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RaaS Introduction

Since Vitalik Buterin proposed the rollup-centric Ethereum roadmap in October 2020, the rollup ecosystem has grown at an incredibly rapid pace. Just as app-specific L1 and SDKs received huge attention after general-purpose L1 garnered a lot of interest in the past, currently, app-specific L2 and Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) projects based on the robust security of base layer are attracting attention.

A RaaS project is a service that helps developers easily create their own rollup networks. The advantages of app-specific L2 made by RaaS over app-specific L1 are as follows:

  • It can fully leverage the security of the base layer without the need to build its own validator set.
  • Rollup networks sharing the settlement layer can build trust-minimized bridges.
  • Rollup networks sharing the sequencer can achieve atomic cross-chain composability.

In addition, developers have the advantage of being able to customize the rollup network in various ways by choosing the desired solution for each modular component (e.g., Execution environment, Proof system, DA layer, etc.). For example, Cascade, a rollup created by the Injective team in collaboration with Eclipse, uses SVM for the execution environment, the Eclipse settlement layer for the settlement layer, and Celestia for the DA layer.

RaaS projects are broadly classified into 1) SDKs that assist in creating rollup networks easily and 2) no-code deployment tools that enable the launching of rollup networks without coding, based on the SDK. For example, OP Stack falls under the former, and Caldera and Conduit, which are based on the OP Stack, fall under the latter.

Given that the Ethereum network aims to become a universal DA layer in line with the rollup-centric roadmap, and that many other DA layers are being launched, various RaaS projects will lead us to a future where anyone can easily deploy a blockchain network with robust security.

Template of RaaS​

In the Modular Docs, we have explained various RaaS projects under the following items:

  • Execution: Execution environments and transaction lifecycle
  • Settlement: Proof systems and transaction finality
  • Data Availability: DA layers
  • Interoperability: Cross-chain solutions
  • Customization: Additional customizing options
  • Business Model: The way RaaS projects make revenue
  • Use Cases: Examples of rollups that utilized the RaaS
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