What is Celestia? Why should I Care?

"Celestia is a minimal blockchain that only orders and publishes transactions and does not execute them. By decoupling the consensus and application execution layers, Celestia modularizes the blockchain technology stack and unlocks new possibilities for decentralized application builders." -Celestia Screen Shot 2022-08-29 at 1.12.12 PM.png

What are Modular Blockchains?

This concept is easier to understand in context with monolithic blockchains or existing Layer 1s. Here is a list of some Layer 1s for context:

This is not an exhaustive list please do your research to learn more about Layer 1s and their role in the ecosystem of Blockchain Technologies.

Once empowered with a basic understanding of Layer 1 Technologies or monolithic blockchains it's easier to comprehend modular blockchains using the process of compare and contrast.

Monolithic vs Modular Blockchains

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The image on the left shows the existing ecosystem and where smart contracts are built on existing monolithic blockchains. The image on the right visualizes the modularity of Celestia abstracting the layers that exist in current monolithic blockchains.

Why Should I Care?

As with all technologies in the blockchain ecosystem, this is early technology. However, companies that were startups in 2021 are now industry standard in 2022. So, the space moves fast and gains adoption at a higher rate as more developers, artists, traders, and other users enter the ecosystem.

This is similar to Database Architecture for traditional or Web 2 technologies. Companies have the choice of their data stack, this includes database and infrastructure technologies. There are various options and opinions regarding a modern data stack.

The modern data stack refers to the technology and tools that are used to collect, process, and store data. - ThoughtSpot

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Image Credit: getdbt.com

Modular Blockchains like Celestia are moving Blockchain Technologies towards an area with more options that improve the developer experience.

Once again this is still early. So it's exciting to see how this technology is adopted and implemented across the Web 3 ecosystem and what's to come in the area of modular blockchains.