Aves Liar: Detailed Explanation of Artela Public Chain - EVM++ Unlocks Scalability and Extensibility

Original Title: “ARTELA: PROVIDING SCALABILITY AND EXTENSIBILITY WITH 'EVM++'”

Authors: Evan Hsu, Vice President of Investments at Aves Lair; Philipp Hamer, Investment Analyst at Aves Lair

Compiled by: BlockBeats

Introduction to Artela

Artela is a scalable Layer 1 blockchain network that provides a platform for developers to build modular, feature-rich, scalable, and customizable applications in an EVM-compatible environment. Artela promotes a solution called "EVM++," where "++" signifies that Artela will break through the limitations of EVM from the perspectives of Scalability and Extensibility, offering developers more chain-native possibilities.

EVM has become the standard framework for developing decentralized applications (dApps) and is widely adopted across various smart contract chains, commonly referred to as EVM-compatible chains. However, virtual machines like EVM are optimized for specific use cases, which may limit developers' flexibility in application design. For instance, EVM prioritizes security and accessibility, aiming for network stability. Extending EVM's capabilities through the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) process requires approval from the Ethereum Foundation. This process can be time-consuming and restricts developers' freedom to modify or create certain components at the user level.

Developers seeking to bypass these limitations have turned to creating application chains (app-chains) to extend functionality. While this approach allows for greater customization, developers face not only higher development and operational costs but also the loss of on-chain composability. Although other alternatives like MoveVM and FuelVM aim to provide virtual machines that go beyond EVM, transitioning to these platforms may involve switching costs for developers accustomed to the EVM environment. Furthermore, achieving the same level of ecosystem maturity as EVM may take considerable time due to the loss of composability with existing development tools and EVM-based applications.

Artela aims to extend EVM capabilities by addressing its current limitations in customizability without requiring dApps to compromise or operate on fragmented appchains. By introducing "Aspect programming," Artela enables developers to create native extensions or "Aspects" that execute custom code in a WebAssembly (WASM) runtime environment. By leveraging WASM for EVM extensions, developers can build practical applications without sacrificing performance and the advantages of EVM.

Additionally, Artela addresses the inherent performance challenges of EVM by implementing parallel execution, facilitating the simultaneous processing of multiple transactions. This significantly enhances throughput and scalability, especially during peak usage periods. Developers benefit from this feature as it optimizes resource utilization and increases transaction speed. Furthermore, Artela mitigates network congestion through Elastic Block Space, allowing large-scale dApps to subscribe to independent block space, thereby alleviating congestion impacts while ensuring scalability without the need for appchains.

Now that we have outlined the challenges Artela addresses through its technical design choices, the article will delve deeper into these aspects.

Artela Uses EVM+WASM Solution for Native Extensions

What is Extension?

An extension is a software module that expands or enhances the functionality of an application. In the context of operating systems, general operating systems distinguish between kernel mode and user mode, with user applications typically running in user mode, utilizing functionalities provided by kernel mode programs. However, Mac OS X allows application developers to deploy programs in kernel mode to extend kernel functionality without requiring the MacOS X core team to encapsulate features based on general developer needs. The core mechanisms provided by Mac OS X are "kernel extensions" and "system extensions." These two types of extensions allow developers to develop kernel extensions under certain security modes, utilizing higher privilege functionalities that pure user-mode applications cannot achieve.

Application-Specific Functionality via Uniswap v4 Hook

Perspective

Similar to how Mac OS X extends application functionality through kernel extensions, Uniswap v4 introduces Hook functionality, expanding the capabilities of the Uniswap application. Hooks provide developers with the ability to add custom functionalities at specific stages of the trading pool. This feature significantly enhances operational flexibility and freedom, enabling developers to perform actions such as setting on-chain limit orders before a trade begins, extracting transaction fees from swap trades and liquidity withdrawals, and allowing LP holders to earn additional MEV income. The introduction of Hook functionality broadens the range of possibilities within the trading pool, facilitating the creation of customized extensions that meet diverse user needs.

Despite the potential of Uniswap v4's functionality, it has not been fully implemented. While Hooks enable custom functionalities, the pace of innovation remains constrained by the limitations of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Returning to the example of "kernel" and "user" modes, to further enhance its capabilities, developers must wait for upgrades through the Ethereum Improvement Proposal process, which is overseen by the Ethereum Foundation.

Native Extensions of Artela

Inspired by the architecture of Mac OS X, the Artela team proposes that, in addition to supporting "smart contracts" on the blockchain protocol, Aspects, akin to kernel extensions, are native extensions on the Artela blockchain. Here’s how Aspects extend EVM functionality:

• They have access to underlying base layer APIs and can compose with smart contracts and other Aspects.
• Their code executes using WASM, creating a more efficient execution environment than EVM.
• Their execution is securely isolated, not affecting the security and stability of the blockchain.
• In terms of governance, they are not maintained by a core team but are deployed and maintained by application teams.

By leveraging Aspects, application developers can customize the underlying functionalities their applications require without waiting for the core team to encapsulate them. Given their composability, application developers can utilize pre-built Aspects to build feature-rich applications on Artela. The Artela team summarizes this paradigm as the Native Extension Paradigm.

Moreover, since Aspects can access system-level APIs at the base layer, they can natively integrate fundamental functionalities, such as automation, without relying on third-party services like Chainlink. This chain-native extensibility reduces the trust and cost trade-offs involved in introducing third-party service providers to the network. When using third-party services like automated keeper networks to execute on-chain tasks, it introduces additional costs for users and reduces trust due to reliance on external parties. Aspects can natively provide automation functionalities, where WASM can be triggered during transaction or block execution, and Aspects can be programmed to execute predetermined tasks at specific block heights. As there will be more requests for gas, by directly extending this functionality to the base layer, value capture occurs directly through the blockchain.

Automation is just one practical application example of Artela's Aspect programming. Its EVM+WASM solution ultimately enhances dApp functionalities through WASM while maintaining composability with EVM.

Artela provides developers with highly customizable capabilities, applicable to both the application layer of dApps and the underlying performance of the blockchain.

Function Customization:

Smart Contract + Native Extension = Feature-Rich dApp

In Artela, application logic can be divided into two parts (core business and enhancement features):

• Smart contracts primarily handle the core business logic of the dApp, such as trading, lending, or voting logic.
• Aspects handle features that do not directly affect core business logic but can enhance other application attributes (additional functionalities). Aspects complement rather than replace smart contracts.

This mechanism means that Artela has two execution layers running in sync. EVM acts like a CPU, processing core contract logic, while Aspects running on the WASM virtual machine act like a GPU, handling enhancement functionalities without touching the state of smart contracts. EVM and Aspects run on the same node, adopting the same consensus mechanism, thus incurring no additional trust assumptions and sharing the same security level.

Returning to our initial introduction of Uniswap V4, similar to the Hook mechanism in Uniswap V4, Artela's Aspects allow activation at multiple lifecycle points of block and transaction processing. The Hooks in Artela are referred to as Join Points, and the Aspect that executes Hook code can dynamically insert functionalities at various Join Points.

Optimizing dApp Capabilities through WASM Runtime

Artela uses a custom WASM runtime specifically built for executing Aspects, providing several practical advantages for enhancing application capabilities. First, due to its performance optimization and low-level code representation, it can efficiently execute complex logic and computations. Through WASM, Aspects allow developers to build applications without sacrificing performance, which is crucial for ensuring the scalability and responsiveness of decentralized applications. Additionally, WASM's support for multiple programming languages and its modular design offer developers flexibility and ease of integration with existing software ecosystems. Given the development and support from tech giants like Google, Mozilla, and Apple, WASM has been widely adopted and is well-regarded, forming a rich ecosystem of development tools and resources.

Parallel Execution: Enhancing Network Scalability

Artela adopts parallel execution as a scalability solution to reduce network latency and enhance throughput. Artela analyzes transactions to identify which can be processed simultaneously without interfering with each other. By grouping these compatible transactions, Artela can execute multiple sets of transactions concurrently, significantly increasing the volume and quantity of transactions that can be processed within a given period. This approach differs from Ethereum's sequential execution, where each transaction is processed one after another, which can lead to bottlenecks, especially during high traffic periods.

Parallel execution eliminates the need for transactions to wait long periods for confirmation or pay excessively high fees for priority processing. Shorter confirmation times help accelerate transaction finality, which is beneficial for latency-sensitive applications like games or auctions. For example, popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games like League of Legends require low latency to accurately reflect players' sub-second inputs. Similarly, high transaction throughput is crucial for enterprise-level platforms, enabling major financial networks like Visa and Mastercard to process thousands of transactions per second.

The likelihood of Ethereum adopting parallel processing in the short term seems low, as it focuses on a rollup-centric strategy. However, the potential for parallel processing within the EVM ecosystem exists, with projects like Monad and Eclipse exploring parallel processing. Similarly, Sei V2 is attempting to combine parallel execution capabilities with EVM compatibility, allowing Ethereum contracts to redeploy on Sei without modification. This approach reflects Artela's strategy of enhancing scalability while ensuring backward compatibility with EVM.

Artela's integration of parallel processing and Aspects represents a strategic enhancement of its infrastructure. This addresses the current demands for scalability and efficiency while providing developers with a flexible framework. This framework enables the creation of decentralized applications that can meet various use case needs, such as dynamic gaming environments and extensive financial services.

Scalability and Elastic Block Space

As protocols within the Artela network grow, it can subscribe to elastic block space to handle the increase in protocol users and throughput. Elastic block space provides independent block space for dApps with high transaction throughput demands, allowing them to scale as they grow. Essentially, block space determines the amount of data each block in the blockchain can store, directly impacting transaction throughput. When dApps experience surges in transaction demand, subscribing to elastic block space becomes useful for efficiently handling increased loads without affecting the underlying blockchain.

An example of understanding the importance of block space and its impact on transaction costs is the release of Yuga Labs' Otherside NFTs, which led to a sharp rise in gas prices (up to 500 gwei). During this event, the total gas spent on transactions on Ethereum reached $225 million. The demand for block space significantly exceeded supply. This means that even if only one application congested the network, users of other applications on Ethereum also had to face the same high gas fees.

While it is possible to increase the transaction volume per block on Ethereum, we already know that upgrading EVM requires a lengthy EIP process and development time. Additionally, the Ethereum network intentionally ensures that most participants can access the computational hardware requirements. Therefore, if the data per block increases, the storage and computational requirements for validators will also increase, creating higher entry barriers and potentially threatening Ethereum's spirit of decentralization.

Solana addresses this challenge by implementing a unique solution of "local" fee markets. During events, such as spikes in swap transactions or NFT releases, transactions related to specific events face rising fees. For example, during an NFT release, NFT issuers quickly consume the computational unit (CU) limits of each account. Further transactions must raise priority fees to be processed within the limited space of that account. This approach prevents any single event from monopolizing scarce block space, limiting temporal fee spikes and reducing congestion across the network.

Artela further extends the concept of localized fee markets seen in Solana by providing additional block space for dApps to cope with surges in transaction demand, thereby preventing fee spikes and congestion across the entire network. This approach not only mitigates the negative impacts of sudden demand peaks but also ensures stable transaction costs and network efficiency. By providing this mechanism, allowing dApps to scale their block space according to anticipated demand, Artela's elastic block space enables protocols to handle rapid growth in protocol users and throughput. Looking ahead, one can envision a block space market facilitated by Aspects, where dApp teams can buy and sell block space. This market could offer more cost-effective or convenient package options for dApps, potentially including pre-purchase discounts when buying block space, similar to energy markets.

Use Cases

The cryptocurrency market is on the brink of breakthrough, with a growing user-driven demand for on-chain product functionalities. The limitations of on-chain programming are becoming increasingly apparent, with areas such as secure DeFi, crypto AI, and full-chain gaming highlighting the need for programming scalability. Artela possesses unique advantages and innovative potential in fields like AI, full-chain gaming, and DeFi security. It has the potential to overcome challenges that pure EVM blockchains struggle to achieve.

Preventing Exploits through Aspects

One specific application case of Aspects is to prevent smart contract hacks by executing Aspects at specific conjunction points of transactions. Aspects monitor and trace the call stack, setting risk control rules that can detect repeated calls, which are indicative of potential reentrancy attacks. If an attack is detected, Aspects can roll back malicious transactions, effectively thwarting the attack and preventing any loss of funds.

Implementing this in native smart contracts is unlikely, as Solidity cannot access the complete transaction context, including state changes and call stacks. Even if such data were provided, the associated gas costs would render it impractical.

Leveraging Aspects to deploy security strategies like this significantly raises the security standards of the blockchain. As blockchain technology sees widespread adoption and becomes a platform for large-scale financial transactions, we also anticipate that Aspects can play a role in developing enterprise-level on-chain risk control logic. Current solutions focus on off-chain risk management tools, which bring inherent risks, such as reliance on external entities like oracles or third-party services, introducing trust dependencies.

By enabling more robust on-chain security and risk management approaches, Aspects pave the way for large institutions to consider blockchain technology as a viable component of their technological infrastructure, thereby expanding the adoption and practicality of blockchain technology in more mainstream and critical applications.

Full-Chain Gaming

Artela's technical design choices are well-suited to support the development and hosting of full-chain games on its blockchain. Full-chain games can benefit from the flexibility of Aspects and the high-performance characteristics of the Artela blockchain, leading to innovative game designs that leverage the inherent interoperability and immutability of blockchain.

An interesting use case for Aspects is building a large-scale multiplayer online (MMO) game with a persistent world environment. Drawing inspiration from traditional MMO games like Eve Online, which has gathered 50 million players, it demonstrates the demand for player-driven narratives and economies in sandbox environments. Full-chain games can further advance this concept by permanently embedding each player's actions and their impacts into the blockchain.

However, due to the customizability and transaction processing limitations of EVM, many blockchain game studios have either kept game logic entirely off-chain while integrating on-chain components (like NFTs or tokens) or adopted a hybrid on-chain/off-chain approach. To optimize the development of full-chain games, two key factors are needed: (1) the ability to incorporate advanced functionalities into game logic, and (2) ensuring low latency for a seamless user experience.

Returning to the example of a persistent world, Aspects can automate game state changes triggered by player actions. In an online multiplayer game, for instance, players' actions trigger changes in the game map or environment. This requires the game state to refresh automatically at predefined intervals. The challenge is that, to achieve this, the computational demands may become impractical. Artela effectively overcomes the inherent computational constraints of EVM by using the WASM virtual machine. By delegating specific logic and state updates to WASM, EVM can focus on simpler functionalities, such as transferring NFTs and tokens. This efficiency allows a persistent on-chain world to automatically execute batch computations and updates without affecting gameplay or transaction speed. Given the high-performance characteristics of the WASM execution environment, this opens the door to more types of full-chain games that require low latency.

Artificial Intelligence

AI and blockchain technology have promising synergies, particularly in enhancing data security and transparency. Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning (zkML) applies zero-knowledge proofs to machine learning, enabling the verification of computations or predictions without exposing underlying data or model details. As Vitalik Buterin emphasized, "cryptographic gadgets, especially general ones like ZK-SNARKs and MPC, have high overhead." Modulus Labs further illustrates this challenge, noting that the resource intensity of zkML processes is over a thousand times that of direct computation, with an average proof generation time of 173 seconds using RISC Zero. Similar to Risc Zero, Artela can leverage WASM to increase the execution speed of complex ML algorithms and manage large datasets. Despite these advancements, even with WASM optimizations, the average proof generation time remains quite long, and the associated costs challenge the feasibility of zkML as a competitive solution.

However, Artela introduces an innovative framework called "Heterogeneous Aspect" to address these limitations. Heterogeneous Aspects leverage the diversity of computational resources and network access, potentially simplifying the execution of cryptographic operations like zero-knowledge proofs and multi-party computation (MPC). By making the distribution and processing of these computationally intensive tasks more efficient, Heterogeneous Aspects could significantly reduce the overhead associated with zero-knowledge proofs and MPC.

While Heterogeneous Aspects are still a new concept, their potential to improve zkML computational efficiency and lower deployment barriers indicates a promising pathway for integrating AI models into blockchain platforms, thereby enhancing the coverage and feasibility of these technologies for broader use cases.

Conclusion

In summary, Artela provides developers with a blockchain development platform conducive to rapid innovation and adaptability. Its integration of native extensions and Aspect programming enables it to overcome EVM constraints, facilitating the development of a range of practical applications. The performance and scalability offered by Aspects executed through WASM present a competitive solution compared to app-chains while still allowing access to EVM-based applications and toolsets. Additionally, the composability of Aspects simplifies dApp development by allowing developers to access pre-existing functionality libraries and the ability to create new features at the base layer, enabling the simulation of functionalities typically provided by third-party service providers within a single application. Given these practical advantages, we anticipate significant growth in Artela's developer ecosystem.

Artela has raised over $6 million in seed funding, led by Shima Capital, with participation from Aves Lair, A&T Capital, Big Brain Holdings, SevenX Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Amino Capital, and others.

Special thanks to the Artela team for their valuable insights and contributions to this article. To learn more about Artela, please click here .

About Aves Lair

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