Skip Protocol Introduces Block SDK

Skip Protocol, a blockchain infrastructure provider, has published a new software development kit (SDK) designed to give block developers modular control over the order of transactions.

The new toolkit, the Block SDK, includes a set of primitives for the Cosmos SDK and ABCI++ that enable chains to customize their blocks.

Cosmos chains currently rely predominantly on a limited-applicability block construction method called CometBFT.

The typical implementation of CometBFT block construction is susceptible to vulnerabilities related to maximal extractable value (MEV). This creates difficulties such as transaction frontrunning and sandwich attacks.

According to Maghnus Mareneck, co-founder of Skip, the Block SDK is designed so that individual blockchains can transform their blocks into so-called lanes, each with its own unique functions.

“Each lane has its own rules for verification, inclusion, and sequencing. You can configure each lane to handle transactions differently, and you can arrange lanes relative to one another,” Mareneck said.

They can be dedicated to MEV-related transactions, Oracle updates, and light client updates, for instance.

A transaction is typically submitted from the front, orderflow, or relayer and stored in the mempool when utilizing a blockchain.

The mempool is ultimately executed as a block, in which the transactions are iterated in order and implemented against it.

According to Mareneck, Skip’s new equipment affects the mempool layer.

He explained that a transaction that enters the mempool layer is typically added to the end of a long list of transactions.

Using the Block SDK, transactions are submitted in various locations and matched to multiple lanes.

“The mempool is then transformed into a block proposal and distributed to all validators.

Because validators have the same type of mempool structure, they can determine if the proposer performed each transaction correctly,” explained Mareneck.

Mareneck argued that the purpose of this new SDK is to accelerate the thesis that app chains are more potent than monolithic blockchains, in which all functionality exists on the base layer.

“[App chains’] block space can be tailored to their application,” he explained. “If you’re a super-high-speed order book chain, you may need a distinct mempool structure than, for instance, a general-purpose smart contract chain.”

According to Mareneck, the Block SDK is active on the mainnets of several smaller blockchains in the Cosmos ecosystem.

He added that the Skip team is conversing with larger Cosmos app chains, such as Cosmos and Neutron, about adapting its infrastructure.