Eclipse: An innovative Layer2 that combines Solana's performance with Ethereum's security

In the Web3 space, a remarkable project is rising. Eclipse, as a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, is attempting to combine the high performance of Solana with the security of Ethereum, providing users with a unique blockchain experience.

Neel, the founder of Eclipse, previously worked in traditional finance before transitioning to the crypto space. He initially developed within the Cosmos ecosystem and later became interested in Roll-Ups. Neel believes that Roll-Ups have lower operating costs compared to Layer 1, and the token inflation rate is smaller, which motivated him to establish the Eclipse project in September 2022.

The uniqueness of Eclipse lies in its use of SVM (Solana Virtual Machine) as the execution environment. This allows Eclipse to offer high performance similar to Solana while relying on Ethereum for settlement, ensuring security. For users, the experience of Eclipse is very similar to Solana, featuring short block generation times, low latency, and high throughput.

On a technical level, Eclipse acts as a Roll Up, ensuring the correctness of chain execution through a proof mechanism. It uses fraud proofs of Optimistic Rollup, but unlike Optimism and Arbitrum, Eclipse employs RISC Zero for ZK fraud proofs. In terms of data availability, considering Ethereum's high transaction fees, Eclipse has chosen Celestia as the data availability layer.

The Eclipse team once considered the RaaS (Rollup as a Service) model but ultimately abandoned the idea. They believe that RaaS is difficult to achieve significant profitability and may lead to a decentralized and complicated user experience.

Compared to Solana, Eclipse is more likely to attract members of the Ethereum community. Neel believes that Ethereum's advantages in economics and theoretical computer science can help address some of the challenges faced by Solana, such as the issue of spam transactions caused by low fees. Additionally, as a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, Eclipse presents a lower migration difficulty for users.

Eclipse's business model primarily relies on sequencer revenue. Referring to Arbitrum's revenue model, Eclipse is expected to generate significant cash flow in this way. In terms of project deployment, projects with existing Solana smart contracts can almost be deployed directly on Eclipse. For EVM contracts, they need to be rewritten in Rust or converted to SVM contracts through collaboration with Neon.

Currently, Eclipse has attracted 15 different Dapps for deployment, covering various fields such as consumer applications, game incubation, NFT markets, and Launch Pads. The project team includes Vijay, the former business director of dydx, who has extensive business experience.

The Eclipse plan is to launch a developer-focused mainnet early next year, which will then be open to the public. This innovative Layer 2 project is bringing new possibilities to the Web3 ecosystem and is worth keeping an eye on.