原文：Volition on Starknet: Your Data, Your Choice
Translation and proofreading: "Starknet Chinese Community"
Featured Quick Facts Starknet launches Volition! Volition will allow developers to adjust the availability of data on Ethereum (L1) or Starknet (L2). Reducing data on the L1 chain can radically reduce costs. Flexibility in data availability models will once again provide Starknet developers and users with greater freedom to cost-effectively choose the most appropriate level of security based on their specific needs. Volition is scheduled to be implemented on testnet in Q4 2023.
Effectiveness Rollup: Increase throughput, reduce costs
As Ethereum continues to grow, the need for scalability and cost reduction becomes increasingly urgent. To this end, Effectiveness Rollups came into being as a scalable and efficient solution running on Ethereum.
Starknet is a validity Rollup launched by the inventor of STARK proof. As L2, Starknet only submits the necessary data of each transaction to Ethereum (L1), and uses a shared prover (SHARP) to distribute the on-chain verification fee of the proof to all transactions in a given batch, thereby achieving large-scale computing while reducing computing costs.
In Q4 2023, Starknet will again significantly reduce costs, addressing the main challenge developers face with transaction fees, namely the high cost of L1 on-chain data.
Among the various factors that determine transaction costs, on-chain data availability alone can account for 95% of the average transaction cost. Finding ways to reduce L1 on-chain data can have a significant impact on reducing overall costs for users and developers. Starknet's solution to this challenge is: Volition.
Learn about Volition
Currently, Starknet operates in validity Rollup mode, which means that Starknet's data and commitments to state are committed on Ethereum. With Volition, data can be stored on Starknet L2, and developers can choose their data availability mode at the level of individual storage variables, thereby optimizing their contracts.
As the name implies, Volition will provide the ability to choose the data availability of an application or transaction. Starknet developers will be able to flexibly adjust across the entire range of data availability, dynamically select their data availability solution, and decide whether their application’s data is available on Ethereum (L1) or Starknet (L2), that is, it is up to the application’s users to freely choose.
Volition is implemented by storing the state of Starknet as two different commitment trees: one for L1 data availability mode and the other for L2 data availability mode. The data of the L1 data availability mode tree will be published on the Ethereum mainnet, while L2 data availability means that transaction data will be updated on L2 and passed to the Starknet network. Only the commitment of the data (referring to the "root" of the commitment tree) will be sent to L1.
The choice is yours
The security of the data publishing layer determines the level of certainty of data availability. Data published on L1 will benefit from the level of security provided by Ethereum and will be available like any other data on Ethereum. On the other hand, data published on L2 will be delivered to all Starknet L2 nodes, benefiting from the lower costs on L2. Doing so ensures that the risk of failure or malicious behavior that could block withdrawals or deny access to data stored on L2 is minimized.
While these necessary measures are taken to ensure high security for L2 data availability, we acknowledge that for maximum security, you should choose L1 data availability (DA), which provides Ethereum-level security guarantees. L2 data availability should only be used when developers and users weigh the cost of L2 against the security of L1. We also recommend that developers write contracts that use L2DA so that they can still operate normally in the event of an L2 data availability crisis (e.g., loss of L2DA assets). In addition, when launching Volition, we realize that it takes time to perfect innovation. Therefore, Volition will run on testnet for a period of time. During this stage, we will actively listen to community feedback, optimize it, and gradually make it meet the needs of builders.
The introduction of Volition on Starknet will improve efficiency and developer experience (DevEx). Developers will have the ability to independently find the optimal solution between security and cost, which will enable L2 applications to adjust their design according to user needs and reach a wider audience.
Volition Use Cases and Applications
To best demonstrate the effectiveness of Volition, let’s look at a few real-world examples.
Imagine you are playing a high-profile Web 3 game on an application built on Starknet. You successfully bid and purchase a premium crossbow NFT. Given the importance of this transaction, you might choose the on-chain data availability model. Thanks to Ethereum's extensive decentralization, this ensures that the ownership of the crossbow is securely recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. Then, you decide to buy 150 arrow NFTs, and due to their lower value, you can choose L2 data availability to complete the transaction, saving costs.
The same concept applies to high-value decentralized trading, where the DEX's top priority is to ensure the safety of funds and minimize transaction fees. Users can optimize trading operations by keeping a portion of their funds in their L2 data availability accounts. Using funds in L2 data storage allows traders to perform a large number of trades with lower fees. When the funds in the L2 data availability account reach a high amount, the DEX will prioritize security over cost and transfer the funds to the L1 data availability account. This transfer ensures that most of the funds are safely available on L1.
As can be seen from these two examples, Volition enables developers and users to choose the data availability mode for each contract, giving them more control, while Volition also enhances the user's trading experience.
When will Volition be released?
Volition will be launched on the Starknet testnet in Q4 2023. It will run on the testnet for a longer period of time so that it can learn and strengthen various security aspects based on community feedback and experience. It is expected that Volition will save costs for many users and dApp developers. In the future, Starknet will define other data availability models, such as Adamantium (a model that uses committees to provide data availability, where users can choose trusted parties to provide data availability).
Summarize
Starknet’s Volition solves the security concerns and high on-chain data costs. By allowing data to be stored on Starknet L2, developers can reduce costs and increase scalability while maintaining the trusted security of Ethereum. There are many benefits to using Volition on Starknet, potentially opening the door to innovative application development. If you’re curious about Volition, watch this detailed talk by StarkWare Product Lead Avihu Levy and join in the deep dive on our community forums.