Rollups were originally framed as a scaling patch for Ethereum. But today they’ve become the new architecture for Web3. Rollups look very similar to traditional web applications. They make it easy for any web app to come onchain by simply publishing its data to a base layer.
The role of the base layer for rollups (the Layer 1 consensus protocol) is evolving. Rather than enforcing all application logic and verifying every computation step, base layers only need to provide two essential guarantees: that tx data is available and tx order is finalized.
It is no longer important for the base layer to have smart contracts or assets. This new freedom unlocks breakthroughs in performance, enabling base layers to finalize transactions faster and at higher data rates.
I will argue that fast finality (not zk or fraud proofs) is the most important thing rollups need. Full clients derive state by reading from the base layer and executing txs. Light-clients are enabled by zk proofs, fraud games, or TEEs, under a variety of security assumptions.
Fast finality is first and foremost what enables clients to confirm transactions on the rollup, from an exchange, to a bridge, to a regular end user. Fast finality is the foundation on which cross-chain messaging is built so apps across chains may interact as if on the same one.
ZKPs, fraud games, TEEs are all more scalable ways to secure cross-chain messages without requiring the destination chain clients to re-execute the source chain transactions. But these messages cannot be generated faster than the finality of the source chain.
Modern base layers simplify the path for traditional apps to gain Web3-level security, but fast finality is needed for seamless interoperability. And seamless interoperability is the whole benefit of Web3. To convert the rest of Web2 to Web3 we need all of this to be fast.
Modern base layers like Espresso are able to achieve better performance than first-generation Layer 1s that were not purpose-built for rollups. Espresso will bring subsecond finality to rollups in 2026.
8.28K
120
The content on this page is provided by third parties. Unless otherwise stated, OKX is not the author of the cited article(s) and does not claim any copyright in the materials. The content is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent the views of OKX. It is not intended to be an endorsement of any kind and should not be considered investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell digital assets. To the extent generative AI is utilized to provide summaries or other information, such AI generated content may be inaccurate or inconsistent. Please read the linked article for more details and information. OKX is not responsible for content hosted on third party sites. Digital asset holdings, including stablecoins and NFTs, involve a high degree of risk and can fluctuate greatly. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition.