A Rollup Comparison Framework

Abstract: Rollups are a popular blockchain paradigm where one blockchain network is anchored to a different blockchain network, typically though smart contracts and data commitments. The rollup executes transactions on its own network and periodically publishes them along with the state root of the rollup network. The state root is determined to be final by a protocol, often enforced by smart contracts on the anchoring blockchain, which may let the state roots be challenged or verify an accompanying validity proof. While this core functionality is universal to existing rollups, these systems have introduced unique features as they vie for users and market dominance. In this paper, we aim to classify ways in which these rollups differ in order to establish a common ground of understanding. We explore various dimensions in which these system can differ: familiarity, finality time, modularity, and maturity. The result is a framework that can be used to understand and compare the properties of rollups.