Understanding Chromia in one article: A data-centric Layer 1 platform
summary
Chromia is a data-centric Layer 1 platform that aims to optimize and enable high-performance AI and gaming applications by horizontally scaling to handle parallel tasks.
Chromia will launch its mainnet in early Q3 2024 and recently completed integration with AI-driven gaming studio Ultiverse.
Applications built on Chromia will run as sidechains, and the Chromia database-centric approach is well suited for applications that require complex queries and indexing.
Project Description
As Ethereum’s gas fees continue to rise, various Layer 1 alternative solutions that aim to optimize scalability continue to emerge. Chromia uses relational databases to achieve efficient data storage and retrieval, which has become its differentiating competitive point.
Just as Ethereum adopted a modular approach to address its shortcomings, the design space for Layer 1 alternatives has also expanded significantly. Integration and modular strategies provide applications and developers with a variety of options for functionality and performance. Chromia is positioned as a data query platform for modular blockchains, attracting gaming and AI projects through intensive data processing and computing power.
Background of the project
Chromia was founded in 2019 by Chromaway of Sweden. The founding team of Chromaway has deep roots in the crypto space and has been building in related fields since the birth of Bitcoin, including Or Perelman, Henrik Hjelte and Alex Mizrahi. Mizrahi made early contributions to the concept of PoS consensus mechanism and colored coins.
Yeou Jie Goh, former head of Defiance Capital, recently joined the Chromia team as head of Asia Pacific.
Chromia’s 2019 funding round was led by Arrington Capital, and its 2018 seed round was led by TGE Capital, with all private placement and investor tokens having been released.
technology
Chromia separates the settlement layer and the execution layer to achieve modularity and uses a relational database as an information storage structure, while Ethereum uses an account model.
Postchains
Postchains are the most important innovation in Chromias design. Postchains are designed to store data, including blockchain metadata and application state, in a relational database. In addition, they allow a single database to host multiple blockchains and allow one blockchain to access data from another blockchain after the data has been submitted. This approach allows chains to easily query shared data to simplify interactions between blockchains, thereby reducing complexity.
ICMF and ICCF
Chromia sends data between chains through two protocols, ICMF (Inter-Chain Messaging Facility) and ICCF (Inter-Chain Confirmation Facility).
ICMF uses the anchor hierarchy to send messages across chains and facilitate various internal cross-chain communications, including managing application updates. It supports chains to publish messages to a topic, and then allows other chains to subscribe to any messages on that specific topic. ICMF uses the anchor hierarchy as a communication channel to ensure the final delivery and order of messages, allowing chains in different clusters to communicate.
ICCF also uses an anchoring hierarchy, but instead of sending messages, it constructs transaction proofs. Once constructed, the proof client submits it to the receiving blockchain, which uses the anchoring structure for verification. While ICCF is faster and more efficient, it requires client interaction, and the client may fail. In this case, ICCF needs to recreate and resubmit the proof. ICCF proofs are used for cross-chain transfers and are implemented in Chromias FT 4 token standard.
Both allow developers to use PostgreSQL for data storage and querying to optimize the development process. The traditional virtual machine architecture is incompatible with Chromias relational data model because it requires encoding queries. To solve this problem, Chromia uses the relational language Rell for programming. Rell is designed to be similar to Python and Kotlin, aiming to reduce the learning curve for developers and promote adoption and transition.
consensus
Each application on Chromia has its own blockchain, which is run by a set of nodes using eBFT. Each blockchain in Chromia is associated with a set of validators and hosted on a set of nodes, which are responsible for reaching consensus on all modifications to the application state. Individuals or organizations can run nodes called service providers and run Chromia software on the nodes. Chromia currently has four clusters, a group of network nodes that jointly run the same blockchain. The actual throughput and scalability of the network will be determined when the mainnet is launched. The current application network (appnet) data is:
Confirmation time of about 1 second;
Each sidechain has a TPS greater than 500;
Greater than 100,000 updates and reads per second.
Chromia has tested three clusters internally with a TPS of about 33,000, and the team said that the network can scale linearly as the number of clusters increases.
Chromia achieves horizontal scalability by dividing its architecture into multiple blockchains, with each node processing only data for its designated chain. This model ensures that updates on one chain do not affect another chain to enhance scalability, effectively creating an overall system blockchain, which is the core of the Chromia architecture. The system chain consists of:
The Directory Chain tracks all service providers, nodes, application chains and their validators.
The Economy Chain tracks token distribution and is only available for CHR.
The Anchoring Chain defends against attacks on some nodes. It also records the block hashes of other chains, which helps detect consensus failures. Chromia has a cluster anchoring chain that anchors all chains upstream from the original chain.
Therefore, applications built on Chromia will run as sidechains, a database-centric approach suitable for applications that require complex queries and indexing. In this model, applications pay nodes for hosting services. This setting is designed to support developers to determine their own configuration details based on the resources allocated to the application. For nodes, they seek to get fees for providing services to the server and do not care about the specific functions of the application. However, this approach may lead to inefficiencies: the computing resources are evenly distributed among nodes, which may cause some nodes to be underutilized while others reach their capacity limits.
Chromia solves this problem by introducing a variety of nodes tailored to specific needs, including application requirements, service provider capacity, and hardware availability. This flexible design enables applications to adjust hosting fees based on their unique needs. In the Chromia ecosystem, hosting fees and transactions use CHR as the standard token.
Token Economics
1 billion CHR tokens were created when the network was initially launched, 22 million tokens were destroyed in May 2020, and the current total supply is 978 million 37.
The complete allocation is as follows:
37.25% is allocated to the ecosystem.
25% is allocated to the promotion fund.
19.4% was allocated to private sale investors.
4.5% is allocated to founders.
4% as initial liquidity.
3% is allocated to auto-convertible contracts.
2.93% is allocated to the team.
2% is allocated to Chromias system nodes.
1.92% is allocated to Chromia advisors.
CHR was initially issued in the form of ERC-20. After the Chromia mainnet is launched, it will be converted into Chromias native token. Currently, CHRs FDV is $186 million and the token price is $0.23.
The unallocated tokens include 9.4 million for founders, 57.1 million for promotional activities, and 16.5 million for the automatic conversion contract, which will be activated at the launch of the mainnet and unlocked monthly until December 2024. Chromia tokens have multiple key functions in the Chromia ecosystem:
DApps use this to pay for hosting fees and as a node reward, similar to Ethereum paying transaction fees to block producers;
Serves as the primary currency in the Chromia economy.
Users can stake CHR tokens to earn rewards and contribute to network security, and service providers can use their staked tokens for governance.
Networking activities
Chromia requires service providers to stake CHR to incentivize them to protect the network. CHR is used as collateral and will be confiscated when nodes misbehave. All users can stake Chromia tokens to receive an annualized governance reward of 10% per year (the staking rate may be adjusted in the future). Users can participate using wallets such as MetaMask. Staking can be done on the Ethereum mainnet or BNB Chain. After staking, CHR tokens will be frozen for two weeks. In addition, all applications that wish to be hosted on the Chromia testnet must stake at least 100 CHR.
In January 2024, the team introduced the delegation mechanism. Chromia added new service providers to enhance the responsiveness of the staking interface. After the update, the list of providers will be dynamically populated through real-time access to the directory chain, ensuring the real-time nature of potential delegates. At the time of writing, 28% of the circulating CHR tokens are natively staked.
The network is still in the testnet phase, and the appnet currently has seven online applications, twenty service providers, and twenty-six active nodes. Chromias most popular application is My Neighbor Alice, a full-chain multiplayer game that combines digital agriculture, NFT trading, and community, built entirely on Chromia. Since its launch in January 2024, My Neighbor Alices Alpha Season 4 has completed over 1.8 million transactions.
Another application on Chromia is Fanzeal, a digital collection market related to the German football team Stuttgart. It aims to bring sports and entertainment to the blockchain. In addition, Chromia has cooperated with multiple game studios to welcome the upcoming mainnet.
route map
In terms of positioning, Chromia is developing towards the center of crypto games. In terms of technology, Chromia launched a block browser, EVM cross-chain bridge in the fourth quarter of 2023, and finalized its Chromia CLI to simplify the deployment of Rell-based applications.
Chromia will launch the Economic Chain, a system chain that runs in parallel to the Directory Chain and the Anchor Chain. The Economic Chain aims to achieve several important goals. First, it will support native fee applications that allow containers to be rented using CHR tokens, simplifying the distribution of fees paid to network providers. In addition, the Economic Chain will serve as the main channel for the official bridge, facilitating the transfer of CHR tokens between Ethereum and BNB Chain. It also plays a key role in the circulation of CHR tokens, acting as a starting point for tokens entering the ecosystem from the Chromia side.
Before its mainnet launch, Chromia faces two key challenges: implementing a native fee system to compensate network providers in CHR tokens, and finalizing the integration of its token standard FT 4 cross-chain bridge to support native CHR transactions.
In February 2024, Chromia also announced a strategic partnership with RSTLSS, a platform that allows users to easily design personalized digital assets. The partnership aims to make digital creation accessible to everyone. Chromia will simplify the application experience, while RSTLSS will focus on ensuring the ease of use of its UGC, extending it to users without programming knowledge. The Chromia gaming ecosystem will be enhanced through cross-game asset sharing, intellectual property crossover, and promotion of RSTLSSs innovative tools.
In addition, the integration of Chromia and Rell enables relational database query capabilities, which helps expand the scope of Chromias applications, including AI and other aspects. In situations where most blockchains have difficulty handling large amounts of computing demand, Chromias efficient data storage and retrieval system provides developers with effective tools.
in conclusion
With its modular architecture based on relational database principles, Chromia aims to gain a foothold in Layer 1. The programming language Rell introduces data storage capabilities, enabling comprehensive on-chain data management directly on the network.
As AI and gaming gain more and more attention, the Chromia mainnet will play its role. Chromias current market value is about $180 million, lagging behind Beam and ImmutableX, which are valued at $710 million and $1.87 billion, respectively. Chromia will achieve its goals through more customized and practical application integration solutions.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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