Fraud Proofs & Challenge Periods
Trust execution by default, dispute on-chain when something looks off. The 7-day challenge window is the price of cheap blockspace.
tx_root = keccak256(batch)
A gamified expedition through the rollups, sidechains, and state channels that scale Ethereum.
Rollups bundle hundreds of transactions off-chain, compress them, and post a single proof to Ethereum. Your first quest: distinguish optimistic from zero-knowledge rollups and master their trade-offs.
Trust execution by default, dispute on-chain when something looks off. The 7-day challenge window is the price of cheap blockspace.
tx_root = keccak256(batch)
Cryptography proves correctness without re-execution. Withdraw in minutes, not weeks. The cost: heavier prover infrastructure.
verify(proof, public_inputs)
Sidechains run their own consensus, bridged to Ethereum via two-way pegs. Faster and cheaper, but you trade Ethereum's security for the sidechain's validator set. Pick your battles.
Lock tokens on L1, mint a wrapped twin on the sidechain. Burn to redeem. The bridge contract is the trust frontier.
lock(L1) -> mint(L2)
Sidechains pick their own consensus -- PoA, PoS, BFT. Throughput soars; security depends on the chosen committee.
finality < 5s typical
Two parties open a channel by locking funds on-chain. They then exchange signed state updates off-chain, instantly and free, until one side closes the channel and settles the final state on L1.
Both parties co-sign a deposit into a 2-of-2 multisig. Now the channel is live and ready to ferry signed state updates.
openChannel(alice, bob, 10 ETH)
Each new balance is a signed message. Latest version wins on settlement. Send a million times -- L1 sees only the close.
sign({ nonce: n, balances })
Submit the latest signed state to L1. Funds redistribute. Disputes use the highest-nonce update; cheaters forfeit collateral.
closeChannel(finalState)
The future is modular: execution, settlement, consensus, and data availability split into specialized layers. Compose your own stack.
Top adventurers, ranked by XP earned across the L2 multiverse.