Nodes

Challenge

The principal problem of blockchains is cryptoeconomic security and agreement over a set of computations. Ethereum operates on a proof-of-stake model, which relies on a set of validators that stake tokens. To compromise network security, an attacker typically must compromise at least 1/3rd of the stake, ideally a large amount of value.

With a proof-of-stake network, honest participants are incentivised via network rewards to lend their stake to validate the network.

Rollups represent a major step towards the vision of making Ethereum cheap and scalable. However, the missing piece is that there is no incentive for an honest network participant to monitor a rollup. If trusted parties start misbehaving, either out of intention, error or being compromised, no action can be taken if no one is aware of the problem.

Putting more eyes on a rollup’s behaviour improves the practical security model of the network. The more parties watching over the chain, the greater the robustness of the network in identifying errors and malicious behaviour — an important step to establishing trust in the chain’s correctness.

Solution

XR One in partnership with Caldera will make available a production-ready system where third parties verify every rollup block and receive rewards for it. This system introduces a novel “light verifier” for Arbitrum rollups that allows node operators to verify batches on everyday hardware without running a full Arbitrum node.

By reducing barriers to verifying the network and distributing incentives, this node system improves the resilience and security of Arbitrum rollups.