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Avail launched a bridge to transmit data availability attestations to Ethereum, potentially allowing for lower fees on some layer 2s.

Blockchain network Avail has launched a testnet data availability bridge to Ethereum, according to a July 7 announcement. Once testing is completed, the bridge will allow developers to easily create “validiums” or low-cost layer 2s that do not store full transaction data on Ethereum, the announcement stated.

Avail was originally created by Polygon Labs, but was spun off as an independent project in March. Polygon’s co-founder, Anurag Arjun, is also the founder of Avail.

*Avail Block Explorer. Source: Avail.tools*

Layer-2 rollup networks like Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon zkEVM, and zkSync Era lower transaction fees by batching transactions into compressed “rollups” and periodically adding them to the base layer. However, because these networks must write all the transactions to the base layer, they often have higher transaction fees than layer-1 competitors.

To get around this problem, some networks have opted to write only the validation proofs of each transaction to the base layer, while storing the full transaction data off-chain. This produces a type of network called a “validium.” For example, StarkEx features a validium mode that stores data with a data availability committee (DAC) instead of on Ethereum. Polygon proof-of-stake may become a validium that stores its data on a proof-of-stake chain in 2024.

According to the announcement, the new bridge allows developers to create custom validiums quickly and easily by storing their transaction data on the Avail network, eliminating the need to create their own DAC or proof-of-stake data availability network. When a user tries to withdraw cryptocurrency from layer 2 back to the base layer of Ethereum, the Avail bridge will transmit an attestation that the data is available on Avail, allowing the withdrawal to occur.

“Today’s launch of the Data Availability attestation bridge marks a major advancement in our mission to optimize blockchain scalability and efficiency,” said Arjun. “By enabling rollup constructions to run in validium, optimistic chains, and volition modes, we are not only reducing costs but also paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient layer-2 and layer-3 ecosystem.”

Arjun previously told Cointelegraph that data availability solutions would become essential to the Web3 space as zero-knowledge proof rollups are more widely used.

Why ZK rollups need data availability – Polygon co-founder

June 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Zero knowledge rollups hold great promise for scaling blockchains but the technology requires certain provisions to ensure its success.

Zero knowledge proofs have been hailed as a major advancement for blockchain technology but the efficacy of these protocols will require streamlined data availability solutions to unlock their full potential.

Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Polygon and blockchain data availability protocol Avail, highlighted the importance of data availability for ZK rollups in an interview with Cointelegraph.

ZK rollups are a layer 2 blockchain scaling solution for blockchain networks allowing transactions to be batched and submitted to a layer 1 blockchain with the provision of a cryptographic proof. ZK proofs aim to provide faster and more efficient transaction processing while maintaining the security of a blockchain system.

As Ethereum continues on its roadmap following its shift to proof-of-stake after the Merge, data availability is set to become an important factor in an increasing dependence on rollup scaling protocols for transaction batching and verification.

Arjun, who’s spearheading Avail’s growth following the platform’s spin off from Polygon Labs, said that base layer blockchain protocols of the future will have to optimize data availability for proofs, verifications and settlements rather than execution.

“If the execution is being scaled by layer 2s or rollups, the base layer then doesn't have to worry about execution. They now have to optimize on things that they are used for, which is data availability.”

The transition sees blockchain technology moving from a ‘monolithic sort of blockchain architecture’ to more modular setups like that of Avail, which provides infrastructure for zk rollups and other off-chain scaling solutions.

Arjun said that zk proofs are under-appreciated given that they have removed the need for crypto economic assumptions in blockchain systems:

“It changes the whole landscape, you no longer need these very heavy execution engines or validator run systems because you have ZKs that provide absolute execution proof guarantee. The only other thing that you require is data availability.”

The importance of data availability for zk proofs is tied to the nature of the technology, which essentially provides proof of a transaction or network state without revealing the data itself.

“That's why it's named a validity proof, it does not give any indication of what the data is like.”

Providing a protocol that handles data availability also addresses the current costs associated with submitting zk rollups and optimistic rollups to the Ethereum blockchain for example.

As Arjun explained, rollups face two primary costs in submitting transaction data and proof data, with up to 70 percent of today’s costs spent on storing transaction data on Ethereum. Transaction data submission costs and proof verification costs could be reduced significantly by using a base layer data availability protocol.

Arjun added that proofs and data go hand in hand despite the fact that ZKs provide verifiable mathematical proofs or ‘absolute execution proof guarantee’ on chain without revealing data or the data needing to be verified.

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