (BF) finality providing quick block confirmations within a block posting time frame, users have significant guarantees regarding network reliability and security.

Design Choices for Near Data Availability

Illia says that the design choices for NEAR Data Availability (NDA) are based on maximizing throughput in a sharded system while ensuring security. NDA utilizes methods similar to data sampling but focuses on sharding to provide guarantees to all validators in the network. Unlike Ethereum’s data sampling approach, NEAR ensures consensus validation by all validators, enhancing data availability across shards.

Utilizing Near Network as an MPC Network

Illia says that transforming the NEAR Network into an MPC network enables signing transactions on different chains efficiently. Key res sharing technology allows maintaining distributed private keys for seamless validator transitions while ensuring account security.
He adds that chain signatures facilitate maintaining key shares across nodes, enabling infinite addresses per chain under a single NEAR account.

Multi-Chain Accounts and Decentralized Front Ends

Illia says that NEAR allows the coordination of multi-chain accounts. Token deployment on NEAR facilitates the creation of tokens like ERC-20s and SPLs.
He adds that decentralized front ends store JavaScript code on-chain for enhanced security. Integration of smart contracts with front ends streamlines maintenance and upgrades.

Enhancing Discoverability with Aggregated Experiences

Illia says that DabDab integrates 150 smart contracts into one app for a streamlined user experience. Users can explore new applications, upcoming airdrops, and economic opportunities through the aggregated platform.

Vision for Web3 Evolution and Mass Adoption

Illia says that a single account enables transactions across all chains without network switching complexities. NEAR’s focus on consumer apps aims to bring users to various chains, fostering mass adoption.
Illia says that platforms witness rapid growth in monthly activities by transitioning users across multiple chains.

Discussion on User Interaction and Liquidity Bridging

Illia says that users’ ability to interact with various apps within a system is crucial for enhancing liquidity. He emphasizes the significance of bridging liquidity seamlessly across different components rather than focusing solely on native yield accumulation.
He advocates for a collaborative approach to building attractive products to drive downstream effects and enhance overall ecosystem liquidity.

Importance of Collaboration for Ecosystem Growth

Illia says that collaboration among projects leads to better products, increased user attraction, and mutual success for platforms like Ethereum and NEAR. He stresses that working together can result in attracting more users compared to internal competition or chain-hopping behavior.
He focuses on the necessity of increasing user adoption by providing a seamless experience across platforms while maintaining focus amidst market fluctuations.

Vision for Chain Abstraction and Future Interactions

Illia expresses optimism towards consumer-facing developments emphasizing chain abstraction principles. He encourages unity in adopting chain abstraction principles to streamline interactions across multiple chains.
He expects potential changes in blockchain interactions through AI integration, transforming consumer apps into self-sovereign operating systems.

Evolution Towards Self-Sovereign Operating Systems

Illia foresees a shift towards self-sovereign operating systems as integral components of Web3 architecture. He highlights the role of an operating system in connecting developers with hardware elements while enhancing user experiences through diverse Web3 applications.

Real-world Asset Integration

Illia discusses integrating real-world assets into blockchain frameworks effectively while complying with legal regulations. Crypto serves as an innovative hub merging regulatory, financial, and technological aspects.
He expects novel financial instruments to blend digital assets with real-world impacts.

Enhancing User Experience Through Chain Abstraction

Illia says that chain abstractions streamline user experiences by simplifying processes such as token bridging and asset underwriting.
He says that chain abstraction facilitates easier access to blockchain participation compared to traditional methods.
Illia says that they are exploring the integration process for existing applications into NEAR’s ecosystem for enhanced user experiences. Conversion processes require seamless adoption cycles within the platform.

Understanding Chain Signatures and Integration

Illia says that chain signatures operate independently without requiring integration on the other side. Relayers play a role in facilitating transactions by covering fees, creating a market dynamic.
He adds that new protocols like chain abstracted oracles enable seamless information transfer across chains, necessitating some integration for advanced features. Dual Quorum offers a starting point for publishing on various chains, such as C NEAR, with increasing benefits over time.

Enhancing User Experience with Chain Abstraction

Illia says that wallet selectors can integrate chain abstracted accounts for seamless app logins, streamlining user interactions. SDK development aims to allow wallets to access all apps and chains through a single integration point, eliminating the need for individual chain integrations.
He adds that efforts are underway to simplify transitions for existing Metamask users by adding minimal lines of code in apps or wallets supporting chain abstraction. DabDab serves as an integration hub connecting various apps and wallets, streamlining connectivity processes for users across different platforms.

Expanding Use Cases with Multi-chain dApps

Illia says that multichain dApps offer unique functionalities akin to Binance 2.0 but fully non-custodial with immediate access to diverse chains without waiting periods or complex whitelisting procedures.
He adds that innovative use cases emerge such as depositing ordinals on one chain, creating NFTs on another, trading them, and withdrawing back into original addresses across different blockchains.

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Show Information

Medium: Youtube
Show: The Rollup
Show Title: Modular March Episode 7: Chain Abstraction for The Modular Future with Near
Show Date: March 20, 2024