daura relies on zkSync as first choice of blockchain
daura has decided to enter the space of public, permissionless blockchain protocols essentially making the platform more aligned with web3 principles and making way for a multi-chain approach.
Rollups are a great way to scale up web3 applications. daura has evaluated zkSync as its preferred blockchain because zero-knowledge rollups are more technologically advanced than other layer-2 solutions, and zkSync Era∎ is the first EVM-compatible ZK-rollup on mainnet.
Status Quo
The current state of blockchains is such that many different blockchains exist catering to different requirements of the business. For example, if your business is in the finance space then your choice of blockchain might have to be very secure, decentralized, and have 99,999% uptime to prevent censorship. Now, in the web3 ecosystem very few blockchains exist that promise all the above-mentioned features. daura, market leader for digital assets is providing tokenization services for registered Swiss companies, i.e., non-listed SMEs can manage digital capital increases, corporate actions, and general assemblies on the platform.
Since go-live in 2018, daura is run on a private permissioned blockchain. We believe that it is time for the next step forward.
Roland Cortivo, CMO daura ltd
Alignment with web3 principles
Private and permissioned chains come with several advantages, but don’t gel well with the grandiose ethos of the blockchain technology. The idea is to open the daura platform to a public, permissionless blockchain essentially making the platform more aligned with web3 principles whilst moving away from the web2 limits.
Further aligning the platform with web3 values is not particularly a walk through a rose garden. It comes with its own set of challenges such as high cost of block space and slow transaction finality on secure and decentralized blockchains such as Ethereum. The Merge is setting the foundation for web3 applications to scale up and we are getting there slowly.
Some Layer-2 (L2) solutions such as rollups scale your application by executing transactions off Layer-1 (L1) e.g., Ethereum and then ultimately posting the data to L1 where consensus is achieved. This happens without compromising on the security and decentralization offered by the L1 as the settlement layer is still L1. In this regard, many rollup solutions are emerging.
daura relies on zkSync as first choice of blockchain
Keeping in mind all the above points, we made a conscious and an informed decision of choosing zkSync as our first choice of blockchain.
To regurgitate the points for better understanding, the primary reasons we chose zkSync are as follows:
- As zkSync is a ZK rollup, it is more suitable for the daura platform
- zkSync is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible
- Transaction finality on L2 is quick
- Transaction settlement on L1 within minutes
- Cost of block space is cheap
- Has native Ethereum security and decentralization
- Has built-in escape hatch mechanism. This means that users will still be able to retrieve their register entry from L2 to L1.
We’re delighted to have daura integrating onto our platform, and firmly believe that their digital equity platform will find a perfect home with the security, scalability, and flexibility of zkSync Era∎. Our long-term mission, to make self-sovereign participation in the digital economy affordable and accessible for anyone in the world, starts with onboarding a wide-variety of innovative projects onto our platform, and daura will provide a unique use case for both our user-bases.
Will Macfie, Ecosystem Marketing Lead, zkSync
Final words
daura relies on zkSync as first choice of blockchain. As daura would be integrating zkSync, we are going out of our way to make onboarding and UX of our users simpler by reducing transaction costs as much as possible.
We believe that the decisions we make today will have a direct and a lasting impact on the Swiss DLT ecosystem. Therefore, in the future, the platform should not only run on one chain but rather have a multi-chain approach.
Three questions to Niharika Singh, Technical Product Manager, daura ltd
- What are the biggest challenges and risks you are facing?
As the zero-knowledge technology is state of the art, the technical implementation is quite challenging. All this in mind, the timeline to go live in January 2023 is an ambitious one. So, when I take a step back and see the bigger picture, appropriate risk mitigation is a critical success factor for this project. - Are there any disadvantages?
Zero-knowledge rollups are very new. Their success is demonstrated theoretically however, the testament to theory is yet to be written. As with any new technology, the acceptance and adoption from the user is key. daura users would have to create their wallet and manage their keys. We are trying to balance this slight friction in user onboarding by keeping transaction costs as low as possible for the user. - What’s next?
zkSync alone would not align the daura platform with web3 values. Other ingredients such as a standardized smart contract for Swiss ledger-based securities and a preferred wallet provider are needed. In future, our vision is to expand across multiple chains to become a multi-chain project in its true essence.
About Niharika Singh:
Niharika Singh is a passionate web3 technologist, an avid learner, and a community educator. She has been active in the blockchain industry since 2017. Currently, as a technical product manager at daura, her focus is on taking the daura platform to the next level by migrating the platform from Hyperledger to zkSync. She has a masters from ETH Zurich, where she currently resides and causes trouble in the crypto valley.
About zkSync:
zkSync is an open-source Layer-2 blockchain that eliminates Ethereum’s costly gas fees, scaling constraints, and performance barriers using zero-knowledge proofs. Built by a distributed team of leading cryptographers and engineers, zkSync is designed to unlock the full potential of blockchain technology while scaling the core values of Ethereum.
Bootstrapped by initial funding from the Ethereum Foundation, zkSync has powered over 10 million transactions, fuels major web3 applications including Argent and Gitcoin, and recently launched the first EVM compatible zero-knowledge rollup allowing developers to deploy general-purpose applications written in Solidity.
Find out more: www.zksync.io
Disclaimer: The content of this blog post refers to the technical setup as per daura’s current business development intentions and is based on its understanding of the currently available DLT technologies. The descriptions contained herein do not constitute any financial outlook, business forecast or legal advice. The opinions and information provided herein have not been ruled with FINMA or with any other regulatory authority, wherefore daura may not assume any responsibility for any claim arising in connection with legal feasibility or regulatory compliance.
