Original author: dt, DODO Research
The 45th phase of Binance Launchpool project AltLayer is about to go online, and it has also brought out a new track RAAS (Rollups-as-a-Service). In the current trend of multi-chains, it is not only leading public chains such as Optimism, Arbitrum, zkSync and Polygon. Rollup SDKs have been launched one after another, and many service providers have emerged to help project parties build Rollup public chains. This type of service is called RAAS (Rollups-as-a-Service).
This week Dr. DODO will take you to learn about AltLayer and five other early projects that belong to the RAAS track. Lets travel through the multi-chain universe together.
AltLayer
The first one to introduce is AltLayer, which has recently been listed on the Binance exchange. AltLayer is currently focusing on Restaked Rollups combined with EigenLayer’s re-staking service. It can enhance the security of the Rollup public chain through EigenLayer’s Active Verification Service (AVS). The degree of decentralization and user experience, and it also provides temporary execution layer services, which are suitable for temporary chains for specific short-term purposes. For example, when Yuga Labs released Otherdeed for Otherside NFT, the congestion on the Ethereum main network was solved by using temporary layer services. , In addition, AltLayers platform is designed for the multi-chain and multi-virtual machine world, so it not only supports EVM and WASM (used by Cosmos, Polkadot, etc.), but also plans to support Solana VM (Sealevel) and Move VM.
Gelato
Gelato has been involved in providing various back-end infrastructure services for the EVM public chain, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, etc. Gelato has been deeply involved in smart contract automation services, and also joined the ranks of RAAS last year, focusing on the zkRollup public chain. Chains zkRAAS service has in-depth cooperation with Polygon CDK to provide project parties with one-click zkRollup upgrades. Its core functions include hosting, monitoring and operating Rollup. It is currently building zKatana (Astar zkEVM test network) for Astar Network. In addition, it has also recently announced support OP STACK is the Optimism Rollup SDK launched by Optimism.
Conduit
Conduit is a RAAS platform focusing on Optimism Rollup. It received 7M seed round financing from Paradiam in March last year. It initially focused on OP Stack and successfully built OP stack Rollup public chains such as Zora Network, Aevo, Lyra and Orderly Network, and Recently, it has also added support for Arbitrum Orbit and helped Parallel Network successfully build L2 Rollup based on Arbitrum. Conduit also supports whether it is Ethereum or Celestia in the data availability layer (DA). With Conduit operation and maintenance Rollup allows projects to focus on building products rather than infrastructure.
Caldera
Caldera is also a RAAS platform focusing on Optimism Rollup. In September last year, it received 9M seed round financing led by Sequoia Capital and Dragonfly, 1kx, SevenX Ventures and others. Caldera positions itself as a one-stop service for project developers. Provides all the tools and resources needed to build Caldera Chains of the OP Stack or Arbitrum Orbit framework. In the Caldera architecture, the settlement layer allows EVM-compatible chains such as Ethereum, BNB chain, Polygon and Avalanche to serve as the settlement layer, and the data availability layer (DA) Services such as Ethereum, Celestia or EigenDA are also supported.
It currently includes Loot Chain (OP Stack) launched by Adventure Gold DAO, Manta Pacific (OP Stack) of Manta, the 44th Binance Launchpool project, Rari Chain (Arbitrum Orbit) launched by NFT platform Rarible, and HYTOPIA (formerly launched by the NFTworlds team). Arbitrum Orbit) are built with technical support from Caldera.
Lumoz
Lumoz is a zkRAAS platform that received a 4M seed round in April last year led by Web3.com Ventures and participated by NGC Ventures and Puzzle Ventures. It uses an innovative hybrid consensus mechanism, including Proof of Stake (PoS) and Proof of Work ( PoW). Lumoz also supports multiple chains as the basic settlement layer. You can choose Ethereum, BNB chain, Polygon or Lumoz itself for settlement and can be matched with a variety of zkEVM solutions. For example, you can use Polygon zkEVM, zkSync, Scroll or StarkNet, and finally the data availability layer ( DA) You can also choose Ethereum, Celestia or EigenDA. ZKFair, which has become very popular in the community recently, was built with services provided by Lumoz.
Cartidge Slot
A platform launched by StarkNet game infrastructure service provider Cartidge, Slot allows developers to deploy manageable Katana sorters and Torii indexers, and build an L3 public chain with StarkNet as the settlement layer. It is the first dedicated to full-chain games ( RAAS is designed to meet the needs of FOCG). Not much information has been disclosed so far. It is helping Realms and Dope Wars build L3 game chains based on StarkNet.
Authors opinion
The multi-chain development direction that has been laid down since the last bull market has become even more brilliant in this bull market. The development direction of modular blockchain makes it easier to build a chain. In the past, it was necessary to build a public chain. Each technology now has its own corresponding team and service to meet the needs. The direction of RAAS is the track that saw the multi-chain trend and was born for the multi-chain universe and APP CHAIN application chain.
The narrative is great, but I have a big question mark about its practicality and real users. The chain is always for applications. Except for the GameFi public chain and the Defi Perp perpetual contract track, which can exclude interoperability, other current Blockchain projects, especially in the Defi field, are all Lego products built on a few companies and do not have the conditions to independently build a public chain.
Therefore, the author believes that the priority is to develop an application that can be adopted by the public on a large scale rather than this type of alternative public chain service product. Of course, developing infrastructure first or developing products first is like a question of Which comes first, the egg or the chicken? The two are closely linked, but before the emergence of killer application products, the author is not optimistic about this type of project in the mid-term. The development is not particularly promising. In the short term, it will gain attention with new narrative themes, but in the long term, it is expected to rise with the emergence of popular applications.
How to incubate or find products that can develop independent application chains and how to create sustainable income, including empowering token holders, is a high wall that these RAAS projects need to break through.
