We give every user their own blockspace

Linera is a layer-1 blockchain protocol that introduces microchains to bring unprecedented horizontal scalability to web3

Introducing microchains

Linera redefines blockchain scalability by pioneering microchains – lightweight chains that operate in parallel within a common set of validators. The Linera system scales by adding chains, not by increasing the size or the production rate of blocks.

OUR CHALLENGE

What if you could take a step back and design a layer-1 that scales from the start?

Technology

The competition for blockspace in traditional Layer 1 blockchains, coupled with limited production rates and block sizes, creates a bottleneck during traffic peaks, leaving users outpriced or delayed, rendering the infrastructure effectively unavailable.

This is in part due to the design of the infrastructure itself: architectures based on a single chain make users compete for blockspace. This makes sense for applications that require a shared state between all users (e.g. AMMs, order books, flash loans). Yet, many applications are more naturally organized in terms of user accounts and objects.

  • Linera pushes the FastPay research further by generalizing its execution and communication models to support smart contracts and arbitrary asynchronous messages between chains.

    Linera is the first blockchain to introduce the concept of microchains, lightweight blockchains that run in parallel in a single set of validators.

    The Linera system scales by adding chains, not by increasing the size or the production rate of blocks. The number of microchains present in the Linera system is meant to be unlimited, thereby providing unlimited blockspace as a service.

  • In Linera, a validator is a web2-like service that validates and executes all the chains.

    During times of high demand, validators scale elastically by dividing their workload between as many internal workers (aka shards) as needed, bringing the scalability of web2 to web3.

  • Microchains reflect an evolution from single monolithic chains to app chains to user chains. Linera’s model introduces a paradigm shift comparable to the evolution of databases from SQL to NoSQL, paving the way for the next generation of web3 applications.

    Through microchains, Linera brings end users (more specifically, their user wallets) back at the center of the protocol. Its groundbreaking microchain model grants each individual user their own lightweight chains, which integrate into browser extensions or mobile devices for streamlined web3 app interactions within their wallets.

    Linera optimizes performance for web3 applications used by a large number of active users in parallel, enabling unprecedented horizontal scalability for use cases such as:

    • Retail payments and gaming micro-rewards;

    • Messaging, social data feeds, and turn-based games;

    • Proprietary trading;

    • Version control systems for software, data pipelines, or AI training.

  • The initial Linera SDK is now available for testing, targeting Rust developers. The programming model of Linera does not depend on a specific programming language, so that more languages (e.g. Solidity) may be supported in the future.

    For our virtual machine, we are impressed by the WebAssembly (Wasm) ecosystem, which is rapidly developing at the intersection of web development, cloud infrastructure, and blockchain.

    Using Rust as a source language to build Wasm applications, Rust programmers can work in their preferred environments, making it as easy as possible for developers to build on Linera.

For the first time, a variety of Web3 applications have the opportunity to scale elastically by taking advantage of inexpensive and efficient multi-chain architecture.

What we offer


Responsiveness

When microchains are operated by a single user, Linera uses a simplified mempool-free consensus protocol inspired by reliable broadcast. This reduces block latency and ultimately makes Web3 applications more responsive.

Composability

Compared to other multi-chain systems, low block latency also helps with composability: it allows receivers of asynchronous messages from another chain to quickly answer by adding a new block.

Security

Linera relies on delegated proof of stake (DPoS) for security. Compared to traditional multi-chain systems, a benefit of running all the microchains in the same set of validators is that creating chains does not impact the security model of Linera.

Decentralization

Each microchain can be separately executed on commodity hardware. This allows clients and auditors to continuously run their own verifications and hold validators accountable.

Building on Linera

We want to make it as easy as possible for developers to build on Linera. The programming model of Linera does not depend on a specific programming language. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to concentrate our efforts on WebAssembly (Wasm) and Rust for the initial execution layer of Linera.

By making multi-chain programming fast and scalable, Linera introduces a paradigm shift comparable to the evolution of databases from SQL to NoSQL, paving the way for the next generation of Web3 applications. We are excited to see how developers take advantage of this unique architecture and performance capabilities.

Build with us 

Join our community to keep up the Linera project, including the availability of our Devnet. We look forward to continuing the discussion and hearing from you how our infrastructure can support what you build next.