WHAT IS A BLOCKCHAIN LAYER 0? AND WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT TO BLOCKCHAIN INTEROPERABILITY?
Blockchains have a problem, and up until now, no one's been able to crack it. That problem is known as the 'blockchain trilemma'---the fundamental requirements of a blockchain fit for mass adoption. Widely attributed to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, the three pieces of the trilemma are scalability, security, and decentralization. As it stands, blockchains have been forced to make concessions in one of these aspects to fulfill the other two.
- Security: the ability of a blockchain to operate reliably while defending itself against attacks, bugs, and just about anything else.
- Decentralized: the nature of a blockchain able to run and evolve without a central point of control, and without a central point of failure, i.e. a centralized server
- Scalability: A blockchain's ability to handle an increasing number of transactions without transaction fees becoming exclusionary or the network becoming congested
But in a world with so many different blockchains, scalability means much more than throughput; a great blockchain should be able to seamlessly connect with other chains. The future we're headed for is one of many chains, and while moving between chains currently is an arduous task, in this future, it won't be. Easy interconnectivity for both developers and users is known as interoperability---something core to our network design at Rainbow Network.
To achieve true interoperability, we are using a layer 0 protocol---a base layer blockchain that sits beneath every other blockchain and connects them all. In this article, we explore what our layer 0 blockchain looks like and explain why it's so foundational to the future of Web3.
THE BLOCKCHAIN BENEATH THE BLOCKCHAINS
The trains in London are incredibly efficient; no matter where you are, or where you're heading, if you know where you want to go, you'll be able to get there fast and efficiently.
This series of train lines is known as the Tube and it owes its brilliant efficiency to its location: almost entirely underground. Built beneath the hustle and bustle of London, the Tube avoids many of the pitfalls and roadblocks that would stand in the way of building a similar network above ground; you don't have to head into the city center to move from the north to the east, or from the west to the south. You just hop on and go where you want to go.
As it stands in the world of blockchain, everything is above ground; moving from one blockchain to another is cumbersome and typically requires you to head to a centralized place like Binance to convert one chain's currency into another's before you make the move.
A layer 0 blockchain acts like the Tube---connecting every otherwise disparate chain into one beautifully interconnected system. And in such a system everyone benefits. From the application developers all the way through to the end-users, everyone saves time and money while also being protected from the dangers of moving between ecosystems themselves.
THE RAINBOW NETWORK LAYER 0
True blockchain interoperability in the Rainbow Network is achieved via the Glitter Bridge: a protocol designed to deploy and bridge tokens seamlessly across any of our supported layer-1 blockchains.
While Cosmos's interoperability protocol, IBC, allows for interoperability between Cosmos-based chains, the Glitter allows for cross-chain token deployment between chains outside of the Cosmos ecosystems, such as Ethereum, Solana, and Algorand.
This means that DApp developers can instantly plug into the blockchain interoperability of The Rainbow Network and gain exposure to the activity of the other chains connected to it. Similarly, users can hop between ecosystems freely without having to navigate to centralized hubs to exchange tokens.
But Rainbow Network is so much more than our base layer. In fact, our ecosystem is comprised of four distinct layers each built to serve the layer below it with the ultimate goal of true, global adoption.
The other layers are as follows:
- The Rainbow Core: A layer 1 blockchain built on Cosmos architecture. This is the hub on which our native Rainbow solutions are built.
- The Rainbow Ecosystem: Our layer 2 solution to the challenge of DeFi liquidity fragmentation. Here, third-party builders can access developer tools and protocols to easily deploy smart contracts, while investors and users can easily deploy liquidity in the Rainbow ecosystem.
- The Rainbow App: A layer 3 mobile app that connects DeFi investors of any experience level directly to their desired assets, regardless of chain or protocol.
Together, the layers of Rainbow Network offer unparalleled blockchain interoperability on a framework designed to attract the masses: from the developers, to the users, to the billions of people still unaware of the potential that blockchain holds.
A TRULY GLOBAL NETWORK
Rainbow Network is more than just the future of blockchain interoperability: it's the future of blockchain adoption. At Rainbow, we believe that the blockchain trilemma is a problem solved through a multichain landscape, where liquidity and information flow freely through a layer 0 interoperability blockchain, with each connected chain offering its own unique benefits to users.
To learn more about how Rainbow Network connects the blockchain landscape through interoperability, read our whitepaper.
ABOUT RAINBOW NETWORK
Scalability, interoperability, and ease of use are what every blockchain aspires to offer, yet few---if any---have achieved this. At Rainbow Network, we have, and in a very unique way.
Through the Glitter Bridge---a bridge that drives the unparalleled interoperability of Rainbow Network and allows for seamless connectivity between chains--- Rainbow offers DApp developers a blockchain that does away with the headaches of deciding where to base their project. By building on Rainbow Network, a project launching a DeFi DApp can instantly achieve multichain status, enabling them to deploy their token and application to a growing list of supported chains including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, and Algorand.
Beyond just interoperability, this cross-connectivity opens the floodgates to a wave of new liquidity from each ecosystem's user base. In addition, running on multiple chains innately offers multichain redundancy and increased security: if a hack or network outage occurs on one chain, a project on Rainbow Network can continue to operate with zero downtime on the other chains it's connected with.
Rainbow Network isn't just for builders---it's for everyone. We understand that the future of blockchains comes from mass adoption, which is why we've developed a native mobile application that will allow users of all experience levels to tap into the power and benefits the blockchain has to offer through a sleek, simple user interface.
The future of the blockchain is multichain, and the future of multichain is Rainbow Network.