Rollup-as-a-Service as the endgame of the modular narrative
Post631 words
Explains rollup SDKs and RaaS providers, listing SDKs (Orbit, OP Stack, ZK Stack, CDK) and RaaS firms, and argues stack wars will make RaaS a key distribution channel. Cites AltLayer's $5B FDV as early evidence.
Key claims
AltLayer at $5B FDV
RaaS cuts deployment to a 10-minute no-code process
Stacks that bootstrap strong ecosystems early gain network effects
The Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) will be huge, anon. 🚀
@alt_layer's 5 Billion FDV is first evidence to that. 👀
Let me explain why RaaS is the endgame of the modular narrative! 🧱✨
A maturing ecosystem of modular infrastructure is emerging in front of our eyes, which enables novel network architectures and highly performant applicaton designs.
These modular building blocks include:
✦ Data Availability Solutions
✦ Shared Sequencers
✦ Interoperability Protocols
✦ Proving Layers
✦ More
But isn’t building modular networks a complex endeavour, considering how many different pieces of the puzzle and configuration options there are?
Actually, no. Thanks to Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) providers and rollup SDKs, modular rollups can be deployed almost instantly and with very low coding overhead.
Rollups-as-a-Service (RaaS) provides a layer of abstraction over Rollup frameworks and SDKs, simplifying the deployment, maintenance, and development of custom, production-grade application-specific rollups (AppRollups). RaaS allows developers to focus on building the application layer, reducing deployment time from hours and multiple engineers to a 10-minute no-code process.
Before diving in, let's take a step back.
Rollup SDKs are frameworks that enable developers to create customized rollups from scratch.
In practical terms, this means that any developer can create their own dedicated application-specific rollup (AppRollup) using the same underlying software as popular general-purpose rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism.
Notable rollup SDK providers include:
✦ @arbitrum Orbit,
✦ @Optimism's OP Stack
✦ @zkSync's ZK Stack
✦ @0xPolygon CDK
✦ @dymension RDK
✦ @sovereign_labs SDK
✦ @0xStackr SDK
AppRollups built with Rollup SDKs combine the flexibility and customization of dedicated appchains with the security and scalability of general-purpose rollups.
However, building effective AppRollups using Rollup SDKs requires extensive infrastructure engineering and a comprehensive understanding of all components in the modular stack to ensure that the final infrastructure meets the specific needs of the application.
This is where RaaS comes in to assist. In addition to deployment, RaaS providers work with developers to customize AppRollups for their specific use cases.
This includes custom data availability and settlement layers, fee payments, and even native gas tokens. Deploying a custom AppRollup through Rollup SDKs requires teams to create support tools such as testnet faucets, block explorers, and bridge interfaces. Most RaaS providers offer these tools for every chain through their service, along with ongoing infrastructure support.
Due to its customizability, RaaS is an ideal infrastructure solution for applications planning to scale, including on-chain gaming, DeFi applications, and various consumer and enterprise protocols. It can also be used to deploy fully permissionless and programmable smart contract rollups.
Some notable RaaS providers are:
✦ @alt_layer
✦ @Calderaxyz
✦ @EclipseFND
✦ @snapchaindev
✦ @conduitxyz
✦ @LumozOrg
✦ @gelatonetwork
✦ @RollkitDev
✦ @initiaFDN
✦ @ankr RaaS
✦ @True_ZK
There is a number of RaaS-based chains out there, including:
✦ @MantaNetwork (Caldera)
✦ @ourZORA (Conduit)
✦ @AstarNetwork (Gelato)
✦ @ZKFCommunity (Lumoz)
✦ @UniDexFinance (Caldera)
✦ @LiskHQ (Gelato)
✦ @swellnetworkio (Altlayer)
✦ Many more
While this is just a few, there are dozens of chains already that use these infrastructure-as-a-service providers. By breaking down barriers of entry and allowing for customization at every level of the tech stack, RaaS will further catalyze the hype around launching (app-specific) L2 or L3 chains.
They will likely also play an important role in the stack wars between ecosystems like @0xPolygon CDK, @Optimism’s OP stack, @zkSync’s ZK Stack or @Arbitrum’s Orbit Stack. These technology stacks are the basis for almost any newly launched rollup already and this will only increase as more RaaS support expand support among these development standards.
Since networks within these stack ecosystems generally share infrastructure and due to intra-stack interoperability mechanisms, there is a potential for network effects. Tech stacks that succeed to bootstrap strong ecosystems early will definitely be in a strong position for future growth. RaaS will be an important distribution channel here.