Authors: Zhixiong Pan & Haotian

Translation: WuBlockchain

Beam Chain proposes a redesign of Ethereum’s consensus layer by integrating the latest research advancements, aiming for a safe and swift transition from the current Beacon Chain to the Beam Chain, which more closely resembles Ethereum’s ultimate design.

Key Information Includes:

1. Scope of Redesign: Beam Chain focuses solely on the consensus layer, excluding the data layer (e.g., blobs) and execution layer (EVM), as these are directly used by applications and require forward compatibility. This allows significant improvements in the consensus layer.

2. Reasons for Redesign:

• Beacon Chain Aging: The Beacon Chain’s specifications were frozen five years ago, during which both technology and understanding have advanced significantly.

• Deeper Understanding of MEV: Over the past five years, our understanding of Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) has deepened, and mechanisms have been developed to mitigate its adverse effects.

• Breakthroughs in SNARK and ZKVM Technology: Zero-knowledge proof technologies have achieved significant performance improvements, and ZKVM now enables non-cryptographic experts to utilize these technologies.

• Opportunity to Address Technical Debt: The Beacon Chain has accrued technical debt, and a redesign offers a chance to resolve these issues.

3. Incorporating Latest Consensus Layer Roadmap Milestones: Beam Chain plans to implement nine major items in the consensus layer roadmap, grouped into three categories:

• Block Production: Improving MEV handling, enhancing censorship resistance, introducing inclusion lists, achieving proposer-builder separation, and shortening slot times.

• Staking: Correcting issuance curves, reducing the minimum validator stake from 32 ETH to 1 ETH, and achieving single-slot finality.

• Cryptography: Implementing real-time SNARKing of the consensus layer and employing post-quantum secure cryptographic schemes.

4. Advantages of Batch Upgrades: Implementing multiple major upgrades simultaneously yields both technical and governance benefits. Known as “accelerated ossification,” this aims to bring Ethereum into maintenance mode sooner, reducing long-term uncertainty.

5. Technical Implementations:

• Utilizing ZKVM and SNARK Technologies: Adding zero-knowledge proofs to the consensus layer for improved security and efficiency.

• Introducing Hash-Based Post-Quantum Aggregatable Signatures: Enhances security and flexibility, allowing for infinitely recursive signature aggregation.

• Reusing Existing Infrastructure and Teams: Leveraging existing network libraries (like libp2p), serialization libraries (SSZ), specifications (PySpec), and client teams to expedite development.

Challenges Include:

1. Technical Complexity: Implementing real-time SNARKing and post-quantum cryptography entails significant technical hurdles, including changes to hash functions, signature schemes, and state serialization methods.

2. Risk Management: Implementing multiple major changes at once increases systemic risk, requiring rigorous testing and validation to ensure network security.

3. Community Consensus and Coordination: Broad community support and consensus are needed, along with the coordination of multiple client teams, which involves onboarding new teams and training on new technologies.

4. Timeline Delays: The complexity of the upgrade may lead to delays, necessitating flexibility and contingency plans.

5. Standardization and Compatibility: Due to the diversity of ZKVMs, ensuring compatibility across implementations is crucial to avoid fragmentation. Keeping the consensus layer ZKVM-agnostic reduces complexity.

6. Security and Stability: New technologies must be implemented without introducing new vulnerabilities, ensuring the long-term security and sustainability of the Ethereum network.

7. Adoption and Testing of New Technology: Extensive and deep testing, potentially spanning several years, is required to ensure the safe deployment of new technology on mainnet.

In summary, Beam Chain is an ambitious proposal aiming to achieve substantial progress in Ethereum’s consensus layer in terms of performance, security, and sustainability through a large-scale upgrade. However, it comes with technical and governance challenges that require concerted community effort and thorough testing and validation.

Ethereum 3.0 Upgrade is Not a Threat to L2: Ridiculous Rumor

It’s truly outrageous. Over the past few days, while attending sessions at Devcon, I’ve come across rumors that Ethereum’s planned upgrade to “Ethereum 3.0 — Beam Chain” spells doom for layer 2s. This unfounded claim has needlessly impacted layer 2s, triggering a dip. In fact, the upgrade is a huge positive! Here’s my quick take to clear things up:

1. Don’t Assume “New Chain” Means Fork or New Token Issuance: As Justin Drake explained, Beam Chain is simply an upgrade to the Beacon Chain. It’s currently only a proposal and is far from being launched. Additionally, it strictly follows Ethereum’s existing roadmap. Ethereum has long been structured as the Beacon Chain (consensus layer) plus the EVM execution chain, both parts forming the chain we know as Ethereum. The Beacon Chain serves as the consensus layer, while the EVM functions as the execution layer. Just because “chain” is in the name doesn’t mean it’s something entirely new. Beam Chain is simply a transitional upgrade to the Beacon Chain, having no effect on the Ethereum chain’s execution.

So, where is “Ethereum 3.0” coming from?

2. Why Upgrade the Beacon Chain?:

Ethereum’s EVM execution layer has a setup where Proposers (project managers), Relays (workers), and Validators (quality inspectors) each play distinct roles. When users submit transactions to the mempool, Builders select transactions from the pool and package them, ordering them as they build the block. Relays then distribute the constructed block, and the Proposer selects the optimal block, with final validation by Validators.

Currently, centralized Builders like Flashbots have significant influence over transaction order, which enables Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) and conflicts with Ethereum’s broader strategic goals. Therefore, Justin proposed a solution: adding an inclusion list to the block built by Builders, essentially a mandatory transaction list. If centralization or interference occurs within the Builder or Relay, Validators can check the inclusion list and reject blocks lacking key transactions. This inclusion list strengthens Ethereum’s block production process against censorship.

However, adding an inclusion list requires integration at the consensus layer, which the current Beacon Chain cannot support — hence the need for the Beam Chain upgrade. With Beam Chain, required transactions will be publicly displayed, enabling Validators to reject blocks in case of any issues at the execution layer.

Additionally, the “Pectal” upgrade would reduce the staking threshold from 32 ETH to 1 ETH, impacting the Beacon Chain’s economic and management logic and necessitating a major upgrade. As Ethereum advances towards “The Verge” phase with full SNARKs, the Beacon Chain and EVM verification processes will also benefit from SNARK optimization. This shift, along with Ethereum’s goal to resist quantum-based attacks, involves changing signature verification mechanisms, further increasing Ethereum’s security.

Beam Chain, then, is simply a series of planned preparations aligned with Ethereum’s roadmap.

3. Why Beam Chain Benefits, Not Threatens, Layer 2s!

First, Ethereum has long committed to a rollup-centric scalability strategy, and Beam Chain’s upgrade will not alter this. Even if Justin intended otherwise, the proposal wouldn’t gain community approval.

Second, while Beam Chain will aid mainnet scalability through SNARKs, which shift Ethereum from verifying all data to merely validating proofs, the benefits differ from layer 2 scaling. SNARK-based mainnet expansion reduces operational costs, whereas layer 2s manage traffic and user applications. Mainnet scalability, then, doesn’t diminish layer 2’s role.

Furthermore, Vitalik Buterin recently proposed that Ethereum’s SNARK-based framework could accommodate “alt-VMs” alongside the EVM at the mainnet level. Outstanding layer 2 alt-VMs might be integrated with mainnet, executing transactions across Ethereum’s ecosystem. In that scenario, Beam Chain’s role expands, and the upgrade becomes even more crucial. This would allow interoperable layer 2 operation, fitting into the broader layer 2 growth strategy.

If Ethereum adopts a modular approach with alt-VMs, some standout layer 2s could have a direct “promotion path” to mainnet. This will optimize and refine layer 2s, resulting in a net positive impact rather than a threat.

In short, we should look forward to the coming era of ZK rollups, rather than spreading FUD based on unfounded assumptions.

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