SoK: Decentralized Sequencers for Rollups

TL;DR

This paper explores the design and properties of decentralized sequencers for rollups, aiming to improve blockchain scalability while maintaining decentralization, and provides a comprehensive analysis of their core components and community insights.

Contribution

It offers a detailed framework for decentralized sequencers in rollups, highlighting their essential properties and synthesizing community insights to guide future research.

Findings

Decentralized sequencers are crucial for blockchain scalability and decentralization.

A comprehensive framework for designing decentralized sequencers is proposed.

Community insights inform the development of effective sequencer systems.

Abstract

Rollups have emerged as a promising solution to enhance blockchain scalability, offering increased throughput, reduced latency, and lower transaction fees. However, they currently rely on a centralized sequencer to determine transaction ordering, compromising the decentralization principle of blockchain systems. Recognizing this, there is a clear need for decentralized sequencers in rollups. However, designing such a system is intricate. This paper presents a comprehensive exploration of decentralized sequencers in rollups, formulating their ideal properties, dissecting their core components, and synthesizing community insights. Our findings emphasize the imperative for an adept sequencer design, harmonizing with the overarching goals of the blockchain ecosystem, and setting a trajectory for subsequent research endeavors.