Decentralized Aggregate Sequencer
The Sequencer is a fundamental component of Cycle infrastructure which is responsible for managing transactions, generating blocks which are validated by mutual verification mechanism and aggregating transaction states. In Cycle, multiple decentralized sequencers operate simultaneously. By coordinating the cooperation of these sequencers via distributed consensus protocols, the decentralization of Cycle is ensured.
Cycle implements decentralized sequencer intending to enhance Cycle’s security, fairness and network robustness. To this end, Cycle develops a mutual verification network for sequencers to ensure decentralization.
OSCI ensures that the multi-chain aggregate state is verifiable, and any stakeholder can rebuild the comprehensive Cycle state flow. That means, every state in Cycle history can be rebuilt and verified by the sequencer hosted by anyone. Further in multiple sequencers, every sequencer can verify the state transition. Besides, every sequencer can verify the order of transactions in every block match their packing priority, which is critical to ensure any valid transaction can be included in Cycle based on its public priority, preventing a single sequencer from intentionally excluding certain transactions. While OSCI makes aggregate sequencer verification possible, a pre-Consensus network of sequencer can be developed and thus the decentralization of sequencer is feasible.
Features of Decentralized Aggregate Sequencer:
Managing transactions:
A Sequencer can manage the entire lifecycle of transactions it received, which involves sequencing, executing and recording each transaction on the Cycle Network and the Security Layer.
Generating blocks:
Each Sequencer packs transactions according to their own order into a new block as it sees fit; By broadcasting the blocks that Sequencers packed up, a mutual verification will be made to determine the block’s legitimacy.
Aggregating transaction states:
Cycle transactions consist of two parts: transactions that occur within Cycle and the rollup transactions between Cycle and the related blockchains. All of these transactions are aggregated into ZK-proofs that are persistently stored on the Security Layer.
Sequencer decentralization:
The Sequencer of Cycle is completely decentralized so that any stakeholder can run a Sequencer to validate transactions relevant to Cycle.
Technical architecture of Decentralized Aggregate Sequencer:
A Decentralized Aggregated Sequencer consists of two key components: state manager and pre-consensus client.
State manager:
A state manager is the crucial part of the decentralized aggregate sequencer which features transactions management, block generation and state submission.
Transactions Management:
Once a transaction is submitted to a sequencer, the state manager will store the transaction in the state database. Afterwards, the state manager executes suitable transactions, permanently changing the global states on Cycle. The state manager takes care of transactions until its state is verified on the Security Layer.
Block Generation:
In Cycle, multiple transactions are aggregated into a block. After ordering all recorded pending transactions, the state manager decides which transactions are chosen to be packed in the block and then submits the block to the Security Layer.
State Submission:
The state of a block has multiple status, the final status of a block is to be verified on the Security Layer. The state manager collaborates with the ZK prover, publishing the aggregate ZK proof of multiple transaction blocks to the Security Layer, and eventually finalizing the blocks included in the submitted proof.
Pre-Consensus Client:
The multiple sequencers forming Cycle’s decentralized network need to achieve pre-Consensus to decide which block will be submitted to the blockchain. In Cycle, a general-purpose consensus architecture such as Symbiotic or Eigenlayer can be used to implement the pre-Consensus mechanism. The decentralized sequencers and the consensus architecture are integrated via smart contracts deployed on the Security Layer.
In conclusion, a Sequencer plays the role of a decentralized node in Cycle. It is responsible for transaction management, pre-consensus mechanism, and transaction states aggregation in a fully decentralized manner.
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