Stellar's Move to WebAssembly
The Stellar Development Foundation has recently announced its membership in the Bytecode Alliance, an industry group that focuses on the development of WebAssembly (Wasm). Wasm is a direct rival to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and is utilized in non-blockchain, browser-based applications as well.
Competition Between Wasm and EVM
While the majority of blockchain networks, including Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Avalanche, rely on the EVM, some networks like Polkadot, MultiversX (formerly Elrond), and Internet Computer have chosen WebAssembly over EVM. Stellar joined this list in 2022 when it implemented smart contracts on its payments network, opting for Wasm as its computation engine.
Advantages of Wasm
Stellar developers cited several reasons for selecting Wasm. They claimed that EVM's storage and execution models are costly and difficult to parallelize, hindering scalability and increasing transaction costs. Moreover, Wasm was deemed suitable for "extremely adversarial" environments like blockchains because it was originally developed for browser applications.
Collaborating with Bytecode Alliance
The Bytecode Alliance is a non-profit organization consisting of influential internet companies such as Amazon, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft. The alliance heavily contributes to the development of WebAssembly. When Stellar adopted Wasm, Dfinity from the Internet Computer was the sole representative from the blockchain network in the alliance.
By joining the Bytecode Alliance, Stellar aims to have a say in the standards and tooling of the Wasm development community. The team's objective is not only to advocate for Stellar but also to represent the entire blockchain community. Stellar believes that its participation in the organization will enable the alliance to cater to the needs of Web3 and blockchain developers more effectively.
Expanding the Reach of Wasm
The Wasm community is gradually making progress in the Web3 world, which is currently dominated by EVM. On April 3, the Astar network announced that it would support both EVM and Wasm contracts, allowing developers to choose between the two virtual machines. This event was aptly named "Wasm launch day." In another development, on August 22, Binance pledged $2.2 million in funding for zkWASMHub, a zero-knowledge proof application platform based on Wasm.
Stellar's collaboration with the Bytecode Alliance is an important step towards shaping the future and development of WebAssembly for blockchain developers. It represents their commitment to advancing the blockchain industry and providing better solutions for a wide range of applications in the Web3 era.
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