Ethereum
What is Ethereum?
4 years after the invention of Bitcoin, Vitalik Buterin introduced the world to Ethereum which evolved blockchain to support multi-functional digital accounts capable of executing 'code' and storing 'state'. This innovation introduced the idea of blockchain applications (dApps), making blockchain technology more accessible to developers by abstracting away challenges involved with launching a L1.
Need a refresher on the challenges involved with starting an L1? Checkout Blockchains Are Hard To Launch
How does it work?
Builders deploy app code to 'contract' accounts that the Ethereum Validators store, update state, execute transactions on, and verify. The app code is only the 'state-machine' logic, whereas the Ethereum client handles consensus, peer-to-peer, and persistence.
Pros & Cons of Ethereum dApps & L2s
The good:
Ethereum is the first security root. Introducing Dependent Apps that are:
✅ quick to market
✅ have immediate security
✅ have access to Ethereum's ecosystem and tooling
✅ have an easy framework to build
It's important not to overlook the features that make Ethereum so popular
The bad:
Ethereum is a Monolith where Dependent Apps:
❌ compete for limited resources, favoring the highest bidder
❌ leak economics to Ethereum for life (fees, network effects, ecosystem lock-in)
❌ can't leave without starting over
❌ have limited scalability
❌ are success-capped with historically lower FDV than L1s
❌ can't natively communicate with external ecosystems
are not decentralized relying on the host for:
❌ governance
❌ transaction execution
❌ state updates
❌ blockchain storage
Which means:
❌ can be censored by non-stakeholders
❌ are controlled by the host
❌ lack autonomy
❌ have single points of failure
A "not so" decentralized app is just Web2 with an inefficient and complicated architecture
Ethereum & Canopy Comparison
Architecture
✅ Peer-to-Peer
❌ Monolith
Scaling Method
✅ Every new chain horizontally scales Web3
❌ Semi-centralized layers
Builder Sovereignty
✅ Progressive
❌ Critical, lifelong reliance on host for security, finality, execution, and blockchain storage
Ecosystem
❌ New
✅ The best
Long range attack
✅ Proof of Age
➖ Centralized checkpointing
Builder Difficulty
✅ Quick to market
✅ Quick to market
Builder Economic Security
✅ Immediate
✅ Immediate
Builder Framework
➖ Fork & Clone: Golang
➖ Standards with DSL (Solidity)
Chain Resources
✅ Exponential: Each new chain is additive
❌ Limited: single chain
Builder Success
✅ L0 Premium
❌ Typically lower FDV than sovereign L1s
Native Interoperability
✅ Permissionless
➖Within Ecosystem
Builder Decentralization
✅ Full/Progressive
❌ Not decentralized
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