The Ethereum network is looking for a short-term solution to scaling 100x in the near future. According to co-founder Vitalik Buterin, a new approach called Rollups will be necessary for the network to achieve the kind of scaling it needs.
As of right now, the largest programmable blockchain network is in the middle of a new upgrade. It is called Ethereum 2.0 and it consists of three big separate updates that will be done over the course of 2-3 years. The first one has already been deployed back in December 2020 and has introduced the concept of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining in the network. This is a much less energy-intensive process than Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) that uses hardcore computing power for the purpose.
However, energy sustainability wasn’t the only issue kept in mind for Ethereum’s new long-term upgrade. Ethereum’s rise was meteoric back in 2017, but the issue that really held back its progress was scalability. The blockchain’s limited size and application meant that its actual purpose was very limited, especially when it came to its Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) layer. Because of this big hurdle, a new Ethereum upgrade is looking to solve this basic issue and help Ethereum scale further. However, originally as part of the Eth 2.0 upgrade, the scalability issue wasn’t to be tackled until at the end of the upgrade process, i.e. around 2022 through a new concept called sharding. However, now Vitalike Buterin has thought of another approach that might scale the network for the short-term, but just as effectively.
The new approach currently being promoted by Vitalik Buterin is called Rollups. According to Buterin, this temporary solution will help the network scale in its all-important second layer with dedicated input from the developing team. He made these comments during a recent podcast appearance with Tim Ferris.
He said:
Rollups are coming very soon…., we’re fully confident that by the time that we need any more scaling of that, sharding will have already been ready for a long time by then.”
Rollups are basically programmable solutions on the second layer that help new data find itself into dedicated sidechains. Scaling is a fundamental issue for the cryptocurrency network because as the network gets crowded, the higher its fees get as demonstrated in the recent bull market yet again.
Rollups are getting popular around the cryptocurrency community, especially with programmable blockchains. Recently, the AAVE network, Synthetic and Uniswap are reportedly looking at the technology for using in in their respective networks.
Image source: FXM Thailand under CC
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