L2 Planet Learn: Cyber
In this issue of L2 Planet, we will deep dive into Cyber, the next-gen social L2 network.
About CyberConnect
CyberConnect is a decentralized social protocol with a focus on identity sovereignty, aiming to foster mass adoption and network effects. It empowers users to create decentralized and portable profiles on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchains using their central identities. Founded by Wilson Wei, Ryan Li, Shiyu Zhang, and Zhimao Liu in November 2022, CyberConnect secured $25 million in funding from prominent investors such as Multicoin, Binance Lab, Animoca Brands, Hashed, The Spartan Group, Delphi Digital, and others.
The flagship product of CyberConnect is Link3, a web3 professional network where verified identities facilitate value-based communication. Over the past year alone, Link3 has attracted more than 2 million users who have completed over 20 million transactions, resulting in a total expenditure of over $2.6 million in gas fees through the CyberConnect social network protocol. Now, the team is poised to usher in a new era of a more robust and efficient social network.
What is Layer-2?
Layer-2 or L2 is a scalability solution that executes transactions off-chain and publishes transaction data and If exists proof to the L1 network.
There are several L2 solutions but today builders focus on Rollups which is the most efficient and secure solution. There are two type of Rollups, zkRollups and Optimistic Rollups. Rollups consist of a series of smart contracts and an actor known as the sequencer. The most important smart contract for rollups is the bridge contract. To conduct transactions on L2, users must use the native bridge contract or third-party bridges. So, how does a transaction cycle occur in rollups?
Bob transfers his assets to the Rollup using either the native bridge or a third-party bridge.
Bob signs a transaction on the Rollup.
The transactions made by Bob and other users are placed in a waiting area called the mempool.
The actor known as the sequencer collects these transactions, orders them, and places them into blocks to execute the transactions.
The sequencer sends the transaction data and its proof to the L1 network.
The Rollup verifier contract on L1 verifies the proof, and the transactions are finalized.
This cycle is applicable to both zkRollups and Optimistic Rollups. Both send transaction data and proofs to the L1 network. Sending data to the L1 network means that the data is always available and accessible on L1, a concept known as data availability. However, data does not necessarily have to be stored on L1. L2 projects may choose to store their data externally, either through a committee they establish or in a data availability layer. For instance, if an Optimistic Rollup stores its data in an external solution, it is no longer called a Rollup but an Optimium. The same applies to zkRollups; if their data is stored in an external solution, they are classified as Validiums.
Why do we need Layer-2s?
The primary challenge facing Ethereum and other L1 chains is scalability. Scalability refers to the ability of a network to efficiently manage an increasing volume of traffic. In blockchains, transaction data are stored in blocks, the size and generation time of which can vary significantly between different blockchains. For Ethereum and some other L1 chains, the size of blocks is fixed, and the time it takes for blocks to be produced is relatively predictable. This sets a cap on the number of transactions that can be included in a single block, thereby limiting the networks' transactions per second (TPS). For instance, Bitcoin can process up to 7 transactions per second.
Full nodes are devices that maintain a complete record of all transactions that have occurred on the blockchain since its inception. When a new block is mined, full nodes download the block's data and synchronize with other nodes across the network. Some projects attempt to increase the TPS and speed of transaction confirmations by increasing the size of blocks or accelerating the rate at which blocks are produced. However, these solutions may complicate the synchronization process for devices and lead to an exponential increase in the amount of data required to set up a full node. The substantial growth in data volume complicates the establishment of full nodes. Additionally, difficulties in node synchronization can cause nodes to fall out of the network. Increasing challenges in setting up full nodes could harm decentralization, as greater scalability can sometimes reduce decentralization and security. This dilemma is known as the "Blockchain Trilemma."
Currently, Ethereum and other L1 networks are characterized by low TPS, high transaction fees, and slow network confirmations, making them less user-friendly. To scale without compromising on decentralization and security, Ethereum and other L1 chains have turned to L2 solutions.
What is the Cyber?
Cyber is the first Layer-2 social network with restaking, built with OP Stack, and uses EigenDA.
Cyber's construction with the OP Stack has enabled its modules to be interchangeable and customizable. Cyber has made this customization by replacing the data availability layer with EigenDA. Below, you can see a comparison of the current L2 stacks.
So, why was the OP Stack used? The OP Stack is the most battle-tested and popular stack compared to its counterparts in the market, it is open-source, and it has customizable features. Another advantage of using the OP Stack is that in the future, OP Stack chains will be able to operate as if they were a single chain. This collective chain is called a Superchain and allows shared sequencers, bridges, cross-chain transactions, and messages to work as if they were one chain.
What other features are there? Cyber supports native account abstraction with the knowledge gained from its Account Abstraction wallet, CyberWallet. You can ask what is account abstraction? Account abstraction is a method of setting up a blockchain network in which users’ assets are stored exclusively in smart contracts, and not in external accounts (External Owned Accounts, EOAs). When using this approach, a crypto wallet turns into a unique smart contract that can be programmed for various purposes. Also, it supports EIP-7212, which enables wallets that do not require a seed phrase, allowing users to access their wallets with FaceID.
The Cyber network that supports restaking allows users to earn rewards by staking bridged ETH, LST, and LRT. Moreover, by staking CYBER, it activates the decentralized sequencer and distributes sequencer fees to stakers, node operators, and developers.
Cyber Architecture
In building Cyber, the use of the OP Stack has made it possible to customize certain modules. Cyber utilizes the Ethereum network for its settlement layer and leverages EigenLayer's EigenDA for data availability. The adoption of EigenDA is anticipated to substantially reduce transaction fees to around 1 cent. This is particularly important in a social network context, where transaction fees must be minimal, ideally close to zero.
Let's delve deeper into the image above and take a look at the transaction cycle in Cyber L2.
Bob transfers his assets to the Cyber using either the native bridge or a third-party bridge.
Bob signs a transaction on the Cyber L2.
The transactions made by Bob and other users are placed in a waiting area called the mempool.
The chosen sequencer collects these transactions, orders them, and places them into blocks to execute the transactions.
The sequencer sends the transaction data to EigenDA and its proof to the Ethereum network.
The Rollup verifier contract on Ethereum verifies the proof, and the transactions are finalized.
In this transaction cycle, the fact that transaction data are sent to EigenDA instead of Ethereum makes Cyber an Optimium chain.
If you've noticed, unlike other L2s, Cyber's transaction cycle involves multiple sequencers. Because Cyber aims to decentralize the sequencer. It plans to do so by utilizing CYBER tokens and the restaked ETH from EigenLayer. This dual-stake decentralization strategy is designed to mitigate risks such as the censorship of user transactions and Miner Extractable Value (MEV), ensuring a more secure and equitable platform.
Cyber Ecosystem
As the anticipated Cyber testnet approaches in the second quarter of the year, Cyber continues to announce its partnerships. So far, projects that have been announced as partners include zkLink Nova, zkPass, Polyhedra, xPet, Omni Network, ether.fi, EigenDA, Altlayer, and Optimism. As the testnet date draws nearer, we can expect the number of partnerships to increase.
Cyber Tokenomics
The total supply of CYBER tokens is 100 million. The largest allocation of this amount, 34%, is dedicated to ecosystem development. This is followed by 25.1% for the private sale, 15% for the team and advisors, 10.9% for the community treasury, 9% for community rewards, 3% for the CoinList sale, and 3% for the Binance Launchpool.
Conclusion
Cyber, utilizing the most battle-tested Rollup stack to date, blends it with EigenDA, resulting in the emergence of the Cyber L2 Optimium solution. However, can we classify Cyber as a Rollup? The answer is no. Cyber uses an external solution instead of Ethereum for data availability. The greatest advantage of this is that transaction fees in Cyber will be significantly lower. Considering the traffic volume of social networks, achieving high TPS (Transactions Per Second) and low transaction fees is made possible in this manner.
Currently, there is no testnet, but the CYBER staking feature is active. Through the Cyber staking feature, users can benefit from ecosystem airdrops. The testnet is expected to arrive in the second quarter of the year, along with bridges, blockchain explorers, RPC Nodes, and developer tools, which will together form the Cyber framework.
Being the first social Layer-2 network makes Cyber unique. It seems poised for significant momentum with substantial investments from well-known authorities and investment funds.