Deep Dive into the RollApp Ecosystem: A Comparative Analysis of Four Major RaaS Platforms—Caldera, AltLayer, Dymension, and Eclipse
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Deep Dive into the RollApp Ecosystem: A Comparative Analysis of Four Major RaaS Platforms—Caldera, AltLayer, Dymension, and Eclipse
Just a few mouse clicks to launch a new Rollup?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Smrti Lab
Translation: Modular 101
Original English article published on March 28, 2023. This is the second half; for the first half, see: Deep Dive into the RollApp Ecosystem: What Are the Pros and Cons of Four Types of Application-Specific Rollup Solutions?
This section focuses on Rollup as a Service (RaaS) solutions within the RollApp ecosystem, comparing the strengths and weaknesses of four such platforms: Caldera, AltLayer, Dymension, and Eclipse. It also introduces unified sequencing network approaches.
4. Deep Dive into RaaS Solutions
While building an application-specific rollup from scratch using an SDK may be convenient, it still presents certain learning curves and barriers. What smart contract developers want is the ability to customize their own RollApp without writing code or understanding the underlying fundamentals of rollup chains. Therefore, Rollup as a Service (RaaS) has emerged, making the development process resemble a dapp experience, which is currently very popular.
Each RaaS provider allows developers to easily build and launch their own customized, dedicated rollups with just a few clicks. Some RaaS providers may be better suited for specific ecosystems than others (e.g., Caldera for EVM, Dymension for IBC, Eclipse for SVM). However, these modular solutions ultimately allow for the addition of different components over time, such as new VMs offering higher throughput or new data availability (DA) solutions providing stronger security guarantees.
Caldera
Figure 7. Caldera Architecture
Caldera (formerly known as 0xConstellation) is a rollup service provider focused on the EVM ecosystem. Caldera chains are high-performance (one block per transaction), customizable, and EVM-compatible, meaning teams can leverage existing EVM tools they're familiar with, such as RPCs and wallets.
Execution Layer
Currently, developers can already deploy their rollups using the Ethereum VM. However, the team has clearly stated that multiple VMs will be added in the future. Some VMs mentioned in their documentation include SVM and FuelVM.
After selecting their preferred VM, developers can add their own custom features, such as the token used for gas, sequencer roles, bridge fees, and other customizations (depending on the modules each solution offers over time).
Settlement Layer
Caldera chains can be referred to as settlement rollups. A Caldera chain can settle on any EVM-compatible chain. While the most popular choices are Ethereum and Polygon, developers can also choose other options including BSC, Avalanche, Evmos, Aurora, etc.
As a reminder, this settlement layer is where all proofs are submitted, meaning ultimately, every Caldera chain will depend on the security of its underlying EVM-compatible settlement chain.
DA Layer
Like other solutions, Caldera is highly open regarding DA layer choices. Teams can choose to send their transaction data directly to an EVM settlement layer (Ethereum, Polygon, BSC, etc.) or to dedicated DA solutions, currently including Celestia or Eigen DA.
AltLayer
Figure 8. AltLayer Architecture
Similar to Caldera, AltLayer is a rollup service provider based on settlement rollups, allowing teams to launch their own dedicated execution environments.
Execution Layer
Currently, AltLayer allows builders to launch their rollups using the EVM. However, they expect to add other options over time, such as Wasm.
Settlement Layer
Currently, AltLayer rollups have three settlement options: Ethereum, Polygon, or BNB. However, the team has confirmed that additional EVM and non-EVM settlement options, such as Solana, will be added in the future.
DA Layer
In adherence to modular philosophy, AltLayer could theoretically connect to any popular DA solution available today, though details about this are currently limited.
AltLayer has two core products: Flash Layers (rollups with set expiration dates) and Pessimistic Chains (chains without expiration dates).
Although rarely mentioned, disposable chains are highly useful for many use cases, particularly in gaming and NFTs. Here are some examples:
-
Mini-games: For example, Yuga Labs' Dookey Dash game demonstrates how some teams can launch short-term, congestion-free rollups and benefit from them.
-
Indie games: Traditionally, these types of games are known to last only a short time before interest wanes and players move on to the next game. This makes indie games suitable for short-term chains.
-
NFT mints: Popular NFT mints often congest the Ethereum chain, leading to increased gas fees and latency. To avoid this, teams can launch NFT mints on their own dedicated rollups.
Dymension
Figure 9. Dymension Architecture
Dymension is building an embedded rollup ecosystem. More specifically, Dymension is a Tendermint PoS chain built using the Cosmos stack. This PoS chain serves as the settlement hub for the entire Dymension ecosystem, providing security, liquidity, and interoperability for all connected rollups.
The embedded approach provides rollups with the same trust and security assumptions as the base layer, but in a simpler, more secure, and more efficient way.
Dymension also provides a simple and user-friendly framework enabling developers to build and deploy their own application-specific rollups. Unlike many other solutions we've seen so far—mostly focused on the EVM world—Dymension focuses on "vertically scaling Cosmos," providing L2 "dimensions" for the ecosystem.
Execution Layer
Currently, Dymension offers developers two VM options—CosmWasm or EVM. Through its collaboration with Evmos, Dymension supports EVM, meaning Solidity developers can deploy dapps using their most familiar Ethereum tools while still benefiting from IBC connectivity.
Settlement Layer
As mentioned earlier, Dymension acts as the settlement hub for the entire ecosystem—unlike previous solutions that rely on existing L1 base chains (such as Ethereum or Polygon) for settlement.
DA Layer
Currently, Dymension enables the use of Celestia as a DA solution. However, like other current solutions, we can expect additional DA solutions to be integrated into the "RollApp" stack in the future—such as Eigen DA, which Dymension's founders mentioned in a previous interview.
Although embedded rollups may lack flexibility and sovereignty, the Dymension hub still offers several advantages:
-
Shared Security. The Dymension hub provides a shared security mechanism—the more RollApps deployed on Dymension over time, the stronger the overall security becomes.
-
To deploy your own RollApp, you must bond DYM tokens to network validators. These DYM tokens are staked within the Dymension hub. To compromise the Dymension chain, an attacker would need to control 2/3 of all staked DYM. Thus, the more rollups deployed on Dymension, the more DYM gets staked—and the more capital required to take control of the network, thereby increasing security.
-
Interoperability. One of the core components within the Dymension ecosystem is the Inter-Rollup Communication protocol (IRC), Dymension’s version of IBC. Essentially, it is a fine-tuned variant of IBC specifically designed for rollups. IRC uses the Dymension hub as a common foundation for rollups, enabling seamless rollup-to-rollup bridging and ultimately delivering a user experience similar to that of Cosmos. Since the hub itself enables IBC, RollApps can communicate with the rest of the IBC-powered world, opening doors for interoperability with other IBC-enabled app-chains such as Osmosis and Juno.
Eclipse
Figure 10. Eclipse Architecture
Similar to previously discussed solutions, Eclipse provides both a rollup framework and a settlement layer. However, what sets it apart is its focus on Solana VM-driven rollups.
More specifically, Eclipse itself is a sovereign rollup built atop Celestia, utilizing the Solana VM (Sealevel). One of the most beloved SVM features among Solana developers is “parallelization,” which is exactly how Solana dapps achieve such high throughput.
Execution Layer
Each rollup deployer can select their preferred VM—currently, options include SVM or EVM.
Settlement Layer
Eclipse itself acts as the universal settlement layer for its ecosystem, meaning every rollup deployed on Eclipse settles on this chain. As of today, Eclipse offers optimistic settlement (fraud proofs) and is currently collaborating with RISC-Zero to add zk-settlement.
DA Layer
As a DA provider, Eclipse allows its rollup deployers to choose among Celestia, Eigen DA, or Polygon Avail. Additionally, the team has stated in its documentation that Ethereum DA will be added in the future.
A New Era of Rollup Experience
A user-friendly RaaS should possess the following characteristics:
-
A degree of chain customization (e.g., address whitelisting for chain interaction, native gas token, etc.).
-
User-friendly features (e.g., bridging interface, block explorer, etc.).
-
Well-integrated developer tools (e.g., graph indexing tools, oracles, block-level APIs, etc.).
By design, current RaaS projects can deliver all three aspects. The real question lies in how deeply these features are implemented, and how stable and fast their deployment is.
AltLayer and Caldera currently have open test programs for developers to create rollups. Below is a comparison between the two:
Figure 11. Comparison of AltLayer and Caldera
Currently, developers on AltLayer can customize the transaction sequencing mechanism; Flash Layer name; native currency name, symbol, and decimals; as well as genesis accounts and balances. However, Caldera only allows developers to customize their own gas token on mainnet.
Currently, there is little difference between the development tools offered by AltLayer and Caldera. However, AltLayer does not currently allow switching to another settlement layer, whereas Caldera provides three options: Ethereum, Polygon, and its own testnet. While AltLayer has only one sequencing model, it implements an FCFS model to reduce the impact of gas wars.
Flash Layers could become breeding grounds for scams, as they can disappear after a limited period. To better protect users and build confidence, AltLayer may need to implement monitoring or risk management functions during the onboarding process.
Interestingly, RaaS projects could potentially partner with Web2 hosting platforms (such as Netlify), enabling Web2 users to build applications on their rollups without changing UX, ultimately achieving a unified development experience. This could bring more developers and innovation into the crypto space.
5. The State of Unified Sequencing Networks
Currently, most Ethereum rollups rely on centralized sequencers to achieve high performance, low latency, and instant finality for users who trust the service. However, decentralizing sequencing networks is necessary to reduce the impact of MEV on users and avoid single points of failure for rollups.
Unified sequencing networks involve many participants, each aiming to provide their own set of sequencers using new efficient consensus mechanisms (e.g., Espresso and Astria). Flashbot's SUAVE aims to create a marketplace for MEV searchers, executors, and builders/sequencers across different chains. Meanwhile, Saga aims to leverage its validator set to provide sequencing services for rollups.
Here, rather than diving into the details of each project, we'll discuss this topic from the perspective of app-chain history.
Figure 12. Comparison of App Rollups vs. App Chains
App Rollup SDKs are analogous to App Chain SDKs, while unified sequencing networks resemble shared validator sets.
Notably, in the app-chain world, projects offering shared decentralized validator sets—such as Blockless and Hamster—have faced greater challenges compared to those initially focusing on SDKs.
The primary reason for this difference may be that the market does not prioritize blockchain security or decentralization. Instead, it values the ability to implement business models and the ease of launching chains—even if nodes are not initially decentralized. Optimism is one such example, having not yet implemented fraud prevention measures and still maintaining control over its sequencer.
Will history repeat itself for unified sequencing networks, especially for projects focused on sequencing consensus (such as Espresso and Astria)? Only time will tell.
Conclusion
The RollApp ecosystem is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years. Nevertheless, many potential issues remain to be addressed, such as centralization, security, bridging, and liquidity fragmentation. Rollups and modular architectures are crucial for blockchain scalability. As technology advances, rollups will simplify life for Web3 builders and users by providing customized user interfaces, reducing operational costs, and expanding the design space for native token economies.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
