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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
We've been heads-down building, but I want to take a moment to pop the stack on what "Decentralized RaaS" really means. We're pioneering this concept because we believe it's crucial for fostering a free and open Web3. Intrigued? Read on!
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
Just so we're all on the same page, a RaaS is a Rollup-as-a-Service offering. There are a few well known ones around that have helped launch popular rollups like Zora and Degen. Let's take a look at what makes a RaaS "centralized" first, so we can understand what an alternative to that might look like.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
In this case, we're thinking of very traditional centralization. If rollup chains were blogs, a centralized RaaS provider would be akin to wordpress.com... Someone who you pay to host the infrastructure necessary for you to have an online presence in the form of said blog.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
In the case of rollups, a RaaS provider takes an existing stack, allows you to make some configuration and integration choices and deploys that complex set of interdependencies for you in a way that means that you neither have to be a software engineer or have years of devops chops in order to have your own blockchain.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
In and of itself, that is a valuable service, so why is there a need to innovate? Because it's very much a case of having all of your eggs in one basket that also has a lot of other peoples eggs in it as well. A "centralized" RaaS must operate as a Trusted Third Party and is inherently a Single Point of Failure.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
Let's talk about what it means to be a Trusted Third Party (TTP) first. Any org that manages, verifies or ensures the integrity of sensitive information is a TTP. We all use them. Banks, credit card providers, even email providers sit in that category. All providing something we find useful, _as a Service_.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
In crypto we talk a lot about being "trustless" as an alternative to this. Open systems that have clear and public rules don't require me to trust them, I can rely on them to behave in the expected manner. This is a huge part of the promise of web3 IMO. Why then, should we be forced to trust service providers?
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
Anyone that's been involved in a data breach has personally experienced one of the downsides of centralizing our trust. There are also questions around privacy, regulatory coercion, etc. We're exposed to their competency, integrity and timeliness (or lack thereof), not to mention their desirability as a target.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
Which brings us to the Single Point of Failure. One breach of a centralized entity has the potential to impact all of the people that chose to trust it. Social engineering, cyber attacks, even just a good old fashioned DDoS have cascading effects and that's all assuming good faith on the part of the provider.
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Stephen Caudill
@mrmemes.eth
I think most of us are here because we believe in the power and properties of decentralization. It's just not always convenient to have to go to the lengths that decentralization sometimes asks of us. That, in a nutshell, is why /chaindrop exists. To give the benefits of decentralization while still embracing great UX.
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