Eliminating Bridging: Particle Network's Vision for Chain Abstraction

1. Are Blockchain Services Easy to Use?

The usability of blockchain services remains a critical issue. Despite ongoing efforts to improve user experience, blockchain lags significantly behind mainstream services like Instagram. Even industry experts often struggle to answer the question "Are blockchain services easy to use?" with a straightforward "yes."

The challenge extends beyond UI/UX to a deeper issue: ‘fragmented infrastructure’. With numerous blockchain networks, users must acquire new knowledge to navigate tasks such as wallet key management, dApp interactions, and asset management.?

This fragmented infrastructure leads to divided user bases and scattered liquidity across multiple platforms. Even experienced blockchain users, a.k.a. ‘degens’ are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up. This results in an ecosystem where both users and capital are dispersed across various chains and protocols, further exacerbating the challenges of interoperability and seamless user experience.

For new users, fragmented infrastructure can be a major barrier. Ryan, a new Web3 user, faces friction in managing multiple accounts and assets across chains. Liquidity and bridging assets make his experience using blockchain technology tiring.

1. Wallet Creation: Ryan installs the MetaMask wallet and secures the 12-word seed phrase. It’s his first time learning about private key management and the difficulties involved in safeguarding them.
2. Acquiring Assets: He purchases Ethereum ($ETH) on a centralized exchange (CEX) and transfers it to MetaMask. It’s his first time learning about and paying for gas fees—an unexpected hurdle.
3. Purchasing an NFT: Ryan finds an NFT on OpenSea but struggles to calculate its value as it's priced in ETH, which he’s never seen before.
4. Exploring Other Chains: Intrigued by Solana's faster transaction speeds and lower fees, he decides to explore this alternative blockchain network.
5. Bridging Assets: Ryan tries to transfer his ETH to Solana using Jupiter. Despite the aggregator simplifying swaps, he still needs help understanding cross-chain transactions and paying extra fees.
6. Multi-Chain Asset Management: Ryan now holds assets on both Ethereum and Solana. Constantly switching between different wallets and networks to check his balances and NFTs becomes a hassle.
7. Using dApps: To use a Solana dApp, Ryan must bridge assets again. This repetitive process and extra fees discourage him from exploring new chains.

In this example, Ryan had to continuously learn new concepts, from private key management to gas fees and multi-chain asset handling. This steep learning curve shows the inherent complexity of using blockchain services, which require far more technical knowledge than conventional internet services.

To address these challenges, the blockchain ecosystem needs more than UI/UX improvements; it requires a solution to the "fragmented infrastructure" issue. This, ultimately, is the real barrier to widespread adoption.

2. How will Chain Abstraction address Fragmentated?Infrastructure?

In May 2023, the Everclear Foundation (formerly known as Connext) introduced the concept of "chain abstraction," marking the first proposal aimed at solving the issue of fragmented infrastructure within the blockchain ecosystem. This concept was a pivotal step toward simplifying the fragmented infrastructure.

Chain abstraction (ChA) aims to shield users from the complexities of interacting with multiple blockchain networks by eliminating the need for manual processes. This approach is widely seen as a key solution for improving usability across networks.

Several projects, including Everclear, Near Protocol, and Particle Network, have actively pursued the realization of chain abstraction. It has become evident that this concept is vital for the blockchain ecosystem's continued growth. However, the term "abstraction" can be confusing, particularly for those unfamiliar with technical jargon.

2.1. What Is Abstraction?

Abstraction, originally a concept from philosophy, is now widely used in computer science. In essence, abstraction simplifies complexity by revealing only the necessary information while concealing the rest.

Examples of abstraction are common in everyday life. Take driving a car, for instance: we focus on steering and using the pedals, without needing to understand how the engine operates or how the gears shift. When we use smartphones, we interact with apps without knowing how they communicate with the operating system. In both cases, complex systems are hidden, and only necessary functions for the user are presented.

To sum up, chain abstraction applies abstraction to blockchain technology. The aim is to simplify the user experience so that users can access blockchain services without needing to grasp the underlying technical complexities.

2.2. What Should Be Abstracted?

Understanding the concept of abstraction is key to identifying areas where complexity can be reduced, particularly in addressing the ‘fragmented infrastructure’ previously mentioned. Below are the primary areas where abstraction can simplify the user experience:

• Account and Wallet Management: Currently, users must manage multiple accounts and wallets across different blockchains. This is similar to holding various bank accounts at separate institutions. The issue is exacerbated by the lack of compatibility between EVM and non-EVM ecosystems. Users should not need to manually switch networks to view their full asset balance; instead, a unified interface should allow seamless management of all assets, regardless of the chain they’re located in.
• Gas Token Handling: The requirement to manage different gas tokens for each blockchain also complicates the user experience, akin to paying a shipping fee in a different currency for each package sent. Users should be able to execute transactions without needing to acquire and manage separate tokens on multiple chains through a simplified gas fee management structure.
• Cross-Chain Interaction: The fragmented blockchain ecosystem often isolates applications and opportunities within individual chains. Currently, interacting with apps on other blockchains is as complex as obtaining a visa and exchanging currency for each new country visited. Users should be able to interact with any dApp without concerning themselves with the underlying blockchain.
• Improving Developer Experience: Developing and deploying applications on multiple blockchains places a significant burden on developers, as each chain requires unique deployment processes. This not only increases development costs but also hampers innovation. A unified framework allowing developers to deploy applications across multiple chains more easily would streamline this process.
• Liquidity Management: Managing assets scattered across multiple blockchains is an inefficient and cumbersome process. A unified mechanism is needed to manage all assets in one glance, allowing users to view and move their assets effortlessly. This would enable efficient utilization of assets across chains.

2.3. What Is Chain Abstraction?

So how can these challenges be addressed? Various protocols, including Particle Network, have developed approaches to tackle some or all of these issues. One such approach is the CAKE Framework, proposed by Frontier Research, which offers an intuitive way to understand chain abstraction. The framework is structured into three main layers:

• Permission Layer: This layer facilitates communication between the user and the system. For example, when a user connects their MetaMask wallet to Uniswap and wants to convert $USDC on Ethereum to $DAI on Arbitrum, the Permission Layer interprets the user's intention without considering the underlying complexity—its focus is on the end goal of acquiring $DAI on Arbitrum.
• Solver Layer: Protocols like 1inch and CoW Swap operate within this layer, finding the optimal path to execute the user's intent. For instance, the process could involve converting $USDC to $ETH on Ethereum, bridging $ETH to Arbitrum using the Hop protocol, and swapping $ETH for DAI on Uniswap.
• Settlement Layer: This is where the actual execution of the transaction takes place. Once the user authorizes the transaction, the Settlement Layer follows each step in sequence. Protocols such as Hop handle bridging and clearing, while DEXs on each chain facilitate the swaps.

Despite this structure, understanding it may still be challenging for users unfamiliar with the blockchain ecosystem. To address this, Tiger Research proposes an enhanced framework—the CREPE CAKE Framework—which further simplifies the process into five layers:

• User Interface Layer: This is where users directly interact with the system. For instance, they might request to "exchange $ETH for $USDC on Arbitrum" using an integrated wallet app.
• Intent Interpretation Layer: This layer translates the user's request into specific actions. In this example, it would outline steps such as "Withdraw $ETH from Ethereum, bridge to Arbitrum, and swap to $USDC."
• Execution Planning Layer: This layer determines the optimal way to carry out the transactions. This layer considers factors like the most favorable exchange rate, the time when gas fees are lowest, and the order of transactions.
• Connection Layer: This layer handles the communication and movement of assets between blockchains. It ensures the withdrawal of ETH from Ethereum, bridges assets to Arbitrum via a secure connection, and swaps the $ETH for $USDC on a chosen DEX.