Gelato's Vision for Abundant Blockspace & Sovereign Rollups | Luis Schliesske

Luis Schliesske from Gelato discusses the launch of Abundance and the ABC stack, aiming to enhance the roll-up as a service (RAS) space. Abundance is informed by experiences in the Ethereum L2 ecosystem, facilitating builders in deploying roll-ups and creating innovative on-chain solutions. The ABC stack represents a Celestia-native sovereign roll-up stack, significantly outperforming existing solutions by breaking the barrier of one gigagas per second.

Schliesske distinguishes between roll-ups and L2 stacks, noting that many equate roll-ups with Ethereum L2 designs, which can lead to inefficiencies due to enshrined bridges. Sovereign roll-ups allow for a modular architecture, enabling developers to choose from various bridging options without being locked into a single implementation. This flexibility enhances user experience while maintaining strong settlement assurances through data posting to Celestia.

He expresses skepticism about the long-term viability of fraud proofs and acknowledges that while zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs are seen as the future, they are not yet ready for widespread adoption due to high costs and performance issues. Schliesske argues that the market prefers flexibility, with many projects not fully utilizing roll-up bridges, and questions the concept of sovereignty in roll-ups that rely on external bridges.

The conversation touches on the challenges of establishing standards in a modular ecosystem and reflects on the limitations of existing infrastructure. Schliesske emphasizes the need for a nuanced understanding of market requirements, particularly regarding real-world assets (RWAs) and the issuer's trustworthiness. He critiques the current bridging technology for inefficiency and discusses the ambitious goal of achieving one gigabyte gas through sovereign rollup architecture, leveraging Celestia's high bandwidth data availability.

The concept of "abundance" is introduced, contrasting the scarcity mindset prevalent in the crypto space. Schliesske advocates for a model that encourages on-chain activity and reduces off-chain dependencies, aligning with Celestia's roadmap for abundant data availability. He critiques the notion that data availability should be scarce, promoting a vision that enhances on-chain activity.

The discussion also covers rollup frameworks, noting that while OP and Arbitrum are leading stacks, the focus should be on the network effects and business models that emerge from these technologies. Schliesske emphasizes the importance of expanding the addressable market for developers beyond just Ethereum Layer 2 solutions and super chains, advocating for inclusivity in building using the ABC stack.

He critiques liquidity fragmentation as more of a skill issue than a fundamental problem, suggesting that successful applications should focus on strong product development and user relationships. Schliesske views vertical integration positively, believing it allows for a comprehensive approach to customer needs. He concludes that the future of blockchain lies in enhancing sovereignty and censorship resistance, with a focus on building robust applications that can stand independently in the market.