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Astar Network, Blockchain, dApps, Ethereum, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Smart Contract, Solidity, Sota Watanabe, WASM, Web3, WebAssembly
Webassembly Smart Contracts Will “Draw a Lot of Talent from Web2 to Web3” – Interview Bitcoin News
Ethereum is almost universally credited with starting the Web3 revolution after it brought the concept of smart contracts to life. However, some in the Web3 community, such as Astar Network’s Sota Watanabe, believe that the protocol cannot “build the innovative future of blockchain alone.” In addition, some critics point to the language barrier that they claim makes the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) a less than ideal place to build.
Webassembly Smart Contracts ‘will accelerate the adoption of Web3’
It is this and other limitations of EVM that led to the creation of an alternative known as Webassembly (WASM). This option is said to be a virtual machine of choice for developers, engineers and academics who are frustrated with EVM. According to Watanabe, for Web2 developers looking to migrate to Web3, WASM seems like a logical choice because it “supports a wide range of languages with built-in performance and high portability.”
To learn more about WASM, Bitcoin.com News reached out to Sota Watanabe, CEO of Astar Network, a multi-chain smart contract platform.
In his written responses to questions submitted, the Astar Network CEO gave his thoughts on Webassembly and the role it will play in accelerating the adoption of Web3. Watanabe also explained why Astar Network supports both EVM and WASM.
Below are Watanabe’s responses to questions sent to him via Whatsapp.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Can you explain in very simple terms to our readers what WASM is all about?
Sota Watanabe (SW): Webassembly, more commonly called WASM, is a portable compilation target for programming languages. WASM supports a wide range of languages with built-in performance and high portability. At Astar, we support a WASM smart contract environment, just like the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The nice thing about WASM is that most Web2 languages can be assembled in Webassembly, which is not true for Ethereum’s EVM which relies on a specialized programming language called Solidity.
We believe the growing use of WASM smart contracts will dramatically accelerate the adoption of Web3. Most of the technical talent still works in the Web2 space, and if Web2 developers want to enter Web3, they have no choice but to learn a new programming language called Solidity which is used by the most popular smart contract platform today ( EVM). It is an obstacle. Imagine if they could build Web3 dapps [decentralized applications] use the languages they already know. And on top of that, make their dapps compatible with EVM with ease. That’s why WASM smart contracts are [going to] draw a lot of talent from Web2 to Web3. That’s why it’s so exciting.
BCN: What are some of the challenges or limitations of EVM and how does WASM overcome these?
SW: Although Ethereum brought us the Web3 revolution with the introduction of smart contracts, it cannot build the innovative future of blockchain alone. With a specialized programming language, it limits the developer community’s ability to explore and create new, truly interoperable dapps. EVM is blockchain specific, with less support and a specialized programming language, Solidity.
Today, Web3 is prohibitive for many Web2 developers since Web2 languages cannot be composed into Solidity, the programming language of Ethereum. With Webassembly (WASM), developers can quickly transition from a Web2 to Web3 infrastructure, allowing them to spend more time building core functionality in their dapps instead of learning specialized languages like Solidity.
WASM increases performance since it is closer to machine language. It provides near-native performance to browser applications and allows developers to build high-speed web apps in the language of their choice. WASM also has great potential for the future of the internet as it is designed for the web.
BCN: Already supported by four major browser engines (Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Webkit), WASM is said to be safer, more efficient, faster, debuggable and open. Can you explain in a simple way why this is important?
SW: You are right. All the things you said about WASM have helped it build trust among Web2 developers. And when they can build interoperable Web3 dapps with WASM tools, they’re more likely to embrace Web3.
Moreover, WASM development is already supported by top-tier companies such as Google, Microsoft and Mozilla, and can be used with popular programming languages such as C/C++, GO, TypeScript and RUST, which are common among Web2 developers.
BCN: Some reports have suggested that Web2 developers migrating to Web3 are attracted to WASM. Is this suggestion correct? If this is the case, what do you think could be the reason(s)?
SW: The answer will be similar to No. 2 and 3. And I would add:
Over the years we have interacted with thousands of Web2 developers who are inclined to build in Web3, but the lack of familiar tools was a hindrance. By supporting WASM, making it interoperable with EVM, and giving developers all the tools they need to build in Web3, Astar Network hopes to give this emerging ecosystem a big boost.
BCN: Rather than encouraging or discouraging the use of either, your platform Astar Network is said to help developers build dapps with both EVM and WASM. What are your reasons for supporting both virtual machines?
SW: Developers in the Web3 space come from diverse backgrounds – armed with different skill sets, abilities, and preferences. They shouldn’t all be forced to bring their vision to life using a single smart contract platform. They deserve choice, and then it’s up to them to decide which smart contract is right for the project they’re building.
Yes, we support both EVM and WASM smart contracts to give developers flexibility. EVM because it is the most popular smart contract environment with the largest user base. WASM because it overcomes the limitations of EVM while facilitating a new wave of developers to enter the space. We believe that having two VMs at the same time and making them interactive is a key success factor for an emerging Layer-1 blockchain.
BCN: How does it benefit the broader blockchain ecosystem?
SW: It will dramatically expand the blockchain ecosystem by enabling Web2 developers to build innovative, decentralized and interoperable solutions in the Web3 space.
BCN: The Astar Network is said to offer true cross-consensus messaging interoperability. What does this mean?
SW: We believe in a truly interoperable Web3 ecosystem, providing developers with everything they need to build truly interoperable dapps. We achieve this through:
Cross Consensus Messaging (XCM): It allows dapps built on chains with different consensus mechanisms to securely transfer data and values between each other. The exchange is two-way. It’s made possible because Astar is a para-chain on Polkadot and can use this feature as part of our core features.
Cross Virtual Machines (XVM): It provides interoperability between two different smart contract environments such as EVM and WASM. A dapp can use EVM for its smart contract, but can implement WASM smart contract modules and at the same time use features from another parachain to integrate into their dapp.
These two innovations will be the start of the next wave of innovation for dapps.
What are your thoughts on this interview? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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