With the continuous development of blockchain technology, Ethereum has become one of the main platforms for smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps). However, despite Ethereum's excellent smart contract functionality, its throughput and performance remain a challenge. To address these issues, StarkWare has introduced Starknet, a second-layer scaling solution based on Ethereum. In this article, we will delve into a key component of Starknet, Papyrus, which is an open-source full node for Starknet and will be a crucial part of the decentralized Starknet infrastructure.
Introduction
In recent years, blockchain technology has made significant progress but also faces some major challenges. One of these challenges is the performance and throughput issues of blockchain. As more DApps and smart contracts are deployed, the congestion problem in the Ethereum network becomes more apparent. To address this issue, StarkWare has introduced Starknet, a second-layer scaling solution built on top of Ethereum. Papyrus, as a full node for Starknet, plays a crucial role in the entire Starknet ecosystem.
What is Starknet?
Starknet is a Layer-2 scaling solution developed by StarkWare, aiming to improve the performance and throughput of Ethereum. Unlike the Ethereum main chain, Starknet alleviates the burden on the Ethereum main chain by processing transactions and smart contracts on a second-layer network. This means faster transaction speeds and lower fees while still enjoying the security and decentralization features of Ethereum.
The goal of Starknet is to achieve scalability, high performance, and decentralization, providing a better experience for developers and users. However, to achieve these goals, a robust infrastructure is needed, and that is where Papyrus comes in.
Papyrus: The Full Node for Starknet
Papyrus is an essential component of Starknet, an open-source Rust implementation of a full node for Starknet. As a full node, Papyrus tracks the entire state of Starknet and allows users and developers to query this state through Starknet's JSON-RPC. This provides Starknet with a stable and reliable data source to operate and process transactions.
Papyrus is not just a data storage node; it will also serve as the foundation for the new Starknet Sequencer. The Sequencer is a critical component responsible for Starknet block generation and will significantly improve the throughput of Starknet in the coming months. Papyrus works in collaboration with other Starknet full nodes like Pathfinder and Juno to ensure the synchronization and maintenance of Starknet's state.
Open-Source Starknet Ecosystem
StarkWare has been actively promoting the open-sourcing of Starknet. Collaborating with the open-source community makes different components of Starknet public resources, which helps enhance decentralization and system security. Papyrus, as an open-source full node, follows the Apache 2.0 license and contributes significantly to the open-sourcing process of the Starknet ecosystem.
Improving Starknet's Performance
The development of Starknet is divided into three important stages: functionality and usability, scalability and performance, and decentralization. Starknet has already achieved impressive usability, and the current focus is on improving system performance while gradually achieving decentralization.
To improve system performance, a key aspect is enhancing the performance of the Sequencer, the core component responsible for Starknet block generation. The Sequencer sorts and executes submitted transactions. To improve performance, Papyrus will provide an efficient storage layer for the Starknet Sequencer. This means the Sequencer will maintain a local database instead of relying on a cloud database. Additionally, Papyrus will adopt a flat key/value storage, directly interacting with the state instead of using Merkle-Patricia paths.
Strengthening and Decentralizing the Starknet Stack
Currently, two teams are developing Starknet full nodes. Equilibrium's Pathfinder is implemented in Rust, while Nethermind's Juno is working on developing the first official version of their Golang implementation. The addition of Papyrus further promotes decentralization and redundancy. By adding another full node and making it open-source, it helps provide diverse client implementations, which are important indicators of the strength of a decentralized network and solidifies its status as a public resource.
Current Version and Future Plans
The current version of Papyrus allows for synchronization with the state of Starknet and access to the entire history of Starknet. However, support for the JSON-RPC specification is currently only partially implemented, but the development team is actively working towards full compatibility. Meanwhile, the Papyrus team, along with Pathfinder and Juno, will also focus on building the foundation for the Starknet P2P layer. The ability for different nodes to communicate and synchronize through the P2P layer will be a significant step towards achieving decentralization in Starknet. Furthermore, being able to sync from peers (rather than each node communicating with a central API as it is today) will greatly improve synchronization time.
Conclusion
Papyrus is a crucial component of the Starknet ecosystem, providing a reliable full node and high-performance Sequencer for Starknet. As an open-source project, it strengthens the decentralization of Starknet and provides a better experience for developers and users. The continuous development and improvement of Starknet will bring more innovation and opportunities to the blockchain ecosystem, and we can expect to see more DApps and smart contracts based on Starknet. With the addition of Papyrus, Starknet will continue to advance as a more powerful and decentralized blockchain solution.
Through this article, we have gained an in-depth understanding of the key roles of Papyrus and Starknet and their potential impact in the blockchain field. Over time, we can expect to see Starknet continue to evolve, bringing more innovation and improvements to the blockchain ecosystem. Hopefully, this article has helped you better understand Papyrus and Starknet and instill confidence in their future development.