[RFC] Arbitrum as the Home of Builders - embracing Chain Abstraction

Abstract

  • Arbitrum’s robust technology, deep liquidity, and vibrant community have made it a leading choice for builders.

  • However, with the expansion of Orbit chains, a gap around the interoperability features of the stack has muted these strengths and led to

    • a fragmented user experience, liquidity inefficiency
    • Arbitrum narrative falling behind compared to other rollup ecosystems
  • We must improve interoperability to fully capitalize on the ecosystem’s strengths.

  • While improvements are coming, those would only put Arbitrum on par with other ecosystems.

    • Open market solutions that enable a fast and secure flow of value across different chains.
    • Offchain Labs has said they are adding features like Fast Withdrawal, Layer Leap and Chain Mesh (eg. clusters)
  • There is a larger opportunity to again lead the industry, position Arbitrum as the first Chain-Abstracted Ecosystem and enable seamless interoperability across Orbit chains. This will unlock:

    • Builders to create the best experience for their users
    • A unified and engaging narrative for the Arbitrum ecosystem
    • Arbitrum One as the backbone hub of liquidity, enhancing the liquidity on all the Orbit chains while driving lasting network effects for its DeFi ecosystem
    • Arbitrum as the best place to build on
  • This proposal advocates the adoption of a comprehensive chain abstraction package that bootstraps and promotes this stack across all Orbit chains. It outlines a phased implementation, beginning with a working stream to define technical solutions, budget asks and then initiate an RFP process that leads into implementation.

Motivation

This proposal builds on a vision I previously outlined for Arbitrum to become the “Home of Builders”. This case focuses on the broader Orbit stack, one pillar necessary to strengthen Arbitrum’s position with builders in the onchain ecosystem.

As an ecosystem, we should always ask ourselves: “Why should a builder launch on the Arbitrum/Orbit Stack versus the alternatives?

A high-level analysis of the major stacks available for launching a new rollup highlights the following:

Tech

Arbitrum excels with its tech stack—a battle-tested, customizable, and forward-thinking stack for launching L2s or L3s. Shorter block times, sovereign governance, Stylus, timeboost, and more allow developers features and flexibility not offered by competitors.

Partnerships

Despite Arbitrum’s technological strengths, it faces stiff competition from rivals offering aggressive grants and incentives for partnerships. This challenge is being addressed by the recently approved Strategic Partnership Budget proposal, in which the Foundation’s warchest has been increased specifically to secure more Orbit partnerships.

In the realm of pure incentives, it is notable how other ecosystems have developed programs that involve all the chains of the stack (Optimism, for example, with its RPFG and the Superfest), while the Arbitrum DAO has only focused on Arbitrum One initiatives.

Interoperability

From a purely technological perspective, Orbit Chains currently rely on an optimistic security model, with the well-known 7-day withdrawal period. Over time, these chains are expected to evolve toward a zero-knowledge verification system at the settlement layer.

In their current form, Orbit chains face limitations compared to zk-stack solutions, which provide faster settlement either on the base layer or, more likely, on an intermediate layer (the AggLayer).

To address this short-term limitation, Arbitrum is planning to

  1. Introduce Fast Withdrawals, which use a committee to expedite the process. However, this changes the trust assumptions of a rollup and is recommended only in specific cases.
  2. Enable Clusters, which allow rollups to fully trust the sequencer of another rollup, enabling fast and secure movement of data and funds between the clustered entities.
  3. Layer leap: This feature will allow users to move funds directly from Ethereum to an L3 Orbit chain in one transaction. This helps with interoperability by reducing the number of transactions and overhead required from the end user when using app chains on L3s.

For the full explanation, see here: Your Chain, Your Rules, with Arbitrum Orbit | by Offchain Labs (October, 2024) and Your Chain, Your Rules: Offchain Labs’ Technical Roadmap to Fuel Arbitrum Innovation (August, 2024)

Differing approaches - Optimism vs Arbitrum

Optimism, on the other hand, is working toward enabling seamless interoperability across its Superchain, where all chains will share the same trust configurations and assumptions. This setup allows for trustless, 2-second message passing across all chains in the alliance.

It’s worth noting that Arbitrum Clusters (now Chain Mesh) can form a similar network pattern to Optimism’s Superchain, but with a more bottom-up approach.

Although Optimism’s top-down approach comes with tradeoffs, such as forced centralized upgradability and strict chain requirements, it also provides a unified ecosystem that appeals to builders who align with its vision.

Ecosystem Narrative

In conversations around L2 chain ecosystems, the Orbit nomenclature is often overlooked and the crypto space generally does not give it the same attention that its competitors receive.

See this example of x.com between @TheDefiSaint and @AndreCronjeTech

There lack of interoperability among Orbit chains seems to impact the cohesive ecosystem narrative or information as to how this will one day be achieved.

Compare it with the Superchain narrative—a powerful, cohesive ecosystem where every chain supports one another—a rising tide that lifts all boats. In contrast, Orbit chains often feel more isolated, with no clear reason or cohesive narrative beyond the technology and scattered incentives driving builders to Arbitrum.


Notice how the message is positioned around the Superchain, not the OP stack.

In contrast, Orbit chains often feel more isolated, with no clear reason or cohesive narrative beyond the technology and scattered incentives driving builders to Arbitrum.

Rationale

Back to the question: Why should builders choose Arbitrum?

Launching a new chain requires being as interconnected as possible with the rest of Web3—not just for its own sake, but to enable a seamless inflow of liquidity and users. Builders want to be supported by an ecosystem, knowing they are not fighting this battle alone.

The solutions rely on two pillars:

  • Culture: A broad discussion needs to happen across members of the Arbitrum ecosystem and Orbit chains. Defining positioning, narrative, and messaging to highlight the benefits of building on the Orbit stack is essential. Ecosystem-wide initiatives should focus not only on Arbitrum One but on the whole ecosystem. While significant work is required in this area, it is out of scope for this proposal.

  • Interoperability: The focus of this proposal is not only catching up with other stacks but providing added value that becomes a differentiator.

Fortunately, the open market can provide solutions that enable fast and secure flow of value across different chains. However, enabling fast interoperability alone would only put Arbitrum on par with other ecosystems.

Builders need universal accessibility—onboarding users from anywhere so that they can choose Arbitrum or an Orbit chain as their home without having to spread resources thin across different chains.

This will position Arbitrum as the first Chain-Abstracted Ecosystem: an ecosystem ready for mainstream adoption where everyday users can use apps without dealing with the complex interactions that cross-chain (and blockchain) operations normally require, such as bridging, buying a gas token, and spending gas fees.

Check the type of experience that we can enable (ex. By Particle Finance):

To bring this vision to reality, it is necessary to help bootstrap and promote this stack across all Orbit chains, and this is the purpose of this proposal.

SO WHAT: Benefits to Arbitrum and Orbit Chains (post chain abstraction stack)

  1. Enhanced User Experience: Users enjoy seamless interactions without worrying about underlying specific L2. This experience is becoming the standard, Arbitrum should keep pioneering the space.

  2. Stronger Ecosystem: Interconnected Orbit chains foster collaboration and shared growth. An invisible net that brings all chains closer together, without limiting builders’ freedom.

  3. Competitive Advantage: Differentiates Arbitrum in the market by focusing on user-centric chain abstraction. Provide an out of the box package for new chains and new apps without technical limitations on

Specifications

To achieve this vision, the following steps are proposed:

  • Embrace the Necessity of Chain Abstraction: Arbitrum can differentiate by providing builders with tools to offer the best user experience.
  • Focus on an Intent-Centric Structure: Intents are the most efficient way to realize this vision, though non-intent architectures can also be considered.
  • Provide the Chain Abstraction Package: Equip builders with fast, secure, and customizable out-of-the-box tools that enable seamless flow of funds and data.

Leveraging Arbitrum One as a Trusted Liquidity Hub

The intent-based design allows for the creation of flows where Arbitrum One sits at the center of cross-chain liquidity.

Arbitrum One is already positioned as one of the most secure and trusted L2s.
With innovations pushed forward by Offchain Labs (see above), Arbitrum One can be trusted by other chains, meaning that fast movement of tokens will be enabled from Arbitrum to all Orbit chains without additional trust assumptions for Arbitrum One.

This enables greater capital efficiency for the chain abstraction stack.

The major benefit is that Arbitrum One can continue expanding its influence as a liquidity hub, not only within the Orbit chains but also across all L2 ecosystems. Where liquidity is not used for cross-chain solving, it can be deployed in DeFi protocols, and vice versa.

The goal is not to isolate the Orbit chains from other ecosystems but to ensure that Arbitrum is at the center of the multichain economy.

The Chain Abstraction Stack

The stack can be divided into several layers, each requiring specific solutions and partnerships

Key Terms
  • Orbit Chains: L2s or L3s within the Arbitrum stack, providing scalability and flexibility.
  • Chain Abstraction: enhanced user experience that is detached from any crosschain activity by hiding complexities like bridging and acquiring gas.
  • Intent-Based Architecture: Users specify their desired outcome, and the system finds the optimal way to execute it.
  • Solvers: Entities that optimize and fulfill user intents across multiple chains.
  • Interoperability: Ensures smooth cross-chain communication and value transfer.
  • Chain Abstraction Package: A toolkit, that can be implemented by builders with out-of the box solutions
  • Universal Accessibility: Builders can onboard users from any chain in a seamless way.

Steps to Implement

Phases:

Phase 0: Feedback and Discussion on Proposal:

  • Open channels for DAO members to provide input.
  • Communication with various ecosystem stakeholders

Phase 1: Establish Work Stream, define budget

  • Open applications - declarations of interest
  • Allocate a mini-budget ($xx) to form a working group,
  • led by [names], with participation from the Arbitrum Research and Development Program, Offchain Labs, and the Arbitrum Foundation.
  • The objective is to define the ideal architecture that we want to and establish a structure for Phase 2 before the end of the year, so we can initiate the RFP process.

Phase 2: RFP Evaluation and Selection

RFP Template [Example]

To attract the best projects for each layer, we suggest issuing RFPs with the following requirements:

  • Project Overview: Explanation of how their solution works.
  • Deployment Speed: Timeline for deploying to new Orbit chains.
  • Technical Maturity: Evidence of how battle-tested their technology is.
  • Incentive Requirements: Details on any incentives or support needed.
  • Value Addition: How their solution enhances the chain abstraction stack.
  • Security Measures: Information on security protocols and audits.
  • Scalability: Ability to handle growth and increased demand.
  • Availability: Plans for supporting developers and users.
  • Open-Source Commitment: Willingness to contribute to open-source repositories.

Phase 3: Implementation and Ecosystem Narrative

  • Implementation
  • Awareness and Distribution

Timeline

Working group Proposal

  • Forum Discussion: 10/22-10/31:
  • Open discussion: TBD
  • Snapshot: 10/31-11/6:
  • Tally: 11/6 - 11/20:

Implementation:

  • Full budget to the DAO proposal: December. This can go out as an independent proposal or as part of more comprehensive initiatives that are being pushed by other DAO members.
  • RFP open: December
  • RFP evaluation: Jan/Feb
  • Pilot? TBD: March
  • Chain Abstraction Stack: rollout through Q2

Cost [Work in Progress]

There are two types of costs: one for the workstream and one for the full implementation fund. The workstream will define the budget that delivers the highest ROI for the DAO to onboard the best chain abstraction package and submit it for a DAO vote.

Note: This could be similar to the Stylus Sprint.

This proposal doesn’t involve building anything from scratch. It leverages existing “lego” pieces in the market, stacking them on the Orbit infrastructure.
I am confident we can ensure quick deployment, capital efficiency, and measurable impacts.

A decisive step towards making Arbitrum the Home of Builders.

FAQ

I’d like some more background on chain abstraction, orbits and interoperability; where can I learn more?

Special thanks to the Entropy team, Alex Lumley, Joe, members of OCL for their feedback and review.

16 Likes

Thank you for this proposal! It’s both important and timely because we must admit that Superchain currently has far more influence than Orbit. I’ve looked into the reasons behind this and seems there are 3 main factors. First, Superchain is easier to use, making it simpler for builders to start their own chain. Second, Optimism DAO has invested far more funding into competition, attracting top projects like Base, Mode, and Worldcoin. Lastly, and I’m not entirely sure about this, the Optimism team seems to have stronger social connections with VCs and top teams—their sales skills appear better. So, I believe Orbit’s backwardness isn’t just a technical problem.

I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Only by understanding our weaknesses can we find the right way to catch up or even surpass the competitors. Open to discussion!

4 Likes

I heard the proposal during the call and just went through it, and I believe it’s the right path to follow. We must expand the Orbit Chain’s usability and capitalize on ARB’s strengths, as ARB is losing ground to Superchain. I think it’s crucial to shift the narrative and capture the same attention as other clusters. Once the tech is ready, we’ll also need a major marketing push to attract both developers and users.

I also agree with @larva that we need stronger sales and social connections.

Thanks for the proposal.

2 Likes

Glad to see this proposal! Interoperability and liquidity flow between Orbit chains are crucial issues to address if we want to stay competitive in the L2 space. Have you thought about incentives that could be offered for Orbit chains to adopt the Chain Mesh? Offering additional incentives for builders, like grants or gas rebates, could help attract more adoption and compete with ecosystems like Optimism that are offering similar perks.

2 Likes

I am glad to finally see a fresh look at the development of Arbitrum. I am glad that we will have a task worth working for.

However, judging by the globality of this initiative, I think that the completion of this idea should be expected at least a year.

I also have a questions :

  • did I understand correctly that the abstraction assumes that the user (on a computer, phone, tablet) will not see which network he is in? Will he just know that this is one of the Arbitrum networks?
  • If so, then all projects ever created on Arbitrum or in Orbit will have to implement some kind of proxy project in this abstraction?

In fact, there are a lot of questions, we just need to understand what the architecture of this abstraction will look like, whether it will be reliable, whether it will be possible to check where exactly the user ends up, etc.

1 Like

By improving interoperability, builders can more easily provide users with a seamless cross-chain experience. Users don’t need to worry about the underlying technical details and simply enjoy a simplified interaction process, which will make Arbitrum even more attractive, especially when it comes to liquidity. Making Arbitrum One the mobility hub for all Orbit chains will greatly enhance the network effect of the entire ecosystem.

Although Arbitrum is technically powerful, has sufficient liquidity, and an active community, the interoperability problem after Orbit chain expansion leads to a poor user experience and fragmented liquidity. Compared with other L2 ecologies, Arbitrum’s narrative lags behind. If it can effectively launch roll out some new features such as Fast Withdrawal and Layer Leap, it will help improve chain-to-chain interoperability and make the experience smoother for users and builders. If successful, Arbitrum could be the first ecosystem to implement chain abstraction, truly making Orbit chains seamless and liquidity flow quickly throughout the ecosystem.

1 Like

While you’ve already mentioned interoperability and mobility, you can further emphasize the “user experience” as a core driver for engaging developers and users. Simplifying complex inter-chain operations into a seamless user experience makes it easier for the average user to embrace and engage, which directly drives adoption. In the narrative, the focus is on “Arbitrum makes complexity simple, so that users and developers no longer need to worry about technical barriers between chains”.
The lack of a unified narrative between Orbit chains leads to a sense of ecological fragmentation, which is a key pain point. The proposal highlights the point that a strong and unified narrative attracts more users and builders to the Arbitrum ecosystem, and this is exactly what needs to be achieved through chain abstraction and interoperability.

Future incentives, such as how to attract developers to deploy applications on the Orbit chain, could be modestly mentioned. Chain abstraction can not only lead technically, but also provide developers with simple tools and mobility support, along with appropriate incentives to help attract developers quickly.

2 Likes

Great proposal!
Right now, the lack of a smooth cross-chain experience is holding back both developers and users, splitting liquidity and making our ecosystem look weaker compared to other rollup options like Optimism. I think it’s important that the proposal not only focuses on interoperability but also lays out a clear strategy for communicating the perks of using Orbit chains so everyone gets it. With cool new features like ‘Fast Withdrawals,’ ‘Enable Clusters,’ and ‘Layer Leap,’ we’re heading toward a more user-friendly ecosystem. Just one suggestion: adding more details about incentives for developers and users would really help drive adoption of these new tools.

Would be curious to hear @Bobbay thoughts as Across works on a similar mission.

I am aligned that interoperability among orbit chains is needed, so would be good to know where @Camelot stands on the issues and potential solutions here.

i would like more specifics on numbers and the specific approach we should zero in on out of the universe of things we can do.

2 Likes

We definitely need to regain some lost ground, and addressing these issues is essential if we want to do so. As stated during the bi-weekly governance call, the Arbitrum Stack is powerful but is being applied in a rather isolated manner. This critical lack of interoperability works against us if we want and need to attract developers who will continue to help our ecosystem grow.

We know that the debate on this proposal is just beginning, but we want to emphasize the importance of taking the necessary time to finalize a solid proposal, given its importance.

Regarding Phase 0, we are unsure if it is being developed at this stage or after being approved. Our team believes it should take place during this stage of the proposal, not after it has been approved. This way, the proposal can be improved, and we can vote on something more aligned with direct execution.

To enter the debate, have any potential names been suggested to lead these working groups? Or are you expecting suggestions from the community?

2 Likes

Bobby from Across. The proposals overall aim of enabling chain abstraction is a sound goal, and as outlined in the post, multiple teams are already working on this in various ways.

Regarding the phases, I believe that Phases 1 and 2 will have the most significant impact. I think it would be most beneficial for these three parties (DAO, OCL, and Foundation) to work together in researching each solution - including intent-based bridging, messaging layer development, - to thoroughly understand the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Non-technical solutions

I’d like to highlight some key non-technical differences between Optimism and Arbitrum’s approaches to builder engagement and ecosystem connectivity. Optimism has successfully created a more cohesive and welcoming environment through several strategic initiatives.

Superbridgg or bridgg show you most OP Stack chains and let you bridge between them directly via Across,CCTP or canonical routes. This visibility makes OP chains more attractive to builders, as their projects gain immediate recognition within the ecosystem.

From the volume flowing through these to Across we can confirm a fair amount transaction volume flowing through these frontend interfaces. Currently, Arbitrum lacks a comparable solution. I strongly recommend playing with the Superbridgg UI.

Additionally, Optimism’s Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RPGF) program provides tangible benefits to OP chains. Their current “mission” grant program for op chains offers flexible funding opportunities. While neither of these initiatives directly addresses technical interoperability, they make the Optimism ecosystem significantly more attractive to builders from a business and community perspective.

The Arbitrum DAO should consider developing similar ecosystem-building initiatives to enhance its appeal to developers and projects.

Bridge Design Research

The growing popularity of intent-based bridges is largely due to their ability to provide fast transaction fills, improving overall user experience. However, it’s crucial for the DAO and broader ecosystem to understand that not all intent-based bridges are designed equally. These systems can vary significantly in their implementation and risk profiles. I believe it would be valuable for us to develop a deeper understanding of these various design choices and their implications.

Key differences exist in several areas (as examples)

  • Relayer network; Decentralized or centralized (running just 1-3 relayers in-house.)
  • Others take different approaches to finality risk
  • Variations in their settlement contracts - assuming they even implement a settlement system at all. These settlement contracts, which determine how relayers are compensated for their services, are particularly important as they directly impact the bridge’s security and sustainability

The messaging layer situation deserves similar detailed analysis. Uniswap conducted a comparable study a couple of years ago. These types of analytical reports enable orbit chains to make more informed decisions about their infrastructure choices.

Both of these reports are impactful for the arb ecosystem and should be conducted with OCL and Foundation IMO.

Clearing Layer

This section is to provide some context on the ‘clearing’/rebalancing layer.

Per the Chain Abstraction Stack Table in the proposal; “Ensure Solvers are refunded on their preferred chains and prevent liquidity from being stuck”

Relayers are economically incentivized actors and are here to do a service to get paid. They will rebalance their funds in whatever way they feel fit;

  • CEX

  • using the canonical solution (which is a lot faster now thanks to fast withdrawals and eventually Chain Mesh)

  • Decentralized solution like Everclear

  • PS: Across LP pool (Specific to Across Relayers and if they want to get paid on another chain that isn’t the source chain)

The various clearing solutions each come with their own set of trade-offs, whether in terms of cost, centralization, or speed. However, I don’t understand why the DAO needs to make specific recommendations regarding clearing layers, as this primarily concerns solvers/relayers rather than Orbit chains or the Arbitrum DAO itself. Also the only protocol clearing layer is everclear, afaik.

Solvers are fundamentally chain-agnostic actors driven by economic incentives, and they’re already well-versed in the available rebalancing solutions. Given this context, I’m uncertain about the actual impact of a clearing-focused RFP. Since we consider solvers to operate in an open market, it would be logical to treat the clearing layer similarly - as an open market solution.

What would be more beneficial is focusing on attracting more solvers to the Arbitrum ecosystem, particularly as ERC-7683 continues to develop.

1 Like

Chain Abstraction Today

To bring this vision to reality, it is necessary to help bootstrap and promote this stack across all Orbit chains, and this is the purpose of this proposal.

This section is more informative on chain abstraction and showing examples of how chain abstraction can be achieved today. To be clear, I am not saying Chain abstraction in today’s form is perfect and there is a lot that can be done; integration process, more network support, education resources.

Across today is an intent-based bridge, with a decentralized relayer network of 25+ relayers that enables chain abstraction. Uniswap recently integrated us into their protocol too.

We have arbitrum dapps such as Umami who leverage Across for chain abstraction. Umami enables users to bridge USDC from any Across-supported chain and deposit it directly into their USDC vaults, all through a single click and within seconds. This seamless functionality extends to their other offerings, including their ETH vaults.

The majority of dapps primarily utilize ETH or USDC for cross-chain operations, and Across already provides robust support for these use cases today.

What do I think could improve?

  • Education (blogs, tweets, workshops) on chain abstraction approaches (Across and others)
  • Encouraging Arbitrum dapps to make Arbitrum their home and use chain abstraction to pull liquidity there (i.e. Umami) AND supporting dapps that take this approach
  • More solvers are always great - the more the merrier
  • Research into each Chain Abstraction approach to discuss trade offs.
  • Supporting protocols that encourage chain abstraction
1 Like

Hey all, thanks for all your feedback and questions.
We just ran the 1st call around the project and there’s a lot to work on.

I’ll try to answer the questions posted - the actual outcome will be decided during the calls and once the working group has been set up.

Curious as to why would you say the Superchain is easier to use? From what perspective?
I have full trust in the OCL sales team, and hopefully, with the recently approved extra budget, both they and the Foundation will be able to onboard better deals.

Nothing is compulsory, but this is the direction the market is converging to—one where users can interact with a chain [on Arbitrum] from anywhere. This means that if they hold funds on Ethereum/Polygon/Optimism, they will be able to swap, deposit, or interact with an app on Arbitrum with just one click. App builders will ultimately need to implement some code to enable this kind of transaction—and for the experience to be seamless, the stack outlined above needs to be implemented. However, builders are free to choose if they don’t want to adopt it.

The calls being run are open to everyone - However some “council” would be required to make the final decisions. We are asking team members of OCL, Foundation, ARDC, Entropy and other key stakeholders of Arbitrum if they want to get involved.

Thanks. I think these are good perspectives that we need to take into consideration for the final proposal.

I fully agree. We as a DAO have also acted in an isolated way (think the LTIPP - Arbitrum One Only, VS the Superfest).

Yes, there are plenty of solutions in the market with different tradeoffs. The expected analysis should be around security, UX provided, sustainability, alignment with Arbitrum ecosystem, ecc

In regards to the clearing layer

All solutions from all layers exist in the open market. However, for the system to be sustainable, it needs to be bootstrapped.

It’s unlikely that a solver will support a new, small chain from day 1 if other chains already have higher volume—the opportunity cost of their capital is too high.

Additionally, since Orbit chains are mostly long-tail chains, they often lack direct connections with CEXs, making that option unavailable.

As for “canonical solutions,” they are not fully live and don’t address the issue. These solutions either function in a one-directional manner (eg Chain Mesh is unlikely to be used for Chain X → Arbitrum; it will primarily support Arbitrum → Chain X), or involve high trust assumptions (like Fast Withdrawals, which rely on a trusted committee and are recommended only for AnyTrust chains).

Clearing layers simplify and improve efficiency for solvers, enabling even smaller solvers to increase profitability and support long-tail chains. They can also be incentivized only when they provide value, rather than requiring indefinite incentives.

I fully support this, once the stack is defined we should push for a wide adoption within the Arbitrum ecosystem.
I also think Across is one of the great solutions out there and you guys should apply for the RFP.

3 Likes

I am familiar with Everclear and from an across perspective (for relayers), its great that relayers have this as another option!

My original point wasn’t questioning Everclear but questioning the RFP for the clearing layer as it is a bit confusing because everclear is the only protocol that will apply as other solutions (CEX, canonical) aren’t a protocol and can’t apply for this. I’m not too bothered about this tbh, and I was wondering whether other solutions would be researched and presented too really.

I would rather focus on seeing how this proposal can incorporate some of the ideas such as superbridgg in a more short term manner till the stack is defined. It will take a while to define the stack so in the mean time, what can be done?

4 Likes

Recap of the Open community call for Chain Abstraction on Thursday, October 24th

###Transcript and audio: Embracing Chain Abstraction Package: Proposal walk-through, Q&A

SLIDES: Arbitrum and Orbits > Embracing Chain Abstraction - Google Slides

Summary:

The meeting discussed the Chain Abstraction Package proposal aimed at enhancing Arbitrum’s appeal to developers by creating a compelling value proposition. Max Lomu highlighted the need for interoperability and chain abstraction to make Arbitrum more attractive, comparing it to other ecosystems like ZK and super chains. The proposal includes setting up a working group to align with ecosystem players, conduct research, and create a snapshot for a larger budget request. The working group will focus on ensuring a seamless user experience across different chains, leveraging existing solutions like intents and liquidity bridges. The timeline aims for a full DAO proposal by December and implementation by Q2 2023.

Action Items

  • Allocate a mini-budget to a work stream for research and ecosystem alignment.
  • Post a snapshot proposal to the DAO next week for the initial budget allocation.
  • Gather feedback from the community and incorporate FAQs into the proposal.
  • Organize community calls to

Outline

Introduction and Participant Introductions

  • AplOttr initiates the meeting by asking participants to introduce themselves.
  • Matt Fiebach from EntropyAdvisors introduces himself and mentions his delegation link.
  • Peng from Arbitra introduces himself and mentions he is there to take notes.
  • AplOttr asks if participants were on the bi-weekly discussion call on Tuesday and confirms most were present.

Overview of the Proposal

  • Max Lomu from Everclear begins the presentation, emphasizing the need to make Arbitrum more appealing to builders.
  • Max explains the goal of creating a compelling value proposition for developers to build on Arbitrum.
  • He outlines the current state of Arbitrum and its advantages compared to other ecosystems.
  • Max highlights the lack of cohesion and narrative within the Arbitrum ecosystem compared to other chains like ZK and super chains.

Challenges and Solutions for Arbitrum

  • Max discusses the isolation felt by developers launching orbit chains and the lack of immediate composability.
  • He introduces the concept of Chain Mesh, a project by Offchain Labs to allow one rollup to trust another rollup.
  • Max explains how Chain Mesh will enable fast movement of tokens between chains like Arbitrum and Psi.
  • He compares Chain Mesh to the super chain narrative, emphasizing the need for a similar cohesive vision for Arbitrum.

Chain Abstraction and User Experience

  • Max introduces the concept of Chain Abstraction, which aims to provide a seamless user experience across different chains.
  • He explains how Chain Abstraction allows users to interact with applications without thinking about the underlying chain.
  • Max outlines the tools and services needed to enable Chain Abstraction, including solvers and liquidity bridges.
  • He emphasizes the importance of Arbitrum as a central hub for liquidity and DeFi opportunities.

Interoperability and Technical Implementation

  • Matt Fiebach raises concerns about creating a unified user experience with different trust assumptions across chains.
  • Max explains that builders will make the right choices in terms of security and trustlessness, abstracting complexities for users.
  • DK and other participants discuss the technical implementation and risks associated with Chain Abstraction.
  • Max clarifies that the goal is to encourage builders to deploy on orbit chains and provide a seamless user experience.

Next Steps and Working Group Formation

  • AplOttr outlines the next steps, including allocating a mini budget for research and alignment with ecosystem players.
  • The roadmap includes a forum discussion, snapshot proposal, and full budget proposals to the DAO by December.
  • AplOttr emphasizes the need for alignment with OCL Foundation and other large ecosystem players.
  • The working group will focus on gathering requirements, creating alignment, and producing clear deliverables for the DAO.

Community Calls and Participant Feedback

  • AplOttr mentions upcoming community calls to level up the DAO and gather different perspectives.
  • The calls will cover the current state of Arbitrum, chain abstraction, and builder perspectives.
  • Participants discuss the importance of involving different stakeholders and experts in the working group.
  • Matt Fiebach suggests running an RFP to assess risks involved with different bridging solutions.

Final Questions and Clarifications

  • Participants ask about the timeline for pushing the proposal to deployment and the potential for starting research now.
  • Max explains that the goal is to create a package for new orbit chains, encouraging market convergence towards Arbitrum.
  • AplOttr and Max emphasize the importance of not creating any walls or preventing market flourishing.
  • The meeting concludes with a focus on ensuring the working group aligns with the DAO’s vision and addresses all technical and cultural aspects.
5 Likes

We believe interoperability is a key point of discussion, thank you @maxlomu for bringing it up.

As of today, the user experience when interacting with DeFi is disconnected, with both users and liquidity fragmented across a variety of different chains. This has proven a key issue with the raise of L2s and alternative L1s.
Therefore, it feels essential to discuss this topic in the context of Arbitrum Orbit chains to hopefully avoid replicating the same issues of fragmented user experience and liquidity inefficiency.

Optimism decided to solve the issue natively within the Superchain, while Arbitrum hasn’t. Indeed, this feels like a competitive disadvantage for Arbitrum Orbit both from a technical and a narrative perspective.

As part of its recent unveiling of Unichain, Uniswap tackled a similar problem as the one discussed here. While they obtain native interoperability within the Superchain, Uniswap still needs to deal with users and liquidity spread across deployments on various chains.

Similarly, Arbitrum Orbit chains needs to deal with users and liquidity spread across its various Orbit chains.

This long premise to say we agree on the motivation and understand the rationale of this proposal. However, we believe it is essential for this initiative to align with the vision and work of both Offchain Labs and the Arbitrum Foundation.

Are Offchain Labs and the Arbitrum Foundation onboard with the DAO leading this initiative? and, are they open for collaboration with whoever the DAO selects?

Up to this point, all major technical upgrades have come from the core team. As this would be a main change in how Arbitrum works, this initiative needs to be in close collaboration with Offchain Labs and the Arbitrum Foundation. A disjointed effort would lead to suboptimal results, other than waste of resources.

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Interoperability between chains is an important feature, and will be an important continued narrative and technical differentiator as other chains like Optimism continue to develop their offering in this area. Arbitrum should for sure be looking in to how to enable this for the relevant Orbit chains.

That said, this proposal is typical of proposals to the DAO in that it has limited information about deliverables and budget and timeline. We would like to see far more details about the costs and expected outputs before voting for this proposal.

With a clear budget and deliverables, we would be in support of this proposal as it is a necessary technical step for Arbitrum ecosystem.

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Thank you for putting this post together. OCL fully agrees that interoperability is a high priority for the Arbitrum ecosystem. Our research, engineering, and product teams have been exploring both shorter term and longer term approaches to enhancing interop. As part of this, we’ve been reviewing the various interoperability proposals and how we believe that they can work together to provide a level of interoperability in the near-term. We’ve also been continuing to explore longer-term protocol enhancements like chain meshes. We’re excited to see the growing interest in interop across the ecosystem and are eager to collaborate on future work on this topic. We’d be happy to discuss further and hope to share more information about our current thinking soon.

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The following reflects the views of the Lampros Labs DAO governance team, composed of Chain_L (@Blueweb), @Euphoria, and Hirangi Pandya (@Nyx), based on our combined research, analysis, and ideation.

We would like to thank @maxlomu for presenting this proposal while the narrative out is around Chain Abstraction & we as a leading DAO shall act towards capturing the market. The timing of the proposal is apt.

We listened to the presentation & were able to see the research already put in before the proposal. The effort put into the proposal to make clear the entire concept along with examples at every layer helps further clear the doubts accumulated at the start of the proposal.

The lack of a cohesive ecosystem among the Arbitrum Orbit chain has led to not many conversations around Arbitrum Clusters or Chain Mesh.

As the proposal is to move forward with a working group to research more on this topic, we are supportive of the same.

A few questions we have are -

  1. Will we vote on Snapshot with the cost for an initial working group? If so, we believe a two-month working group with 4-6 members with deep technical & Arbitrum understanding will suffice & we would be willing to support that.

Had a few more questions but the post by @AlexLumley & the proposal over here along with the presentation at the bi-weekly call have provided clarity.

Moreover, the comment from offchainlabs reassures our support.

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Thank you, @maxlomu, for this RFC. I learned about it during last week’s Governance call. As a new delegate, it helped me better understand the strategy of Arbitrum and its key technical strengths.

In my opinion, positioning Arbitrum as the chain abstraction ecosystem should be a core goal to increase activity and TVL. This is a key KPI that can be monitored to measure the efficiency of such an initiative. I just noticed that Base has now surpassed Arbitrum in TVL; the competition is indeed fierce. In my view, an ecosystem that enables account abstraction, shared liquidity, and maximises network effects will succeed in attracting builders, applications, users and TVL.

Additionally, there is a significant branding aspect in this competitive space. The term ‘Superchain’ may have initially seemed a bit ‘pushy,’ but it has apparently gained traction, and now everyone is incorporating it into their communications (e.g., UniChain, as mentioned).

In my opinion, this initiative could be an opportunity for Arbitrum to promote the ‘chain abstraction narrative’ with some distinctive branding and recognizable keywords. The current terminology of ‘Arbitrum and Orbit Chains’ might suggest more fragmentation than an ecosystem unified by chain abstraction, especially compared to the competition from a unified 'Superchain.’ However, I understand that branding is a complex topic and I don’t have the full history about Arbirum ones, so might be a bit off-topic there. ( Also narrative, branding seems not to be the only aspects to attract big players Kraken Picked Optimism's 'Superchain' After Getting a Pile of OP Tokens … )

I support this initiative, provided that the budget allocated aligns with industry standards and reputable service providers are onboarded during the RFP phase. Good to see the support of OCL and I am eager to witness how this progresses with a live working group !

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