Avail Launches Testnet Bridge to Enable Low-Cost Layer 2s

• Avail has launched a testnet data availability bridge to Ethereum in order to facilitate low-cost layer 2s.
• The bridge will allow developers to create “validiums” by storing transaction data on the Avail network.
• This will enable rollup constructions to run in validium, optimistic chains, and volition modes, reducing costs and paving the way for more efficient scalability.

Avail Launches Testnet Bridge

Avail has launched a testnet data availability bridge to Ethereum, according to a July 7 announcement. Once testing is completed, the bridge will allow developers to easily create “validiums” or low-cost layer 2s that do not store full transaction data on Ethereum, the announcement stated.

What Is A Validium?

Layer-2 rollup networks like Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon zkEVM, and zkSync Era lower transaction fees by batching transactions into compressed “rollups” and periodically adding them to the base layer. However, because these networks must write all the transactions to the base layer, they often have higher transaction fees than layer-1 competitors. To get around this problem, some networks have opted to write only the validation proofs of each transaction to the base layer, while storing the full transaction data off-chain. This produces a type of network called a “validium.”

Bridge Functionality

The new bridge allows developers to create custom validiums quickly and easily by storing their transaction data on the Avail network, eliminating the need to create their own DAC or proof-of-stake data availability network. When a user tries to withdraw cryptocurrency from layer 2 back to the base layer of Ethereum, the Avail bridge will transmit an attestation that the data is available on Avail, allowing for withdrawal.

Benefits Of The Bridge

The launch of this Data Availability attestation bridge marks a major advancement in optimizing blockchain scalability and efficiency by reducing costs and paving way for more efficient scalability said Anurag Arjun founder of Avail.

Conclusion

Avails’s newly launched testnet bridge could potentially revolutionize blockchain scalability and efficiency by allowing developers access validiums at lower cost without having