L2 Overview

Parallel Network is a layer 2 scaling solution built on top of Ethereum, powered by Arbitrum's Nitro stack. Parallel Chain is EVM-compatible which means you can do anything on Parallel Network that you would be able to do on Ethereum mainnet - deploy contracts, use Web3 apps, interact with wallets, etc. However, because Parallel Chain is a rollup, transactions will be cheaper and faster than Ethereum. Parallel Network is an optimistic rollup which means it inherits many security properties from Ethereum. More specifically, Parallel Network is built using Arbitrum's Nitro stack. Nitro is the latest version of Arbitrum technology which includes a complete optimistic rollup system, a sequencer, token bridges, fraud proofs, and more. Full documentation of Nitro can be found on Github.

Nitro is EVM compatible, so contracts written for mainnet can be deployed onto Parallel Network without any modifications. Applications requiring read or write access to Parallel Network can employ the same processes used on mainnet, with the only difference being a different RPC and chain ID.

Optimistic Rollup

Parallel Network is an optimistic rollup that uses "fraud proofs" to determine whether withdrawals from the network are valid. Optimistic rollups assume all transactions are valid by default, hence the "optimism". However, any party can submit fraud-proof to prove that a state transition in the chain is invalid. Transactions than involve L2 to L1 communication (including withdrawals) need to wait for the dispute window (~7 days) to pass before being finalized. This 7 day dispute window gives validators enough time to submit fraud proofs without being griefed from dishonest parties.

Gas Fee and Gas Sponsor

Gas quantifies the computational effort needed to execute transactions on a blockchain. The necessity of gas arises from its role in safeguarding the network against malicious Sybil attacks, characterized by spamming activities. To align user experience with the convenience of the Web2 world, while upholding security standards to thwart Sybil attacks, Parallel Network employs a dynamic and selective approach to sponsor gas. This sponsorship is specifically tailored for eligible users and transactions, balancing user-friendliness and robust network security.

WebAssembly Execution Environment

Parallel Network supports native WebAssembly execution environment by using Arbitrum Stylus. Stylus enables the creation of smart contracts using languages like Rust, C, and C++ that compile into WASM, with robust Rust support through the Stylus SDK and CLI tool. These contracts, benefiting from Arbitrum's EVM equivalence, operate on a coequal WASM virtual machine, allowing full interoperability with Solidity contracts, including cross-language calls. Stylus contracts boast over tenfold speed improvements and significantly lower gas fees, courtesy of WASM's efficiency. Additionally, with Stylus, memory usage becomes 100-500 times cheaper, making RAM-intensive applications feasible on the blockchain and opening up new use cases.

Run Your Validator

In Parallel Network, a validator ensures the accuracy of chain state claims to the validating bridge. If no honest validator is present, a bad actor could falsely report the state root to the L1 validating bridge and illicitly withdraw funds. An honest validator can dispute and correct an incorrect state root. Currently, anyone can run a watchtower validator which will alert the validator when an invalid state root is proposed. In the future, BOLD will enable staked validators to join the network without permission.