Original author: Evan Hsu, Vice President of Investments at Aves Lair; Philipp Hamer, Investment Analyst at Aves Lair

Introduction to Artela

Artela is a scalable Layer 1 blockchain network that provides a platform for developers to create modular, feature-rich, scalable and customizable applications in an EVM-compatible environment. Artela has promoted a solution called "EVM++", where the "++" means that Artela will break through the limitations of EVM from the perspectives of Scalability and Extensibility, providing developers with more chain-native possibilities.

EVM has become a standard framework for developing decentralized applications (dApps) and is widely used in various smart contract chains. It is often called EVM compatible chain. However, virtual machines like EVM are optimized for specific use cases, which may limit developers' flexibility in application design. For example, EVM prioritizes security and accessibility and is designed to achieve network stability. Expanding the functionality of the EVM through the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) process requires approval from the Ethereum Foundation. This process can be time-consuming and limits developers' ability to freely modify or create certain components at the user level.

Developers seeking to get around these limitations have turned to creating app-chains to extend functionality. While this approach allows for a greater degree of customization, developers not only face higher development and operational costs, but also lose on-chain composability. While other alternatives like MoveVM and FuelVM aim to provide virtual machines (VMs) beyond EVM, moving to these platforms may involve switching costs for developers accustomed to EVM environments. Additionally, reaching the same ecosystem maturity as EVM may take quite some time due to the loss of the ability to combine with existing development tools and EVM-based applications.

Artela aims to extend EVM functionality by solving its current limitations in customizability without requiring dApps to compromise or run on fragmented appchains. By introducing "Aspect Programming," Artela enables developers to create native extensions, or "Aspects," to execute custom code in the WebAssembly (WASM) runtime environment. By leveraging WASM for EVM extensions, developers can build practical applications without sacrificing performance and the benefits of EVM.

Additionally, Artela addresses the performance challenges inherent in EVM by enabling parallel execution, facilitating the simultaneous processing of multiple transactions. This significantly improves throughput and scalability, especially during peak usage. Developers benefit from this feature as it optimizes resource utilization and increases transaction speed. In addition, Artela alleviates network congestion through Elastic Block Space, allowing large-scale dApps to subscribe to independent block spaces, thereby mitigating the impact of congestion while ensuring scalability without the need for an appchain.

Now that we have outlined the challenges Artela addresses through its technical design choices, the article will delve deeper into these aspects.

Artela uses EVM+WASM solution to implement native extensions

What are extensions?

An extension is a software module that extends or enhances the functionality of an application. In the context of operating systems, general-purpose operating systems distinguish between kernel mode and user mode. User applications typically run in user mode, taking advantage of the functionality provided by kernel-mode programs. However, Mac OS X allows application developers to autonomously deploy programs into kernel mode to extend kernel functionality without requiring the MacOS The core mechanisms provided by Mac OS X are "kernel extensions" and "system extensions". Both types of extensions allow developers to develop kernel extensions in certain safe modes, using higher-privilege capabilities to develop features not possible with purely user-mode applications.

Through Uniswap v4 Hook Application-Specific Functionality (App-Specific Functionality) Perspective

Similar to Mac OS function. Hooks provide developers with the ability to add custom functionality at specific stages of the transaction pool. This feature significantly enhances operational flexibility and freedom, enabling developers to perform actions such as setting on-chain price limits before trading begins, withdrawing transaction fees for swap transactions and liquidity withdrawals, and enabling LP holders to earn additional MEV income and other operations. The introduction of Hook functionality expands the range of possibilities within the trading pool, facilitating the creation of custom extensions that meet different user needs.

While the functionality of Uniswap v4 has potential, it has not yet been fully implemented. While Hooks enable customization, the speed of innovation is still constrained by the limitations of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Returning to the "kernel" and "user" mode examples, in order to further enhance its capabilities, developers must wait for upgrades through the Ethereum Improvement Proposal process, which is overseen by the Ethereum Foundation.

Artela’s native extension

Inspired by the Mac OS X system architecture, the Artela team proposed In addition to supporting "smart contracts" on the blockchain protocol, Aspects, which is similar to the kernel extension, is a native extension on the Artela blockchain. Here's how Aspects extend EVM functionality:

·It has underlying base layer API access and can be combined with smart contracts and other Aspects.

·The code is executed using WASM, creating an execution environment that is orders of magnitude more efficient than the EVM.

· Its execution is securely isolated and does not affect the security and stability of the blockchain.

·In terms of governance, it is not maintained by the core team, but is deployed and maintained by the application team.

By leveraging Aspects, application developers can customize the underlying functionality their applications need without waiting for the core team to encapsulate them. Due to its composability, application developers can leverage pre-built aspects to build feature-rich applications on Artela. The Artela team summarizes this paradigm as theNative Extension Paradigm .

In addition, because Aspects can access system-level APIs at the grassroots level, it can natively integrate basic functions such as automation functions without relying on third-party services such as Chainlink. This chain-native scalability reduces the trust and cost trade-offs involved in introducing third-party service providers to the network. When using third-party services such as automated keeper networks to perform on-chain tasks, it introduces additional costs for users and reduces trust due to reliance on external parties. Aspects can natively provide automation functions, where WASM can be triggered during transaction or block execution, and Aspects can be programmed to perform predetermined tasks at specific block heights. Because there will be more requests for gas, by extending this functionality directly to the base layer, value capture occurs directly through the blockchain.

Automation is just one example of Artela’s Aspect programming in action. Its EVM+WASM solution ultimately enhances dApp functionality with WASM while maintaining composability with EVM.

Artela provides developers with highly customizable capabilities, both for the application layer of dApps and the underlying performance of the blockchain.

Functional Customization:

Smart Contracts + Native Extensions = Feature-Rich dApps

In Artela, application logic can be divided into two parts (core business and enhanced functions):

· Smart contracts are mainly responsible for handling the core business logic of dApps, such as trading, lending, or voting logic.

·Aspects handle features that do not directly affect the core business logic but can enhance other application properties (additional functionality). Aspects complement rather than replace smart contracts.

This mechanism means that Artela has two execution layers running synchronously. EVM, like the CPU, handles the core contract logic, while Aspects, running on the WASM virtual machine, like the GPU, handles enhanced functionality without touching the state of the smart contract. EVM and Aspects run on the same node and use the same consensus mechanism, so there are no additional trust assumptions and share the same security level.

Going back to our initial introduction to Uniswap V4,similar to the Hook mechanism in Uniswap V4, Artela's Aspects allow activation at multiple lifecycle points in block and transaction processing. Hooks in Artela are called Join Points, and Aspects, which execute Hook code, can dynamically insert functionality at various Join Points.

Optimizing dApp Capabilities with WASM Runtime

Artela uses a custom WASM runtime built specifically for executing Aspects, which provides several practical advantages for enhancing application capabilities. First, due to its performance optimization and low-level code representation, it is able to efficiently execute complex logic and calculations. Through WASM, Aspects allows developers to build applications without sacrificing performance, which is critical to ensuring the scalability and responsiveness of decentralized applications. In addition, WASM's support for multiple programming languages and its modular design provide developers with flexibility and easy integration with existing software ecosystems. Given the development and support of technology giants such as Google, Mozilla, and Apple, WASM has been widely adopted and popular, forming a rich ecosystem of development tools and resources.

Parallel Execution: Improving Network Scalability

Artela adopts parallel execution as a scalability solution , to reduce network latency and enhance throughput. Artela analyzes transactions to identify which ones can be processed simultaneously without interfering with each other. By organizing these compatible transactions into groups, Artela can execute multiple groups of transactions simultaneously, significantly increasing the volume and number of transactions that can be processed in a given period. This approach differs from Ethereum’s sequential execution, where each transaction is processed one after the other, which can lead to bottlenecks, especially during periods of high traffic.

Parallel execution eliminates the need for transactions to wait long for confirmation or pay exorbitant fees to be processed first. Shorter confirmation times help speed up transaction finality and are a benefit for latency-sensitive applications such as games or auctions. For example, popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games like League of Legends require low latency to accurately reflect sub-second input from players. Likewise, high transaction throughput is critical for enterprise-grade platforms, enabling major financial networks like Visa and Mastercard to process thousands of transactions per second.

It seems unlikely that Ethereum will adopt parallel processing in the short term, given its focus on rollup-centric strategies. However, the potential for parallel processing within the EVM ecosystem exists, and projects like Monad and Eclipse are exploring parallel processing. Similarly, Sei V2 is attempting to combine parallel execution capabilities with EVM compatibility, allowing Ethereum contracts to be redeployed on Sei without modification. This approach reflects Artela's strategy of increasing scalability while ensuring backward compatibility with the EVM.

Artela’s integration of parallel processing and Aspects represents a strategic enhancement of its infrastructure. This addresses current needs for scalability and efficiency while providing developers with a flexible framework. This framework makes it possible to create decentralized applications that can meet the needs of various use cases, such as dynamic gaming environments and a large number of financial services.

Scalability and elastic block space

As protocols grow in the Artela network , which can subscribe to elastic block space to handle growth in protocol users and throughput. Elastic block space provides independent block space for dApps with high transaction throughput needs, allowing them to scale as they grow. Essentially, block space determines the amount of data that can be stored in each block of the blockchain, directly affecting transaction throughput. When dApps experience a surge in transaction demand, subscribing to elastic block space becomes useful to efficiently handle the increased load without impacting the underlying blockchain.

An example of understanding the importance of block space and its impact on transaction costs is the launch of Otherside NFTs by Yuga Labs, which caused a dramatic increase in gas prices (up to 500 gwei). The total gas spent by transactions on Ethereum during the event reached $225 million. Demand for block space significantly exceeds supply. This means that even though only one application is congesting the network, users using other applications on Ethereum have to face the same high gas fees.

While it is possible to increase the number of transactions per block on Ethereum, we already know that upgrading the EVM requires a lengthy EIP process and development time. Furthermore, the Ethereum network deliberately ensures that the computing hardware requirements are accessible to the majority of participants. Therefore, if the data per block increases, so will the storage and computing requirements of validators, creating a higher barrier to entry and potentially threatening Ethereum’s decentralized ethos.

Solana addresses this challenge by implementing a unique solution for "local" fee markets. During events, such as when exchange transactions surge or NFTs are issued, transactions related to a specific event will face increased fees. For example, during an NFT issuance, an NFT issuer will rapidly consume each account’s Compute Unit (CU) limit. Further transactions must increase the priority fee to be processed within the limited space of the account. This approach prevents any single activity from monopolizing scarce block space, limits time-based fee escalation, and reduces network-wide congestion.

Artela further extends the concept of localized fee markets seen in Solana by providing dApps with additional block space to handle surges in transaction demand. Preventing network-wide cost surge and congestion. This approach not only mitigates the negative impact of sudden demand spikes, but also ensures stable transaction costs and network efficiency. By providing a mechanism that allows dApps to expand their block space in line with anticipated demand, Artela's elastic block space enables the protocol to handle rapid growth in protocol users and throughput. Going forward, one can envision a blockspace marketplace facilitated by Aspect, where dApp teams can buy and sell blockspace. This marketplace could offer package options that are more cost-effective or convenient for dApps, possibly including pre-order discounts when purchasing block space, similar to the energy marketplace.

Use Cases

The cryptocurrency market is in the midst of a breakthrough, and the functionality of on-chain products User-driven needs continue to grow. The limitations of on-chain programming have become more apparent, with areas such as secure DeFi, crypto AI, and full-chain gaming highlighting the need for programming scalability. Artela has unique advantages and innovation potential in fields such as AI, full-chain games, and DeFi security. It has the potential to overcome challenges that are difficult to achieve with pure EVM blockchains.

Preventing Exploits with Aspects

A specific use case for Aspects is preventing smart contract hacks by executing Aspects at specific junctures in a transaction. Aspects monitors and tracks the call stack, sets risk control rules, and can detect duplicate calls, which is an indicator of a potential reentrancy attack. If an attack is detected, Aspects can roll back the malicious transaction, effectively blocking the attack and preventing any loss of funds.

It is not possible to achieve this in native smart contracts because Solidity does not have access to the full transaction context, including state changes and call stacks. Even if such data were available, the associated gas costs would make it infeasible.

Deploying security policies like this with Aspects significantly raises the security bar for blockchains. As blockchain technology becomes more widely adopted and becomes a platform for large-scale financial transactions, we also expect Aspects to play a role in developing enterprise-grade on-chain risk control logic. Current solutions focus on off-chain risk management tools, which introduce inherent risks, such as reliance on external entities, such as oracles or third-party services, which introduce trust dependencies.

By enabling a more robust on-chain approach to security and risk management, Aspects paves the way for large institutions to consider blockchain technology as a viable component of their technology infrastructure, thereby expanding the adoption and utility of blockchain technology in more mainstream and critical applications.

Full-chain games

Artela’s technology design choices are well suited to support the development and hosting of full-chain games on its blockchain. Full-chain games can benefit from the flexibility of Aspects and the high-performance characteristics of the Artela blockchain, which can lead to innovative game designs that leverage the inherent interoperability and immutability of blockchains.

An interesting use case for Aspects is building a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game with a persistent world environment. Taking a cue from traditional MMO games like Eve Online, which has gathered 50 million players, it demonstrates the need for player-driven narratives and economies in a sandbox environment. Full-chain games can take this concept further by permanently embedding each player’s actions and their impact on the blockchain.

However, given the customizability and transaction processing limitations of the EVM, many blockchain game studios have taken the approach of either keeping the game logic completely off-chain while integrating on-chain components (such as NFTs or tokens), or adopting an on-chain/off-chain hybrid model. To optimize the development of full-chain games, two key factors are required: (1) the ability to incorporate advanced features into the game logic, and (2) ensuring low latency to provide a seamless user experience.

Going back to the example of persistent worlds, Aspects can automate changes in game state triggered by player actions. Take an online multiplayer game, where player actions trigger changes to the game map or environment. This requires the game state to be automatically refreshed at predefined intervals. The challenge is that in order to achieve this, the computational requirements can become impractical. Artela effectively overcomes the computational constraints inherent in the EVM by using the WASM virtual machine. By delegating specific logic and state updates to WASM, the EVM can focus on simpler functions such as the transfer of NFTs and tokens. This efficiency allows persistent on-chain worlds to automatically perform batch calculations and updates without affecting gameplay or transaction speeds. Due to the high-performance nature of the WASM execution environment, this opens the door to the possibility of more types of full-chain games that require low latency.

Artificial Intelligence

AI and blockchain technologies have promising synergies, especially in enhancing data security and transparency. Zero-knowledge machine learning (zkML) applies zero-knowledge proofs to machine learning, making it possible to verify computations or predictions without exposing the underlying data or model details. As Vitalik Buterin highlights, "cryptographic gadgets, especially general-purpose ones like ZK-SNARKs and MPC, have high overhead." Modulus Labs further illustrates this challenge, noting that the zkML process is more than a thousand times more resource-intensive than direct computation, and the average proof generation time using RISC Zero is 173 seconds. Similar to Risc Zero, Artela can leverage WASM to increase the execution speed of complex ML algorithms and manage large data sets. Despite these advances, even with WASM optimizations, the average proof generation time is still quite long, and the associated costs are challenging the viability of zkML as a competing solution.

However, Artela introduces an innovative framework called "Heterogeneous Aspect" to address these limitations. Heterogeneous Aspects leverage the diversity of computing resources and network access, potentially simplifying the execution of cryptographic operations such as zero-knowledge proofs and multi-party computation (MPC) in zkML. By making the distribution and processing of these computationally intensive tasks more efficient, heterogeneous Aspects have the potential to significantly reduce the overhead associated with zero-knowledge proofs and MPC.

While heterogeneous Aspects is still a new concept, its potential to improve zkML computation efficiency and lower deployment barriers indicates a promising path for integrating AI models into blockchain platforms, thereby enhancing the reach and feasibility of these technologies for a wider range of use cases.

Summary

All in all, Artela provides developers with a block that is conducive to rapid innovation and adaptability Chain development platform. Its integration of native extensions and Aspect programming enables it to overcome EVM constraints and facilitate the development of a range of practical applications. The performance and scalability offered by Aspects executed via WASM present a competitive solution to app-chains while still allowing access to EVM-based applications and toolsets. Additionally, the composability of Aspects simplifies dApp development by allowing developers access to pre-existing feature libraries and the ability to create new features at the base level, enabling the functionality of third-party service providers to be emulated within a single application. Given these practical advantages, we expect Artela’s developer ecosystem to grow significantly.

Artela has raised over $6 million in seed funding, led by Shima Capital, with participation from Aves Lair, A&T Capital, Big Brain Holdings, SevenX Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Amino Capital and others participated in the investment.

A special thanks goes to the Artela team for their valuable insights and contributions to this article. To find out more about Artela, click here.

About Aves Lair

Aves Lair: is a global early-stage VC with an ecosystem that brings together visionaries, leading startups, industry leaders, scientists and investors , to lead the new wave of innovation in the Web3 industry.

Original link

Welcome to join the BlockBeats official community

Telegram subscription group: https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram communication group: https://t.me/theblockbeatsApp

Twitter official account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia

欢迎加入律动 BlockBeats 官方社群：

Telegram 订阅群：https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram 交流群：https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Twitter 官方账号：https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia