Illia Polosukhin: Near Protocol – From AI to High-Throughput Blockchain
Jan 6, 2024
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Illia Poloshukhin, founder of Near Protocol, discusses the journey from AI to high-throughput blockchain, the scalability of large language models, Near's abstraction of the blockchain for decentralized development, and the role of account aggregation and interoperability.
Near is pursuing account aggregation to simplify cross-chain interoperability, allowing users to transact seamlessly across different blockchains using one account.
Near is focused on developing decentralized front-end frameworks to provide users with direct access to blockchain applications, ensuring censorship resistance and trustless interactions.
Near is actively working on defining standards to promote seamless cross-chain interaction and interoperability, enabling developers to build applications that can run across multiple blockchains.
Account aggregation is an approach being pursued by Near to simplify cross-chain interoperability. The goal is to allow users to have one account that is linked to multiple addresses across different blockchains. With account aggregation, users can transact seamlessly across various chains without the need for complex bridge mechanisms. This approach eliminates the need for users to set up separate wallets or go through manual bridging processes. Instead, they can use their main Near account to transact on different chains, whether it's buying NFTs on Solana or interacting with decentralized finance protocols on Ethereum. By abstracting the blockchain complexities, Near aims to provide a unified and user-friendly experience for interacting with multiple chains.
Decentralized Front-Ends: Enhanced User Experience
Near is focused on improving the user experience by developing decentralized front-end frameworks. The goal is to store the front-end code on-chain, allowing users to access applications directly from the blockchain without the need for traditional servers. This approach ensures censorship resistance, avoids single points of failure, and allows for transparent and trustless interactions. With decentralized front-ends, users can access applications from multiple blockchains without relying on centralized servers. This fosters a more open and decentralized web experience for users, as they can engage with various blockchain applications directly from their wallets or browser extensions.
Standards for Seamless Cross-Chain Interaction
Near is actively working on defining standards that facilitate seamless cross-chain interaction. By establishing standards, Near aims to create a cohesive ecosystem where developers can build applications that can run across different blockchains. These standards include protocols for indexing data, RPC APIs, and other key components. By adhering to these standards, developers can ensure compatibility and ease of integration, allowing their applications to work harmoniously across multiple chains. Near's focus on standards promotes interoperability and prevents fragmentation, enabling a more unified and efficient blockchain ecosystem.
Account Abstraction and Mapping: Simplifying Multi-Chain Transactions
Near is implementing account abstraction and mapping to simplify multi-chain transactions. This approach allows users to maintain a single Near account that can control multiple addresses on different chains. For example, a user can use their Near account to interact with Solana, Bitcoin, or other chains without the need to bridge assets or switch wallets. By mapping addresses to their Near account, users can transact seamlessly across various chains, reducing friction and streamlining the user experience. Near's account abstraction and mapping aim to make cross-chain transactions more accessible and user-friendly.
Bundling Assets and Trading Across Chains
One of the main ideas discussed in the podcast is the concept of bundling assets and trading across different chains using the NEAR network. NEAR accounts are tradable, which means that they can be listed as NFTs and bought by others. This allows users to bundle assets from various networks, such as Ethereum, and list them under a NEAR account. This enables users to sell multiple assets with a single transaction on the NEAR network, eliminating the need for bridging or sending transactions across different networks. This approach simplifies the process of trading assets across chains and provides a seamless experience for users.
Sharding and Stateless Validation in NEAR
Another key point discussed in the podcast is the sharding and stateless validation mechanisms employed by NEAR blockchain. Sharding is vital for processing and storing large amounts of data and transactions. NEAR implements sharding by assigning separate chains or accounts for each element of the blockchain. The sharded chains are bundled to distribute the load and ensure parallel processing. Additionally, NEAR has adopted stateless validation, where validators only need to validate transaction blocks without having the full state of the chain. This is achieved by including witnesses that prove the execution and validity of the block. Furthermore, NEAR is exploring the use of ZK-WASM, a compression technology, to further optimize the validation process. Overall, these sharding and validation techniques enhance the scalability and efficiency of the NEAR network.
What began as an AI company trying to seek solutions in order to pay remote (unbanked) workers, Near AI became, in 2018, Near Protocol. Its sharded design was inspired by modern database architecture and large language model (LLM) training. Near Protocol aimed to solve the scalability trilemma, through a modular approach, combining data availability sharding with stateless validation. By abstracting away archaic blockchain standards, Near basically enabled decentralised full stack development and, in terms of UX, a distributed custodial solution via chain abstraction and account aggregation.
We were joined by Illia Poloshukhin, co-founder of Near Protocol, to discuss Near’s journey, from AI company to high-throughput L1 blockchain, and how LLM training influenced the modular design choice.
Topics covered in this episode:
Illia’s background in AI & ML
Scaling large language models (LLMs) and the role of attention
Stochastic Parrot vs. Understanding spectrum
From Near AI to Near Protocol and the role of LLMs
How Near abstracted the blockchain away and enabled decentralised full stack development
Defining ecosystem standards to improve UX
Chain abstraction, account aggregation and interoperability
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This episode is hosted by Meher Roy & Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/529
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