Why Data Availability is the Make-or-Break Modular Component

The gold standard for security, using full-node verification and consensus for DA. It's secure but imposes severe constraints on rollup scaling and cost.

• Security Model: Inherits Ethereum's $100B+ economic security.
• The Bottleneck: ~80 KB/s blob throughput caps rollup TPS and keeps fees volatile.
• Ecosystem Lock-in: Dominant for high-value L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism, creating a $40B+ TVL moat.

A purpose-built, minimal DA layer that decouples consensus from execution. It uses Data Availability Sampling (DAS) for scalable security.

• Scalability First: ~100 MB/s capacity, enabling ~$0.001 per MB DA costs.
• Light Client Security: DAS allows nodes to verify availability with minimal data, a breakthrough for trust-minimized scaling.
• Modular Adoption: Foundation for rollups like Dymension and Fuel, proving the product-market fit for dedicated DA.

DA layers leveraging novel cryptographic proofs or validator sets to offer a middle path between Ethereum's security and Celestia's scale.

• Restaking Security: EigenDA uses EigenLayer's $20B+ restaked ETH to bootstrap cryptoeconomic security.
• Optimized for Rollups: Avail (from Polygon) offers validity proofs for DA and a built-in cross-rollup communication layer.
• Strategic Positioning: Aim to capture value from L2s seeking Ethereum-aligned security without its throughput limits.

A purpose-built, minimal DA layer that decouples execution from consensus and data availability. It's the go-to for new L2s and rollups seeking sovereignty and low fixed costs.

• Key Benefit: ~$0.01 per MB data posting cost, orders of magnitude cheaper than L1 posting.
• Key Benefit: Sovereign rollup model enables forks and independent governance without L1 hard forks.
• Key Benefit: Light client-first design with data availability sampling for scalable, trust-minimized verification.

A DA layer secured by restaked ETH via EigenLayer, appealing to teams that prioritize Ethereum's economic security over maximal decentralization.

• Key Benefit: Leverages Ethereum's $50B+ restaking ecosystem for cryptoeconomic security.
• Key Benefit: High throughput design targeting 10-100 MB/s for hyper-scalable rollups.
• Key Benefit: Native integration with the Ethereum ecosystem reduces fragmentation for apps like Layer 2s and alt-DA consumers.

The native, protocol-level DA solution via proto-danksharding. The default for rollups prioritizing maximal security and alignment with Ethereum L1.

• Key Benefit: Maximum security inherits full Ethereum consensus and decentralization.
• Key Benefit: ~90% cost reduction for L2s vs. calldata, with ~0.1 ETH per blob current cost.
• Key Benefit: Eliminates technical debt by making DA a core protocol primitive, avoiding third-party dependencies.

General-purpose L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism face unsustainable data costs when scaling to 100k+ TPS, making pure L1 blob storage a long-term bottleneck.

• The Solution: Hybrid or opt-out DA. These L2s use Ethereum blobs for security-critical data but can route non-critical data to cheaper layers like Celestia or EigenDA, cutting costs by >80%.
• The Reality: This creates a sliding scale of security and fragments liquidity, forcing builders to make explicit trade-offs between cost and safety.

A DA layer focused on enabling validiums (zero-knowledge rollups with off-chain DA) and standalone chains with strong data availability guarantees.

• Key Benefit: ZK-optimized design with built-in proof verification and data availability sampling.
• Key Benefit: Unified security for multiple execution layers from a single DA base, reducing fragmentation.
• Key Benefit: Sovereign chain toolkit provides a full stack for launching independent chains with shared security.

Leverages Near Protocol's high-throughput, sharded architecture to offer low-cost, high-speed DA, competing directly on performance metrics.

• Key Benefit: Sub-cent transaction costs with horizontally scalable capacity via nightshade sharding.
• Key Benefit: Fast finality (~2 second) for DA, appealing to gaming and social applications.
• Key Benefit: Ethereum compatibility via fast bridge, allowing L2s like Caldera to use it as a cost-effective DA layer.

The first modular DA network that decouples consensus from execution. It's the benchmark for cost and scalability, but its security is new and unproven at scale.

• Key Benefit: ~$0.01 per MB data posting cost, enabling ultra-cheap L2s.
• Key Benefit: Data Availability Sampling (DAS) allows light nodes to verify availability without downloading all data.
• Trade-off: Its security is not backed by a high-value execution layer like Ethereum.

Using Ethereum for DA via blob transactions is the gold standard for security, paid for by higher costs. It's the default for teams that prioritize credible neutrality and battle-tested crypto-economics.

• Key Benefit: Inherits the full $500B+ security budget of Ethereum's consensus layer.
• Key Benefit: Credible neutrality and maximal composability with the dominant L1 ecosystem.
• Trade-off: ~100x more expensive than dedicated DA layers; blobs are ephemeral (c. 18 days).

Built on Ethereum restaking via EigenLayer, it offers a hybrid model: Ethereum-aligned security with significantly higher throughput and lower cost than pure blobs.

• Key Benefit: Security backed by restaked ETH, creating a cryptoeconomic link to Ethereum.
• Key Benefit: Designed for high-volume, low-cost rollups like hyperchains, with 10 MB/s+ target throughput.
• Trade-off: Introduces restaking systemic risk; security is a function of restaked value, not ETH's native security.

If your DA layer censors or loses your chain's data, your rollup halts. Users cannot prove fraud or withdraw assets. This isn't an academic concern—it's a total protocol failure.

• Risk: Censorship by the DA layer equals a chain halt.
• Risk: Data withholding attacks prevent fraud proofs, freezing funds.
• Solution: Evaluate liveness assumptions and data recovery mechanisms (e.g., forcing to Ethereum L1) above all else.

A DeFi protocol with $10B TVL has different needs than a gaming chain. Your choice is a direct function of value secured and user tolerance.

• High-Value/DeFi: Choose Ethereum blobs. The cost is justified; security is non-negotiable.
• High-Volume/Gaming/Social: Choose Celestia or EigenDA. Optimize for throughput and cost; accept newer security models.
• Use a Hybrid: Span multiple DA layers for critical state transitions, like using Avail for speed and posting checkpoints to Ethereum.

The endgame isn't picking one winner. Protocols like Near's DA layer, Avail, and Celestia will compete on cost, while proof aggregation layers (e.g., Succinct, Polygon zkEVM) will abstract the choice.

• Trend: Modular stacks (e.g., Rollkit + Celestia, Eclipse + SVM + Celestia) commoditize launch.
• Trend: Proof aggregation and shared sequencers (like Astria) will batch proofs across multiple DA layers.
• Action: Architect for DA portability; don't get locked into a single provider's client.