Network Patterns

Since the adveniment of Bitcoin in 2008, web3 infrastructure has been a hotspot for venture capital to invest. As a consequencem blockchain networks have evolved in almost any direction and with different protocols and patterns. Over the time, some protocols have consolidates making up ecosystems around the an initial based blockchain.

Network Ecosystems

Currency	Layer	From	Lang	Ledger	Consensus	Execution Environment
						VM	Smart Contracts
Bitcoin	L1	2008	C++	UTXO	PoW	Script	BitcoinScript
Ripple	L1	2012	C++	account	XRP Ledger		Yes
Ethereum	L1	2013	Go	account	PoS	EVM	Solidity
Radix	L1	2013			Cerberus		Scrypto
Monero	L1	2014	C++	UTXO	PoW	-	-
Tezos	L1	2014		account	PoS	TezosVM	Michelson
Cosmos	L0	2014	Go	account	BFT PoS	CosmWasm	Rust
Cardano	L1	2015	Haskell	UTXO	PoS	Ouroboros	Plutus, Marlowe, Glow
IOTA (DAG)	L1	2015					Rust, TinyGo, Solidity
WAVES	L1	2016	Scala		LPoS		Ride
Substrate, Polkadot	L0	2016	Rust	account	NPoS	PEE	Rust
NEAR	L1	2017	Rust	account	PoS		Rust, Javascript
Algorand	L1	2017	Python	account	PoS	AlgorandVM	TEAL
Chia Network	L1	2017	Python	UTXO	PoST	CLVM	Chialisp
Fantom (DAG)	L1	2018	Go	account	Lachesis	FVM	Solidity
TON	L1	2018	C++	account	PoS	TVM	FunC
Avalanche (DAG)	L0	2018	Go	UTXO		AVM	Solidity
Aptos (Diem, Libra)	L1	2019	Rust	account	AptosBFT	MoveVM	Move

DLT Trilemma

The Layered Stack Ecosystem

An ecosystem is started by a base blockchan that provides some new ideas to the market. These ideas come in some of the 4 main moddules that compose a blockchain: execution, settlement, consensus and data availability.

Scaled Infrastructure Patterns

Most of existing blockchains have evolved as part of already existing ecosystem, and only a few base chains can define its own infrastructure ecosystem.

A Fork happens whenever a community makes a change to the blockchain’s protocol, or basic set of rules. When this happens, the chain splits — producing a second blockchain that shares all of its history with the original, but is headed off in a new direction.

A Sidechain is a separate, independent blockchain linked to the main blockchain (mainchain) using a two-way bridge. It enables tokens or other digital assets to be transferred between the mainchain and the sidechain.

The Layer 2 provides scalabilty to Layer 1. Layer 2 typically processes operations out of Layer 1 to improve throughput and reduce fees.

Channels are peer-to-peer protocols that allow two parties to make an unlimited number of transactions amongst themselves and then only post the final results to the blockchain. Afterward, cryptography is used to demonstrate how the summarized data results from the earlier set of transactions. A multisig smart contract ensures the correct parties sign the transactions.

A Plasma blockchain is a network of independent child chains. These child chains function as distinct blockchains, each with its own block validation mechanisms. Yet, each of the child chains remains anchored to the underlying blockchain. A Plasma chain executes transactions off-chain with its own mechanism for block validation.

A Rollup is a layer two (L2) blockchain that processes transactions away from the main blockchain to reduce transaction costs and increase throughput on the main chain. Batches of transactions are verified and settled back to the main chain.

The Layer 3 sits on top of Layer 2 and is mainly dedicated to hosts dApps for real-world applications and executes specific functions.

The table below compares the different scalibility patterns, showing their features and where State and TX are persisted for each case. All patterns integrate an execution environment to alleviate the burden of transaction execution from their parent chain by performing their own computation. Plasma is the only one with not ability to run smart contracts. All L1 provide their own consensus layer but L2 rely on mainchain consensus. They can commit the data to the maintchain or to an external DA layer.

	Year	Consensus	Execution		Settlement	DA / Merkel Commits
		Loc	Loc	SC	Proofs	To	TX	State
L0
Interop	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
L1
Mainchain	2009	mainchain	own	N/Y	-	mainchain	tree	tree
Fork	2011	own	own	Y	-	own	tree	tree
Sidechain	2011	own	own	Y	-	own	tree	tree
Commitchain	2017	own	own	Y	fraud	mainchain	-	tree
L2
Channel	2016	mainchain	own	Y	fraud	mainchain	tree	tree
Plasma	2017	mainchain	own	N	fraud	mainchain	root	-
Op Rollup	2014	mainchain	own	Y	fraud	mainchain	tree	root
Optimium	2020	mainchain	own	Y	fraud	custom	tree	root
zk Rollup	2018	mainchain	own	Y	validity	mainchain	tree	root
Validium	2020	mainchain	own	Y	validity	custom	tree	root
Volition	2023	mainchain	own	Y	validity	both	tree	root
L3
Rollup	2024	L2	own	Y	any	L2	tree	root