Layer 0 is the foundational infrastructure that supports scalability, interoperability, and flexibility for other blockchains. It's the foundation on which many layer 1 blockchains are built.
Imagine crypto is like an apartment block. Layer 0 is the basement, it houses all the utilities, the car park, everything that helps the others floors operate. Layer 1 is the ground floor, the reception area, the entrance and lobby. And Layer 2 houses the apartments themselves with their own specific gadgets and utensils.
So whereas layer 1 projects typically allow for decentralized applications (dApps) to be built on the blockchain - for example, Ethereum (layer 1) has dApps like Aave and Uniswap created on top of it - layer 0 can accommodate entire blockchains being created on top of them.
For example, the Binance Chain (layer 1) was created using Cosmos’ customizable framework for building blockchains - Cosmos SDK (software development kit).
Leading layer 0 blockchains
Polkadot
Polkadot unites multiple specialized blockchains into a unified, scalable network. It provides a way for different purpose-built blockchains to connect within a scalable ecosystem and therefore helps unlocks secure cross-chain communication.
Polkadot's diverse layer 1 blockchains are called parachains due to how they process transactions in parallel. These layer 1s are all connected via Polkadot's Relay Chain.
The Relay Chain bridges the parachains, allowing efficient data exchange and communication. It uses a technique known as sharding - a method of splitting blocks of data into smaller sets, to make them more manageable and transaction processing smoother, faster and more affordable.
Avalanche
This layer 0 uses a tri-blockchain infrastructure consisting of three core chains. Each one is optimized for specific tasks in the overall network:
The Contract Chain (C-chain)
The Exchange Chain (X-chain)
And the Platform Chain (P-chain)
Avalanche recently announced HyperSDK - a framework that allows developers to build high performance Virtual Machines (VM) on Avalanche. So expect there to be some exciting innovators occurring on Avalanche this year!
Cosmos
Also known as the “internet of blockchains", Cosmos is the infrastructure that connects layer 1 blockchains like Cronos, Kava, dYdX and Osmosis in a network. These blockchains can communicate and share data through the Inter-Blockchain Communications (IBC) protocol, along with the Cosmos Hub and its native token ATOM.
A leader in interoperability, the Cosmos interchain ecosystem plans to make four significant innovations this year:
Liquid staking
Interchain schedular
Interchain security
Interchain allocator
As crypto, DeFi and Web3 evolve, layer 0 blockchains will become increasingly important. This is mainly due to the need for scalability, but also because of the other two elements of the blockchain trilemma - security and decentralization.
2023 promises to be a year of blockchain revolution, with new features and advances in the technology occurring all the time. You know what they say, bear markets are for building!
~ Zac Colbert, The Crypto Journo
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