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The idea of blockchain is prevention of double spending. How will those "layer-2" systems are supposed to achieve it?
by SergeAx 4y ago
The idea of blockchain is prevention of double spending. How will those "layer-2" systems are supposed to achieve it?
- rglullis 4y agoSorry, I missed this question last week. A short way to explain is that every participant of a layer-2 system locks funds into a smart contract, which gives you a balance in the system. The off-chain system them keeps its own separate accounting and settlement mechanisms, which do not require the blockchain and can be done cheaply. You only need to use the blockchain when you want to withdraw your funds from the layer-2 back to the main chain. The different systems have their own approach for this off-chain tracking of the funds, but the important characteristic of all of them is that the users are in control of the funds at all times. Unlike sidechains, l2 systems all have mechanisms for users to prove the ownership of the funds and are allowed to unilaterally withdraw.