Hello everyone! I’m Mahdi, a developer currently working on the implementation of the Zellular Sequencer. I’m investigating how this technology can be integrated with the EigenLayer infrastructure to enhance the decentralized execution environment. Our goal is to leverage EigenLayer’s security features alongside the Zellular Sequencer’s efficient consensus mechanisms to optimize the operation of decentralized applications.
Introduction to Zellular Sequencer
Replicating centralized services across multiple nodes enables the creation of Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) services that remain robust, even if some nodes fail or act maliciously. In BFT services, all replicated nodes should maintain the same data or state. This uniformity can be achieved if all user-signed requests are processed in the same order across nodes.
The Zellular Sequencer directly addresses this challenge by ensuring that every node in the network processes every request in the same sequence. In Zellular Sequencer, one of the network nodes, the Sequencer, takes the leader role for sequencing tasks. User-signed requests received by a node are applied to the database only after being sent to the leader and received back along with other nodes’ requests in a consistent order.
If the Sequencer fails—due to going offline, censoring requests, or sending inconsistent orders—other nodes have the capability to challenge its actions and appoint a new leader. This built-in redundancy ensures that the Zellular Sequencer operates as a BFT service, effectively eliminating any single point of failure."
For further details on the protocol, please review our documentation here: Zellular Sequencer Protocol.
Capabilities Enabled by Zellular Sequencer
Just as Bitcoin can be considered a blockchain, blockchains are essentially replicated state machines that:
- Replicated on an unlimited number of nodes
- Where each node runs an unlimited number of apps
Zellular Sequencer on the other side, enables developing state machines that:
- Replicated on a limited number of nodes
- Where each node runs a single app
This architecture enables the development of sufficiently decentralized apps by optimally balancing decentralization with efficiency. Unlike smart contracts hosted on traditional blockchains, apps decentralized using replicated state machines with Zellular can:
- Be developed in high-level languages like JavaScript and Python.
- Handle hundreds of thousands of requests per second.
- Finalize transactions in less than a second.
Implications for EigenLayer
From the perspective of EigenLayer, while traditionally developers might use blockchain to host the state of their dApps and rely on EigenLayer for verifying state integrity when transferring it securely, the Zellular Sequencer invites a paradigm shift. It allows developers to consider hosting the state directly on the EigenLayer network, leveraging its security on demand.
This shift enables dApp developers to enjoy greater flexibility in development, achieve higher throughput, ensure rapid transaction finality, and dynamically adjust their security needs. Essentially, the Zellular Sequencer empowers developers to fully utilize the EigenLayer infrastructure for more than just the verification of the state read from blockchains—transforming it into a platform for hosting the state itself and efficiently reaching consensus over it.
Imagine a sufficiently decentralized order-driven exchange that merges the permissionless listing of decentralized exchanges with the blazing speed and efficiency of centralized exchanges, to be fully hosted and secured by EigenLayer without reliance on any blockchain. This capability not only exemplifies the adaptability and potential of the EigenLayer network but also showcases how it can serve as the foundational technology for the next generation of decentralized applications.
