🥞 [Analysis] Layers – Nick Grossman

A central concept on the internet is Layering. Each of the protocols in the internet stack talks to the layer directly above and below it. Protocols at one layer can be upgraded so long as they don’t break compatibility with the layer above or below it. This architecture maximizes interoperability and allows for a great deal of flexibility. The shape of the layers has been described as an hourglass. From top to bottom, the layers are in the following order: applications, HTTP FTP SMTP, TCP UDP, IP, data link layer protocols, and physical layer protocols. Beyond layering at the protocol level, we have gone on to build layers at the infrastructure and application levels. &nbsp In the crypto/blockchain space, we are just at the very beginning of establishing layers. Currently, today's blockchain landscape consists largely of standalone, disconnected networks. But, as teams continue to build, and continue to build the same things over and over again, layering seems both inevitable and needed. Within blockchains, layers delineate networking (e.g. libp2p), consensus (e.g. hashcash), applications/smart contracts, and perhaps indexing/search (e.g. thegraph). There are different approaches to how to layer the systems such as building interoperable blockchains via a hub-and-spoke model and building more universal cross-ledger protocols. How these systems interconnect, and layer atop one another, seems like a fundamental question as we move from the speculative phase to the functional phase as we are just now beginning to get glimpses of it.