Data Availability: How Is Blockchain Data Stored?
Why do we fucking need alternative DA layers? Which ones are worth a look, and who’s killing it in the game right now? Stick around, we’ll break it all down in under 5 minutes.
By 2025, global data is expected to reach 200 zettabytes.
Wait, 200 zettabytes? Yes, that's 200,000,000,000 terabytes—huge, isn't it? To put it in perspective, that's equivalent to about 7.2 billion years of high-definition video. Impressive, right?
You might be wondering why we're telling you this. Stay with us for a moment.
Much of this data will be stored in the cloud. Yep, web2 isn't going anywhere just yet. Your sister will still post stories on Instagram in 10 years, and there is nothing you can do about that.
But our beloved blockchains will also contribute to this data expansion. With more chains, potentially a billion users onboarded (let’s hope), and millions of transactions per second, efficient data storage is becoming a significant concern for our small ecosystem.
As you already know, storing data on the Ethereum Mainnet is extremely expensive. Spoiler: That's completely normal, as Ethereum wasn't designed to be a massive decentralized database. This is one reason why alternative Data Availability layers have been created.
The concept is straightforward: these are blockchains specialized in data storage. Think about it this way: just as there are general practitioners and specialists in medicine, there are general blockchains and those specialized in specific tasks. Data Availability layers are the specialists in storing blockchain data.
Multiple solutions like EigenDA, Celestia, AvailDA, and even Sunrise (you might not have heard of the last one, but it's very exciting) have been developed. Let's dig in.
Celestia: First Mover in Modularity
Celestia introduced the concept of modularity with its data availability layer, making it a pillar, if not the leader, among these four.
Celestia is built on two layers:
Consensus Layer: This is the part responsible for ordering transactions and ensuring that all nodes agree on the same set of transactions. It is the maestro if you wish. By separating consensus from execution, Celestia allows different execution environments (the part that effectively handle your small transactions) to plug into its network and therefore post their transaction data onto Celestia’s specialized solution.
Data Availability Layer: Ensures that all data necessary for transaction verification is available to the network. This helps maintain security and trust without overloading the blockchain with unnecessary data processing tasks. Put it simply, this is where your transaction data is stored and can be accessed.
For managing data, Celestia uses Data availability sampling, that you can imagine as a DA schema. Wait, what is that, bro?
Let’s keep it super simple. It's a method used to ensure that the data published on the blockchain is actually available to anyone and can be verified without having to download the entire dataset. In other terms, this means that with only a small portion of the data, you’ll be able to check whether it has been posted or not. Easy, right?
Celestia aims to provide a more scalable and flexible infrastructure for decentralized applications and other blockchain projects.
AvailDA
Avail is also an independent Layer 1 blockchain optimized for Data Availability, leveraging DA schemes like Celestia. But what are the differences between them?
Avail differentiates from Celestia by using KZG (this is a cryptographic method, you don’t need to understand it too deeply for now) to verify data, allowing for immediate and fast data availability, though it requires more computing power. This also makes Avail compatible with zk-rollups, which benefit from quicker finality and potential optimizations due to their use of KZG.
Yeeees, we know. Avail is muchhh more than just a data availability layer. If you wanna learn more, check this thread or this one.
EigenDA
EigenDA was the first product, or AVS if you want to use the swagggy wording, leveraging EigenLayer restaking. As an AVS, it benefits from Eigen's economic security with a total of 2,836,290 ETH contributing to its security.
Instead of using DA schemes like Celestia and Avail, EigenDA distributes data across multiple nodes so that the data can be reconstructed even if some nodes fail or are malicious.
Like Avail, EigenDA also uses KZG to create efficient and secure proofs that the data is available and correct, helping to quickly verify data.
Sunrise
Sunrise is a specialized Data Availability layer designed to support sovereign chains and enhance their security, scalability, and liquidity with its unique Proof of Liquidity system. But what exactly is that?
The concept of Proof of Liquidity (PoL) aims to establish an economic consensus on-chain. It also integrates a unique feature called Sovereign Proof of Liquidity (SPoL), providing a robust infrastructure for the sovereign rollups of Sunrise.
Another major feature of Sunrise is fee abstraction, meaning that anyone who needs to pay fees can do so with any token from the ecosystem, thanks to Gluon, their unique liquidity hub.
Sunrise is IBC-compatible, meaning existing SDK solutions like Rollkit or RaaS platforms such as ANKR can easily adopt Sunrise for their needs. Simple as that!
Like Celestia and Avail, Sunrise also uses a DA scheme for data.
To sum up: Sunrise = DA Layer + Liquidity Hub with Fee Abstraction
Data Availability layers like Celestia, Avail, EigenDA, and Sunrise have emerged. They aim to modularize blockchains, ensuring efficient and secure data storage. Each solution offers unique approaches to enhancing scalability, security, and interoperability in the blockchain ecosystem.
Embracing these innovations can pave the way for a more decentralized, scalable, and secure digital future.
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