Stellar Development Foundation Joins Bytecode Alliance to Push Wasm Over EVM

In a significant development, the Stellar Development Foundation has joined the Bytecode Alliance, an organization committed to the development of WebAssembly (Wasm). Stellar's participation aims to influence the standards and tools in the Wasm community, benefiting not just Stellar but the broader blockchain ecosystem.

WebAssembly is emerging as a competitor to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the current standard for executing smart contracts in many blockchain networks like Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Avalanche. While EVM has been the go-to choice, networks like Polkadot and Internet Computer have opted for Wasm instead.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why Wasm?: Stellar implemented smart contracts in 2022 and chose Wasm over EVM, citing scalability and cost-efficiency reasons. Wasm is believed to be perfect for "extremely adversarial" environments like blockchains.
2. Stellar Joins Bytecode Alliance: The move makes Stellar the second blockchain-focused entity in the alliance, which comprises internet giants like Amazon, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft.
3. Influence on Development: Stellar’s membership is likely to steer the Wasm community towards the needs of blockchain developers.
4. Advocacy Beyond Stellar: Stellar aims to advocate not just for itself but for the broader blockchain and Web3 communities, signaling a more unified approach towards technology standards in blockchain.

Stellar Development Foundation's Tomer Weller remarked that joining the alliance was a "no-brainer" as it would offer Stellar an opportunity to influence the development of Wasm. Stellar aims to represent all of blockchain and its developers, ensuring that the Wasm ecosystem supports a broader range of applications, including smart contract platforms.

The Wasm community continues to make strides in a landscape dominated by EVM. Recently, the Astar network allowed both EVM and Wasm contracts on the same platform. Binance also announced a $2.2 million funding for a zero-knowledge proof platform using Wasm, called “zkWASMHub.”

Stellar joining the Bytecode Alliance signals a significant push for Wasm over EVM in the blockchain community. As more networks explore alternatives to EVM, Stellar's involvement could pave the way for Wasm to gain more ground in blockchain and smart contract applications.

Stay tuned for updates on how this partnership evolves and its potential impact on the blockchain ecosystem.