Avail, a project originally spun out of Polygon focusing on data storage and verification for blockchains, has launched a "data attestation bridge" on its live testnet. This significant move represents a leap forward in Avail's plan to assist secondary networks in the Ethereum ecosystem in speeding up their processing. This is achieved by providing an alternative method for data storage and verification, thereby relieving the main Ethereum blockchain from unnecessary congestion.
The data attestation bridge, currently in its testnet phase, aids in securing off-chain data. It's connected to Ethereum and can be employed by both zero-knowledge and optimistic rollups that use Ethereum as a base layer.
Storing data on Ethereum can be costly, and Avail proposes to address this problem by allowing Layer 2 and Layer 3 chains to publish data off-chain. This move will help reduce the exorbitant transaction fees associated with posting data on the primary Ethereum blockchain.
The issue of managing data and creating separate networks for data storage is often referred to as the "data availability problem". This arena includes the development of cryptographic systems to verify that the data is available and correct.
In the long run, Avail aims for rollups to be entirely launched on top of its network. These networks could include validiums, Ethereum scaling solutions that store transaction data off-chain.
The founder of Avail, Anurag Arjun, has highlighted the function of the data attestation bridge, stating that it provides attestation on Ethereum, proving that "whatever data was submitted by the rollup to Avail is actually available."
