WeaveVM as a Data Settlement Layer for SVM Chains

WeaveVM as a Data Settlement Layer for SVM Chains

November 11, 2024

TL;DR: with the launch of weave-svm, it is now possible to deploy a WeaveVM L2 that uses the SVM for computation and WeaveVM for data settlement, benefiting from a direct data pipeline to Arweave’s permanent storage and out-of-the-box support to deploy Solana dApps.

The SVM

The Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) is a high-performance, parallelized virtual machine designed to leverage Solana’s architecture for low-latency, high-throughput transactions. The SVM, powering Solana and its L2s like Sonic, is particularly suitable for applications that require fast transaction speeds and interoperability with the Solana ecosystem.

The modular stack

In a modular blockchain architecture, different layers of the stack are handled by specialized components. This means networks can swap in different modules to optimize for cost and performance, or specialize for given use cases. Key layers include:

  • Execution: where transactions are processed and smart contracts are executed.
  • Consensus: the mechanism by which network participants agree on the validity of transactions.
  • Data Availability (DA): ensures that transaction data is accessible and verifiable by anyone, even if they didn’t participate in the transaction.
  • Data Settlement: a canonical layer for recording finalized transaction data to prevent rollbacks.

Chains like Eclipse (SVM + Ethereum) take modularity to the extreme, but many L2s and L3s are modular and use alternative DA layers and other custom components to go beyond what’s possible on the base chain.

WeaveVM for SVM chains

The weave-svm toolkit is a proof of concept of an SVM-based chain that uses WeaveVM for data settlement. This integration demonstrates how to use WeaveVM as a permanent data settlement layer for state diffs & transactions history, in the SVM stack.

weave-svm diagram

Check the repo here

What a chain built on weave-svm enables

SVM chains can generate massive amounts of transaction data, creating challenges for data access and storage. High-performance networks often struggle with data growth and accessibility – while solutions like state compression allow builders to reference off-chain data for better scalability, they don’t address the core challenges of data permanence and accessibility.

WeaveVM provides cheap, scalable storage for onchain data – all historical transaction data remains accessible and verifiable, without dependency on centralised, off-chain solutions like BigTable.

WeaveVM + SVM =

  • High-throughput parallel transaction processing
  • Cost-effective permanent data storage (~$0.03/MB)
  • Permanent ledger archiving by default

Start building

Ready to explore permanent data settlement for your SVM application? Our reference implementation shows you how to integrate WeaveVM’s data settlement capabilities: