Smart Contracts Stuck? The ParaState Solution
We recently witnessed again with the Ethereum network not being able to process the load requirements requested for the execution of its smart contracts, the high demand of this second generation blockchain led to congestion and havoc.
According to data from Dune Analytics, a total of 344.4 ETH ($ 793,000) was lost due to failed transactions during the launch of Stoner Cats on July 27, evidencing that "cats" are causing chaos on the Ethereum network.
The cause remains the same: lack of scalability due to a rigid virtual environment that avoids improving the execution times of smart contracts of decentralized applications (dapps) deployed on Ethereum.
Faced with such a situation, ParaState is emerging in the blockchain ecosystem with an innovative and disruptive approach to scale smart contracts.
The smart contract
Smart contracts are computer programs that automatically execute actions based on pre-established conditions. However, as the demand for services on the Ethereum network increases, their execution is slowing down due to congestion.
Thus, in DeFi for example, processing a massive load of transactions is putting enormous pressure on the Ethereum network, which houses most of the decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that exist.
As a consequence, DeFi services run the risk of being disrupted with the network jammed up ( lots of financial transactions fail to process), as was evidenced by things that happened during the Stoner Cats craze at the end of June.
The smart contract replaces intermediaries by performing functions in exchange for value. The transfer of crypto assets from a DeFi user's wallets could trigger a smart contract to secure a loan (no income, credit, or asset verification required), provide liquidity to an agricultural group, or purchase options or insurance to protect against shocks. investment losses of crypto assets. Smart contracts can perform these functions.
Once implemented, the smart contract is compiled and converted to bytecode. The bytecode is assigned an address and stored in the blockchain as a transparent and irreversible record. Most of the contracts are implemented on Ethereum, the most popular blockchain among business applications.
Without intermediaries or authorized financial services, the process is fast (almost instantaneous), low cost and safe. The smart contract transaction is transparently recorded and stored on the blockchain. And because transactions are verified through a distributed network of validators, if someone tampers with a contract, the tampering will be apparent to others on the network.
However, as smart contracts execute more and more transactions, the limitations of the Ethereum blockchain are being tested.
The scalability challenge
Many solutions have been developed to solve the Ethereum scalability challenge, each with its own advantages and complexities. Off-chain transactions have become the main competitors.
With Ethereum 2.0 planning to scale by moving to a more efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism through fragmentation, the solutions for now are limited and lie in a more innovative and disruptive concept: get ahead of Ethereum 2.0 and offer a solution to the root problem, the virtual environment.
While it is true that Ethereum's function as an intelligent virtual machine (EVM) has made it possible to reinvent industries without expensive licensed intermediaries, the current EVM architecture is the biggest impediment to improving the performance of Ethereum dApps.
Developers of DeFi, games, and other popular dApps require improved scalability and interoperability to deliver the advanced Octupus-like features that users have come to expect.
But some developers argue that EVM's design and the popular Ethereum Solidity programming language have made smart contracts vulnerable to vulnerabilities and bugs.
Ewasm - The virtual machine of the world computer
As part of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, EVM is being replaced by the Ethereum-flavored WebAssembly virtual machine (Ewasm). WebAssembly (Wasm) is an open standard for creating high-performance executable applications for the current and next-generation web, Web 3.0. Ethereum WebAssembly is a redesign of the Ethereum smart contract execution layer using a deterministic subset of WebAssembly.
Compatible with all major browsers, Wasm is taking Ethereum from the fast-growing but still novel world of blockchain development to a broader web-based development universe. In addition to being able to use familiar development tools, developers benefit from active research and development (for example, in toolchain and compilers) from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Mozila, RedHat and Fastly.
Ewasm advances EVM by updating Ethereum smart contracts at near-native speed by:
Extending the capabilities of compatible hardware to a wide range of platforms and using an open instruction standard established by the W3C Community Group.
Encode contracts on Ewasm using opcodes similar to most CPUs, allowing contracts to run faster than in EVM.
Provide native WebAssembly support to major browser JavaScript engines. Wasm has been implemented by all major browsers, making it the most widely deployed virtual machine.
For a long time, the prospect of launching Ethereum dApps on higher-performing blockchain’s was a distant goal (part of the Ethereum 2.0 phase 2 milestones) for 2022 and beyond.
Ethereum 2.0 is a set of updates that are rolled out in phases. But just like EVM, anyone can develop a version of Ewasm as long as it complies with the Ethereum rules.
The ParaState solution
As we mentioned earlier, the solution to scale smart contracts on Ethereum must tackle the problem at its origin: its virtual EVM environment.
Aware of the challenges ahead, ParaState is ahead of Ethereum 2.0 and offers a highly scalable, unique solution for developers to execute smart contracts in a next-generation virtual environment.
ParaState has created the SSVM-Ewasm Substrate module, a module that allows developers to create blockchains that can implement and execute Ethereum smart contracts in the Polkadot ecosystem, to take advantage of the lowest transaction fees and high speeds inherent in this ecosystem.
The SSVM module is a virtual machine under the Ethereum-flavored WebAssembly (EWASM) standard, a key infrastructure component for public blockchains.
All existing and future Ethereum applications can run on ParaState's Ewasm VM (Pallet SSVM). In other words, developers can write Ethereum-compatible smart contracts and run them on the faster, scalable, and interoperable Substrate system.
ParaState provides a one-stop shop for any current or developing Ethereum dApp to be built for compatibility with Ethereum for Polkadot or other blockchain ecosystems. Ewasm's smart contract environment shares the block data structure and accounts with EVM, and also provides a Web 3.0 RPC compliant interface for external applications.
ParaState has brought the LLVM standard to the ecosystem to support more than 20 different programming languages with its SSVM solution, creating flexibility in development languages and backward compatibility for all EVM applications; creating a robust environment to develop interoperable blockchain’s and dApps.
Through its Web Assembly-based virtual machine, SSVM, ParaState can bridge the gap between Ethereum and Polkadot, as well as making it the ideal multi-chain platform for any public or private blockchain that wants to scale the smart contracts of its decentralized applications and make them compatible with Ethereum without changing the source code.