Smooth Labs and Conflux collaborate to develop the first Layer 2 solution supporting parallel execution
We have noticed that the existing blockchain operates in serial execution mode, where transactions are sorted based on Gas price, without much consideration for parallel execution and the fairness of transactions. This leads to situations like Gas wars, where high-priced Mint requests, such as Mint Otherside, are processed one by one in a serial manner. Even a regular Transfer request is forced to pay a high Gas fee, despite having no relation to the ongoing Gas war.
Conflux has conducted in-depth research on parallel transactions. In their 2022 paper titled “Utilizing Parallelism in Smart Contracts on Decentralized Blockchains by Taming Application-Inherent Conflicts” they introduced OCCDA (Occurrence with Deterministic Aborts) and proposed three methods to address the bottleneck of inherent conflicts in applications: Conflict-Aware Token Distribution, Partitioned Counters, and Commutative EVM Instructions.
Over the past few months, through the research conducted by Smooth Labs, we have completed the development of components for parallel transactions. This includes subscribing to data channels from the Mempool, parsing instructions such as SLOAD and SSTORE involved in transactions, grouping transactions based on relevance, and more. Building upon Conflux’s research, we have proposed a real-time monitoring module for the resource consumption of on-chain dApps and a verification module for verifying the results of parallel and serial execution with determinism. Considering that inherit conflicts often concentrate on the smart contracts of a few dApps, we will prioritize transactions unrelated to these dApps. Additionally, in the future, we plan to introduce package-like Gas fee structures, similar to mobile phone prepaid plans, to make on-chain interactions more accessible to a wider users.
We extend our gratitude to Conflux for their research and development, which has inspired us greatly. We anticipate deploying the first Conflux-based Layer 2 solution within 3 months, incorporating the aforementioned functionalities. Furthermore, we hope to expand our research team and welcome more blockchain enthusiasts to join us in this endeavor.
About Conflux
Conflux is a permissionless Layer 1 blockchain connecting decentralized economies across borders and protocols. Recently migrated to hybrid PoW/PoS consensus, Conflux provides a fast, secure, and scalable blockchain environment with zero congestion, low fees, and improved network security.
As the only regulatory-compliant public blockchain in China, Conflux provides a unique advantage for projects building and expanding into Asia. In the region, Conflux has collaborated with global brands and government entities on blockchain and metaverse initiatives, including the city of Shanghai, McDonald’s China, and Oreo.
