Ed Felten, co-founder and chief scientist at Offchain Labs, which developed Arbitrum, revealed that Arbitrum's fraud proofs have not been invoked on its mainnet since its inception in August 2021. This indicates that no validator has challenged another over potential dishonesty or inaccuracies in transaction batches.
Ethereum's layer-2 solutions, aimed at enhancing the primary Ethereum blockchain's scalability and speed, have introduced a range of innovative mechanisms. Among these, the fraud-proof system stands out, especially in light of Arbitrum's performance since its mainnet release.
Arbitrum, operating as an Ethereum layer-2, employs an interactive multi-round fraud proof system. Validators suspecting irregularities in transaction assembly can submit a fraud proof. A layer-1 verifier contract then evaluates this submission's validity. Valid suspicions result in the fraudulenmt validator's stake being slashed, providing a significant deterrent for potential malicious activities.
A quick comparison could be worth taking in this aspect, that is to say, between Arbitrum and Optimism. While both Arbitrum and Optimism serve as optimistic rollups within Ethereum's layer-2 infrastructure, their fraud-proof methodologies differ. Arbitrum adopts a multi-round process, emphasizing robustness but requiring extended confirmation times. In contrast, Optimism's single-round method focuses on promptness.
BOLD Protocol and Arbitrum Stylus
Felten highlighted the forthcoming "BOLD" protocol, or Bounded Liquidity Delay. This protocol aims to streamline the challenge issuance process, targeting fraudulent activities within approximately eight days, irrespective of the number of stakes involved.
Notably, Arbitrum is transitioning towards permitting a more extensive range of participants in its fraud proof feature, further democratizing the process of ensuring chain correctness during challenges. The BOLD protocol for Arbitrum chains is set to become permissionless, while the codebase is already publicly available through a repository maintained by Offchain Labs.
Alongside these primary developments, Offchain Labs has also introduced the Arbitrum Stylus, a tool that aids smart contract development across multiple languages, marking another stride in the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem's advancements.
With these innovations, Ethereum's layer-2 solutions continue their bid for a blend of robust security measures and operational efficiency. Arbitrum's record with its fraud proofs showcases the efforts by blockchain developers, to realize a resilient, performant, and reliable blockchain ecosystems.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
