Volition

The core innovation of Volition is its hybrid data availability (DA) choice. Users can select between:

• Data on Chain: Data is posted to the Ethereum L1, inheriting its full security and censorship resistance.
• Data off Chain: Data is posted to a separate, scalable data availability layer (like a Validium), drastically reducing transaction costs while relying on that layer's security model.

The choice of data availability is made per transaction, not per wallet or application. This allows for flexible cost-security optimization. For example, a high-value NFT transfer could use on-chain DA for security, while a low-stakes game move could use off-chain DA for affordability, all within the same user session.

Volition explicitly defines a security spectrum based on the DA choice:

• Maximum Security (On-Chain DA): Equivalent to a ZK-Rollup. Users are protected by Ethereum's full consensus and data availability guarantees.
• Optimized Cost (Off-Chain DA): Operates as a Validium. Security depends on the off-chain DA layer's proof-of-stake or committee-based system, introducing different trust assumptions for significantly lower fees.

Technically, a Volition system consists of a ZK-Rollup settlement layer on Ethereum that verifies zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). A separate Data Availability Committee (DAC) or a celestia-like network typically provides the off-chain DA option. The state transition is always proven on L1, but the data needed to reconstruct the state may be stored elsewhere.

Volition is designed for applications requiring flexible security-cost profiles:

• Enterprise & Institutional Finance: High-value settlements use on-chain DA for auditability.
• High-Throughput dApps: Social media or gaming platforms can use off-chain DA for microtransactions.
• DeFi: Protocols can let users choose DA level for margin trades versus simple swaps.

Volition sits between pure ZK-Rollups and Validiums in the scaling taxonomy:

• vs. ZK-Rollup: Volition offers the same maximum security option but adds a cheaper, alternative DA path.
• vs. Validium: Volition is not a single model but a framework that includes the Validium mode as one option, alongside the rollup mode.
• vs. Optimistic Rollups: Both can have hybrid DA concepts, but Volition is specifically associated with ZK-proof-based systems.

The core use case for Volition is cost reduction. Users can select the data availability layer for each transaction:

• On-Chain (Ethereum): For high-value, security-critical transactions where censorship resistance and maximum liveness guarantees are paramount.
• Off-Chain (DAC): For routine, low-value transactions, drastically reducing gas fees by storing data with a trusted committee. This creates a variable cost model where users pay for security proportional to their needs.

Volition provides the granular control required for regulated entities. Financial institutions can:

• Use on-chain data availability for audit trails and settlement of large transactions to meet compliance requirements.
• Use off-chain data availability for internal operations, high-frequency micro-transactions, or data they wish to keep private from the public chain, balancing regulatory compliance with operational efficiency.

Developers can build applications (dApps) that leverage both modes. For example:

• A decentralized exchange could settle large, infrequent trades on-chain for security, while processing thousands of small swaps off-chain for speed and low cost.
• A game could store critical NFT ownership and high-value asset transfers on-chain, while keeping frequent, low-stakes in-game transaction data off-chain. This enables scalable user experiences without sacrificing core security guarantees.

Volition facilitates compliance with data regulations like GDPR. Applications can be designed so that:

• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or sensitive commercial data is stored only with a permissioned Data Availability Committee, keeping it off the public ledger.
• Only the essential cryptographic commitments (hashes) or proof of data existence are posted on-chain. This creates a privacy-preserving architecture that still maintains cryptographic accountability.

While a Validium forces all data off-chain, Volition offers a key advantage: user choice. This mitigates the primary risk of Validiums—funds being frozen if the DAC fails or acts maliciously. With Volition, users concerned with this data availability risk can opt for the higher-cost, higher-security on-chain path for specific assets or transactions, providing a crucial safety valve.

When a user selects the on-chain data option in a Volition system, the essential data for transaction validity is posted to Ethereum calldata. This ensures maximum security and censorship resistance, as the data is permanently available for anyone to reconstruct the state. The trade-off is higher gas fees, as calldata is a scarce and expensive blockchain resource. This mode is typically chosen for high-value or compliance-sensitive transactions.

The off-chain data option relies on a Data Availability Committee (DAC), a set of trusted entities that sign cryptographic commitments attesting to data availability. Users enjoy significantly lower fees, as data is not posted to Ethereum. The security model shifts from Ethereum's consensus to the trustworthiness and cryptographic honesty of the DAC members. This is suitable for high-throughput, low-cost applications like gaming and frequent trading.

Volition operationalizes a continuous trade-off between security and cost. This is not a binary choice but a configurable spectrum:

• Maximum Security: Data on Ethereum L1 (high cost).
• Balanced: Data in Ethereum EIP-4844 blobs (medium cost, medium security).
• Minimum Cost: Data with a DAC (low cost, trust-based security). This allows each transaction to be optimized for its specific requirements, a fundamental shift from one-size-fits-all rollup designs.

Volition's primary security consideration is the explicit trade-off between data availability (DA) and cost. Choosing on-chain DA provides the highest security guarantee, as data is secured by the base layer's consensus. Choosing off-chain DA (validium) introduces a trust assumption in the data availability committee or proof system, reducing costs but creating a potential single point of failure for data retrieval.

When a user selects the off-chain data path, security relies on a Data Availability Committee (DAC). This is a set of known, reputable entities that cryptographically attest to data availability.

• Trust Assumption: Users must trust that a threshold of committee members is honest and will not withhold data.
• Censorship Risk: A malicious majority could selectively censor transaction data, preventing state updates.
• Real Example: StarkEx's implementation uses a DAC for its validium mode, with members like Nethermind and StarkWare.

Volition's key innovation is granting user sovereignty over security for each asset or transaction. A user can place high-value NFTs or large ERC-20 transfers on the secure on-chain DA path while using the cheaper off-chain path for smaller, frequent transactions. This shifts the risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis from the protocol to the end-user or their application.

The security model differs significantly during normal operation versus a withdrawal or exit scenario.

• On-Chain DA: Users can always exit using only L1 data, as with a standard zk-rollup.
• Off-Chain DA: If the DAC fails, users cannot generate a Merkle proof for their assets without the data, potentially freezing funds. Protocols mitigate this with escape hatches or forced trade mechanisms after a long challenge period.

Monitoring the security of a volition system is more complex than a pure rollup.

• On-Chain Path: Fully auditable via the L1.
• Off-Chain Path: Requires monitoring the health and signatures of the DAC. Users or watchdogs must verify that data availability attestations are consistently published and valid. A failure to receive these attestations is a critical security alert.

Volition sits between two pure security models:

• vs. zk-Rollup (Pure On-Chain DA): Volition offers optional lower cost at the expense of introducing a trusted component for off-chain transactions.
• vs. Validium (Pure Off-Chain DA): Volition offers higher security for users who need it, without forcing all users to pay for L1 DA. It's a flexible hybrid rather than a fixed architecture.