The Rise of Modular Blockchain Technology: Pluggable Solutions

Since its inception, blockchain technology has faced challenges related to scalability. Traditional monolithic blockchain architectures struggle to simultaneously achieve high performance, decentralization, and security, which are the three core characteristics. To break through this bottleneck, modular blockchain technology has emerged.

Monolithic Blockchain and Modular Blockchain

Monolithic blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum execute all functions on a single chain, including data storage, transaction validation, and smart contract execution. Although this design is simple and intuitive, it often struggles to handle large-scale transactions.

In contrast, a modular blockchain decomposes the blockchain system into multiple specialized components, each responsible for specific tasks. This design allows each module to be optimized independently, significantly enhancing the overall performance of the system while maintaining decentralization and security.

Advantages of Modular Blockchain

1. Higher scalability: By allocating different functions to specialized modules, the speed of transaction processing and network efficiency can be significantly improved.

2. Flexibility and Customizability: Developers can choose and combine different modules according to specific needs to quickly build Blockchain solutions.

3. Synergy: Collaboration between different modules can create synergy, enhancing overall performance.

4. Lowering the development threshold: The modular design simplifies the development and optimization process of the Blockchain system.

Typical Projects of Modular Blockchain

Celestia

Celestia is a pioneer of modular blockchain, focusing on providing data availability layer services. It employs innovative technologies such as erasure coding and data availability sampling, significantly reducing data storage costs and optimizing storage efficiency.

EigenDA

EigenDA is the first active validation service based on the re-staking protocol EigenLayer on Ethereum. It leverages the stakers of the Ethereum consensus layer as validators, avoiding the trust risks of centralized service providers or native tokens.

Avail

Avail is a modular blockchain project launched by the Polygon team, consisting of Avail DA, Avail Nexus, and Avail Fusion, providing data availability services for various blockchains.

Dymension

Dymension is a modular blockchain platform based on Cosmos, providing a streamlined framework for RollApp development through built-in scalability aggregation technology.

Exploration of Modular Blockchain in the Bitcoin Ecosystem

Although the Bitcoin network itself is a stateless non-smart contract network, with favorable factors like the Ordinals protocol and Bitcoin ETF, the Bitcoin ecosystem is also beginning to explore the possibility of a modular blockchain.

Merlin

Merlin Chain is currently the Bitcoin Layer 2 network with the highest TVL, supporting multiple native Bitcoin assets and compatible with EVM. It uses ZK-Rollup technology to enhance transaction efficiency and introduces a decentralized oracle network and on-chain anti-fraud mechanisms.

B² Network

The B² Network adopts a modular design, including a ZK-Rollup execution layer, a B² Hub data availability layer, and a Bitcoin mainnet settlement layer. Its B² Hub draws on the design ideas of Celestia and is expected to become an off-chain verification layer and DA layer for multiple Bitcoin Layer 2s.

Conclusion

Modular blockchain technology is transitioning from concept to reality, providing a solid foundation for building the next generation of decentralized applications. This "soulful" approach to pluggable products makes blockchain an open and scalable platform. As the technology matures and application domains expand, modular blockchain will continue to drive technological advancement, laying the groundwork for a more open, flexible, and secure digital world.