#2 Findora Academy 💟: Two is Better than One — Introducing Findora’s Multi-chain Structure
Findora is a leading privacy-focused blockchain that combines an innovative hybrid of UTXO and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain technologies to enable programmable privacy. This Findora Academy article series will discuss the key concepts and technical details behind both the UTXO and account-based blockchain architectures and how they are combined to power the Findora blockchain architecture.
Two is Better than One
Findora’s architecture features 2 built-in blockchains, one running on the UTXO model (aka native chain) and one using the account model (aka smart chain). Both chains are validated and secured at the native chain level using Tendermint consensus to achieve high throughput. Assets can be frictionlessly bridged between the native chain and the smart contract chain via Prism, a feature that is accessible via the Findora desktop wallet and Findora CLI.
Findora Native Chain (UTXO model)
The Findora native chain layer functions exactly as a UTXO model blockchain would. This is the protocol layer with no accounts or wallets. Instead, tokens are stored as a list of UTXOs. Each UTXO has a quantity attribute and criteria for spending it. Transactions are created by consuming existing UTXOs and producing new UTXOs in their place.
Why Use the UTXO Model for the Native Chain?
Below are the key benefits of the UTXO model:
- Zero-Knowledge Proofs. The UTXO model allows Findora native chain to support zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). ZKPs make it possible to publicly generate and verify cryptographic proofs that do not reveal transaction details.
- Privacy. Using the UTXO model, combined with ZKPs, provides users with privacy features, including confidential payments that can mask different fields, like the transaction amount, or the sender / receiver address, in the transaction body.
- Scalability. The UTXO model means transactions can be easily verified in parallel. It is impossible for two transactions to affect the same UTXO. This is due to the stateless nature of UTXO transactions. Transactions do not refer to any input outside of the UTXOs consumed and the corresponding signatures.
- Decentralization. The stateless nature of a UTXO format also allows for smaller storage requirements, which makes it less expensive for full nodes to be maintained, and thus increases the decentralization and fault tolerance of the network.
Findora Smart Chain (Account model)
In an account model, instead of having each token be uniquely referenced, tokens are represented as a balance within an account in the global state. Accounts can either be controlled by a private key or a smart contract.
With the launch of Findora v0.3.0, the Findora smart chain now fully supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This augments the usability and programmability of Findora because the smart chain will be able to easily run code from existing smart contracts on chains like Ethereum. DEXs and Dapps can thus be deployed more quickly using existing tools and templates. With EVM compatibility, the smart chain creates a foundation that is easy to build on. With Findora native chain, developers can add more privacy using Prism.
Why Use the Account Model for Smart Chain?
Below are the key benefits of the Account Model:
- Compatibility. Developers can easily port existing Ethereum Dapps, DEXs and cross-chain bridges using the Ethereum tool chain and pre-compiled smart contract templates.
- Simplicity. The account model is more intuitive, especially for developers writing complex smart contracts that require stateful information, or involve multiple parties.
- Efficiency. The account model is more efficient as each transaction only needs to validate that the sending account has enough balance to pay for the transaction, which also makes indexing simpler.
- Flexibility. The smart chain allows for more flexible transactions. Transactions on this layer will depend on the existing state and can interact with external inputs to achieve the desired results. This allows features like oracles and other logic to influence the resulting state of a transaction.
Findora’s Multi-chain Architecture
This multi-chain architecture provides the benefits of both the UTXO and account models. The two models complement each other allowing users to choose whether to store assets in the form of a UTXO or an account balance based on their needs. It does this by using separate storage methods for each chain while combining their hashes to maintain network integrity.
