Divorcing Security from Censorship Resistance

Divorcing Security from Censorship Resistance

A defining feature of Substrate, and a critical reason for its selection in the Glue ecosystem, is its ability to divorce security from censorship resistance. In traditional blockchain models like Ethereum, these concepts are inextricably linked, often leading to suboptimal trade-offs across different applications. Substrate's architecture, however, allows Glue to maintain robust security guaranteed by the Layer 1 while offering varying levels of censorship resistance across Layer 2 solutions. This separation is not just a technical nuance but a strategic advantage that significantly enhances the flexibility and power of Glue’s ecosystem.

Security Guaranteed by L1

In the Substrate framework, security for all L2s is guaranteed by the L1. This means that no L2 can make independent security trade-offs that could compromise the integrity of the entire ecosystem. This L1 driven security model ensures that all transactions and operations across different L2s benefit from the same foundational security guarantees provided by L1 validators. This approach mitigates risks and maintains a consistent security standard across the entire blockchain network.

By keeping security at the L1, Glue ensures that all L2s operate within a secure environment, preventing the fragmentation of security protocols that could lead to vulnerabilities. This uniformity is crucial for maintaining trust and stability within the ecosystem, as users and developers can rely on the L1 to uphold the highest security standards regardless of the specific L2 they are interacting with.

Customisable Censorship Resistance

While security is guaranteed by L1, censorship resistance can be tailored to the specific needs of each L2. This flexibility allows Glue to make more nuanced trade-offs within the blockchain trilemma (security, decentralisation, and scalability) that traditional monolithic blockchains like Ethereum cannot achieve. Different applications have different requirements for censorship resistance, and Substrate's architecture allows Glue to meet these diverse needs effectively.

For instance, a financial L2 requires a very high level of censorship resistance. In financial applications, the ability to prevent transactions from being arbitrarily blocked or censored is crucial. Users need to be assured that their financial activities cannot be unjustly hindered, as this could lead to significant economic consequences. Therefore, the financial L2 is designed with a robust censorship-resistant framework, ensuring that transactions can proceed without undue interference. Conversely, a gaming L2 might have significantly lower requirements for censorship resistance. In the context of gaming, being banned from a game or having in-game actions restricted is less critical than having one's bank account frozen. This is especially true if the assets within the game are issued and managed on a more censorship resistant financial L2 so that a user can still sell their assets even if they were censored. The gaming L2 can prioritise speed and efficiency over high censorship resistance. This differentiation allows the gaming L2 to deliver a more responsive and engaging user experience without compromising the overall security guaranteed by the L1.

Real-World Trade-Offs and Practicality

As much as the cryptocurrency industry often advocates for absolute censorship resistance of everything, the reality is that different use cases have varying levels of requirements. The Substrate framework, and Glue's implementation of it, recognises this practical necessity and provides the tools to tailor censorship resistance according to specific application needs. By allowing different L2s to implement varying levels of censorship resistance, Glue can optimise the performance and user experience for each application type. For example:

• Finance L2: High censorship resistance ensures secure and reliable financial transactions, protecting users' economic activities from interference.

• Gaming L2: Lower censorship resistance prioritises speed and cheap fees, enhancing gameplay while relying on the financial L2 for secure asset management.