Thread by @jackoholleran

1 - There has been a lot of chat lately on CT about modular vs monolithic blockchains. SKALE has been building modular, configurable, elastic blockchains since 2018. I don't think there is much clarity as to what is a modular blockchain is, so I'm going to take a cut at it.

3 - Modularity is a system property which measures the degree to which densely connected compartments within a system can be decoupled into separate communities or clusters which interact more among themselves rather than other communities. (ty wikipedia and science direct)

4 - Modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. There are nuances in defining modularity, but there are consistent themes.

5 - As modularity relates to software: Modularity is the compartmentalization and interrelation of the parts of a software package. And logical partitioning that allows complex software to be manageable for the purpose of implementation and maintenance.

6 - With that in mind, let's take a look at a blockchain network and the qualities it must have in order to be modular. A modular blockchain network is one that can be split into component parts that enables clusters to interact with themselves rather than the network at large.

7 - ie - Carving numerous chains out of the larger network. Separating performance and resources, while still sharing security. The most obvious component to modularize are the core functions of a blockchain - Consensus mechanism, Smart contracts/Virtual Machine Execution/Ops.

8 - There will surely be many unique implementations on modularity. Other Modular networks divide smart contract execution from the consensus layer and provide other unique modules. There will clearly be a lot of variety in execution as it relates to modularity.

9 - SKALE for example divides smart contracts, data storage, messaging via threshold encryption, and consensus from network incentive operational components such as staking, slashing, network orchestration, node assignments, node healing, and node rotation.

10 - SKALE Chains, which are effectively modularized blockchains within the SKALE Network. These are on demand blockchains. The network operations are split into containers within each SKALE node called the Node Core.

11 - In addition, smart contracts on the Ethereum mainnet work interoperably with the SKALE Nodes to manage the network. Staking, slashing, bounty awards, performance evaluations, and chain payments all live on the SKALE Network.

12 - The SKL token which is used for staking and chain payments also lives on the Ethereum network. The Ethereum smart contracts are able to speak to SKALE chains and enable security, performance, and incentive operations to be executed.

13 - SKALE also has functionality modules that can be turned on. These include File Storage, SKALE ML (machine learning), and SKALE MTM (multi transaction mode).

14 - SKALE modularity is enabled by containerization of nodes.

15 - Each SKALE Node can support up to 8 chains. In the future this will be configurable to a single large chain or small chains of 1/128 segments.

16 - Randomly selected subnodes from 16 nodes make up a SKALE Chain. This number will be configurable in the future. Larger projects will be able to pay for more nodes which further increases security properties.

17 - Ultimately a modular environment of shared security and partitioned performance is created. Nodes are effectively shared resources that partition performance and pool security across modules.

18 - Thanks to modular properties of the network, the capacity is not limited. SKALE has linear scalability meaning as more nodes join the network, more capacity is created.

19 - I'll hit on these points next:

Why is modularity important... Capacity.

What is the hardest part of modularity... composability and UX.

How does a modular network maintain composability and keep a positive UX while creating uncapped capacity?

#SKALE $SKL