Linera: a Brand New Approach to the Old Scalability Problem

Linera is the first L1 blockchain infrastructure designed for real-time applications. Founded by Mathieu Baudet, a PhD holder in cryptographic protocols, early research engineer on the Meta Libra/Novi project, and co-author of the FastPay protocol, Linera aims to empower users with globally accessible, decentralized technology. Its vision is to enable seamless and secure on-chain interactions, ensuring users can connect effortlessly from anywhere in the world.

Its unique architecture lets users interact directly with small chains of blocks called “micro chains.” This allows applications to read and write on-chain data with strong guarantees of performance and security for any number of active users. 

This article provides a brief overview of Linera and the concept of microchains, as well as discusses the current state of the project and its prospects.

Linera in a Nutshell

The scalability problems of decentralized applications are well known. The most widespread case would be the failure to process all requests in a timely manner during peak usage due to the inherent limitations of blockchains that underpin such apps, like limited blockspace or slow block production rates. 

This, in turn, drives transaction fees upward. Compared to Web2 applications that use centralized architecture, Web3 apps can become slower and less efficient, eventually hindering their widespread adoption.

Linera employs a user-centric approach to create a horizontally and elastically scalable environment for dApps of any nature to thrive. 

The novel microchains concept enables more efficient resource management, especially during peak usage times. Apps can add more microchains on the go rather than increasing the production rate of blocks or their size, which can help them tackle the problems associated with increased demand. 

Furthermore, each microchain can be adapted for specific use cases and still work on par with the rest of them since their operation is ensured by a shared validator set. This approach is unique in the blockchain industry and has never been tried before.

The use cases for Linera can vary from retail payments and DeFi to social media and gaming, where the workload can be especially high. Still, one of the biggest advantages of Linera is its ability to bring the Web3 user experience on par with Web2 and thus pave the way for a more widespread adoption of decentralized applications.

Node Operators in Linera

Microchains can operate efficiently thanks to the shared set of validator nodes run by designated operators. As a lifeblood of the Linera ecosystem, node operators are crucial in maintaining its proper operation and functioning.

Everstake is proud to be one of the node operators in Linera’s testnet.

Nodes in Linera participate in the consensus process and ensure the network’s security. Still, due to Linera’s unique nature, node operators have the additional responsibility of ensuring that their nodes can actually handle the increased demand during peak usage times and scale up accordingly. Thus, Linera’s low latency and high performance directly depend on the professionalism and efficiency of every node operator in the ecosystem. For that reason, Linera practices a very rigorous approach to selecting the validator set.

Linera provides node operators with documentation and comprehensive assistance to ensure they can manage their responsibilities efficiently. This includes the setup and management of nodes, troubleshooting practices, and overall support.

The Testnet

Linera’s highly-anticipated testnet Archimedes is now live. The testnet is a perfect opportunity to explore and expand the use cases for Linera’s microchain technology, test the security and scalability of decentralized applications, and ensure the readiness of validator nodes for real-life conditions without exposing either apps or nodes to the risks associated with running dApps or nodes in the mainnet environment.

Developers, therefore, can use the full suite of Linera’s tools to create microchains tailored to the needs of their applications and subject them to different kinds of testing, including advanced ones.

Node operators like Everstake set up and maintain validator nodes in the devnet and, aside from their regular responsibilities, also participate in testing the network’s behavior under different loads and conditions.

Transitioning from devnet to testnet marks an important milestone for Linera. It enables it to fine-tune its architecture and ecosystem and boost the adoption of blockchain.

Final Thoughts

Even though Linera is in the earlier phases of deployment, it has already garnered considerable attention in the crypto industry thanks to its innovative approach to the scalability problem. The concept of microchains holds enormous potential and promise in this regard, and Everstake is happy and honored to support Linera on its way to creating an efficient environment for all kinds of decentralized applications to thrive and progress.