Avail co-founder Anurag Arjun recently discussed the current state of the rollup ecosystem in an interview with . Arjun, who also co-founded Ethereum layer-2 Polygon, has now shifted his focus to building agnostic rollup infrastructure to unify the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem. His goal is to streamline the user experience and make it easier for users to navigate between different rollups.
In order to achieve this, Arjun developed Avail, a platform that aims to serve major rollup protocols like Starkware, zkSync, Arbitrum, and Optimism. Avail utilizes a technology called data sampling, which is similar to Ethereum’s sharding roadmap. This technology allows for scalable data availability, which is necessary for efficient verification of rollups.
Arjun acknowledges that the current Ethereum user experience is fragmented, requiring users to switch between different rollups for various tasks. He wants to solve this issue by aggregating proofs generated by independent rollups into one, allowing users on different rollups to communicate with each other. The ultimate goal is to create a unified rollup ecosystem.
To achieve this, a neutral third party is needed to coordinate the integration between different rollups. Arjun compares it to the Solana blockchain, which functions as one big chain with multiple apps. In contrast, Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap has resulted in many different layer-2 chains. Arjun believes that, similar to how apps on the internet are hosted on different cloud services, rollups should be able to interact with each other when needed.
Avail Nexus, Arjun’s platform, aims to facilitate this integration standard between rollups. It is similar to Polygon’s Aggregation layer, which aggregates proofs created by rollups built on the L2’s chain development kit. Avail’s technology can take aggregated proofs from various rollups and create a “coordinated rollup.”
Arjun acknowledges that the question of who will build the infrastructure to unite rollups is a future problem that the ecosystem is already considering. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also recognized the importance of this issue. Arjun suggests that either the Ethereum Foundation or a neutral third party outside of the rollup business should take on the task. Both Arjun and Buterin emphasize the need for a mindset shift towards building layer-2 decentralized applications and solutions that align with Ethereum’s focus on rollup-enabled functionality.
Anurag Arjun’s efforts to create a unified rollup ecosystem will make Ethereum more accessible and user-friendly. Thank you for your innovation!
The coordination between different rollups proposed by Avail Nexus is a step in the right direction. This will simplify the Ethereum user experience. 👍
Who’s going to build the infrastructure for uniting rollups? Arjun’s suggestion of a neutral third party seems vague and unrealistic.