DoubleZero is a permissionless protocol aggregating underutilized private fiber into a high-performance communication layer for distributed systems, solving network-level bottlenecks like spam, jitter, and bandwidth.
Contributors
Brian SeongWPRC
Internet Peering vs. Blockchain Coordination
Traditional internet peering involves bilateral agreements between networks where they exchange bandwidth. This is often managed through legal contracts and physical presence in data centers.
The "trust relationship is different" in peering compared to a simple payment model.
Billing for overages and other specifics are negotiated in "peering agreements."
Blockchain governance is seen as "particularly well suited for" global coordination of private fiber contribution.
A key advantage of blockchain-based coordination is reliance on "crypto cryptoeconomic guarantees on the chain" instead of the law as a backstop, offering a "net improvement over the current state of things."
However, traditional peering in data centers involves "literal physical assets in that jurisdiction," making participants presumably "subject to the law of that jurisdiction." This contrasts with potential cross-jurisdictional issues in smart contract interactions.
Auditable Hardware and Trust
The discussion raised skepticism about whether "users trust FPGAs to filter fairly."
It is argued that "that should be a again cryptoeconomic element to it to incentivize them to um to to be to be fair."
While auditable FPGAs are possible if "someone puts up the money," there is doubt about the "economic justification for that."
Practically, it's suggested that "people will just trust the FPGAs even though because it's not worth no one's going to want to spend the... time like $2 million to build and roll out verified FPGAs."
Double Zero Infrastructure and Participation
Double Zero aims to provide performant network infrastructure, initially focusing on Solana validators and infrastructure (med searchers, RPCs, etc.).
Mainnet is expected to be "sufficiently more performant" than the current testnet.
Joining the testnet is currently a "permissioned testnet," requiring filling out a form on the Doublezero.xyz/connect page.
Participation can involve being a validator or providing "bandwidth and network infrastructure."
Bandwidth contribution can be at Layer 1 (direct fiber), Layer 2 (using existing network connectivity), or Layer 3 (a tunnel).
Becoming a network contributor requires specific hardware, including Arista 7130 or 72A switches (some with FPGAs), costing potentially "$80,000 worth of equipment."
The required hardware and expertise are described as "not particularly standard" for most network providers, making participation "much more specialized."
The network aims to support "more models and more vendors" in the future, but they will need to be "essentially certified."
The capital expenditure for contributing is acknowledged to be "a higher capital expenditure" and not a "retail platform" where "Anybody should be able to... contribute." This is due to the need for "robust infrastructure."
Despite the high barrier to entry, there is a belief in a "robust like economic model around folks to be able to profit from... setting this infrastructure up and running it reliably."
Users of the Double Zero network pay a fee, which is intended to have "5% of a variety of inflation and potential rewards." These fees are paid to contributors.
Rewards can be earned in the supported token (e.g., the token for Double Zero, or SOL for Solana).
Mainnet is anticipated for "late Q3... sometime in fall," with a "much broader metro set" (27-30 metros globally) and higher bandwidth (1000 gig depending on contributors).
Mainnet will have "various models... financial models or economic models" for connecting, with some "validation that... you've done certain activities."
Incentives and Economic Model
The discussion explores the "upside of participating" for network contributors.
Validators are motivated to switch infrastructure because "Cloud-based costs literally a thousand times as much. Collocated, you're going to get better performance."
For validators already collocated, Double Zero is presented as a "net improvement to your collocation set up" that is "dramatically cheaper than EWS."
For network contributors, the incentive is the economic model allowing them to profit from providing the infrastructure.
The network is expected to become "multi-talented" in the near future, allowing contributors to earn fees from "many networks," not just Solana.
There are "quite a number of different use cases," including non-Web3 related distributed systems.
Low-Latency Applications (Market Making)
A market maker seeks "fast prices" from centralized exchanges (like Binance in Tokyo) to trade on a decentralized chain (like Solana, with infrastructure primarily in Europe).
The Double Zero network could potentially help by allowing the market maker to "collocate either at both points at the service provider in Tokyo and in Europe" or have "one machine in Tokyo on the Double Zero network" to subscribe to the Solana feed.
However, the network itself doesn't subscribe to exchange price feeds; someone (like an RPC or validator) would need to "provide that data across the network."
Latency can be "asymmetric" on a private link, meaning latency from one point to another might be lower than the reverse.
Challenges and Criticisms
One participant, with experience in Ethereum and low-latency networks, expresses concern that while Double Zero is described as "permissionless," the high capital expenditure, specific hardware requirements, and need for specialized expertise make it "not really" permissionless in the same way as some other blockchain networks.
The cost of participating is described as "several hundred thousands of dollars" in addition to the required expertise.
Despite the high cost, this participant acknowledges that the capital outlay is "not actually that high" when viewed from the perspective of "private networking" rather than typical Ethereum participation.
Action Items/Further Discussion Points
Clarify the specific economic model and fee structure for network contributors and users on mainnet.
Provide more detailed information on the hardware certification process for new vendors and models.
Discuss the roadmap for supporting additional protocols beyond Solana.
Explore strategies for addressing the perception of permissioning due to the high capital and expertise requirements for network contribution.
Investigate how market makers and other low-latency users can effectively leverage the Double Zero network to propagate external data sources like exchange price feeds.
Detail the governance model for the global coordination piece facilitated by the blockchain.
Internet Peering vs. Blockchain Coordination
Traditional internet peering involves bilateral agreements between networks where they exchange bandwidth. This is often managed through legal contracts and physical presence in data centers.
The "trust relationship is different" in peering compared to a simple payment model.
Billing for overages and other specifics are negotiated in "peering agreements."
Blockchain governance is seen as "particularly well suited for" global coordination of private fiber contribution.
A key advantage of blockchain-based coordination is reliance on "crypto cryptoeconomic guarantees on the chain" instead of the law as a backstop, offering a "net improvement over the current state of things."
However, traditional peering in data centers involves "literal physical assets in that jurisdiction," making participants presumably "subject to the law of that jurisdiction." This contrasts with potential cross-jurisdictional issues in smart contract interactions.
Auditable Hardware and Trust
The discussion raised skepticism about whether "users trust FPGAs to filter fairly."
It is argued that "that should be a again cryptoeconomic element to it to incentivize them to um to to be to be fair."
While auditable FPGAs are possible if "someone puts up the money," there is doubt about the "economic justification for that."
Practically, it's suggested that "people will just trust the FPGAs even though because it's not worth no one's going to want to spend the... time like $2 million to build and roll out verified FPGAs."
Double Zero Infrastructure and Participation
Double Zero aims to provide performant network infrastructure, initially focusing on Solana validators and infrastructure (med searchers, RPCs, etc.).
Mainnet is expected to be "sufficiently more performant" than the current testnet.
Joining the testnet is currently a "permissioned testnet," requiring filling out a form on the Doublezero.xyz/connect page.
Participation can involve being a validator or providing "bandwidth and network infrastructure."
Bandwidth contribution can be at Layer 1 (direct fiber), Layer 2 (using existing network connectivity), or Layer 3 (a tunnel).
Becoming a network contributor requires specific hardware, including Arista 7130 or 72A switches (some with FPGAs), costing potentially "$80,000 worth of equipment."
The required hardware and expertise are described as "not particularly standard" for most network providers, making participation "much more specialized."
The network aims to support "more models and more vendors" in the future, but they will need to be "essentially certified."
The capital expenditure for contributing is acknowledged to be "a higher capital expenditure" and not a "retail platform" where "Anybody should be able to... contribute." This is due to the need for "robust infrastructure."
Despite the high barrier to entry, there is a belief in a "robust like economic model around folks to be able to profit from... setting this infrastructure up and running it reliably."
Users of the Double Zero network pay a fee, which is intended to have "5% of a variety of inflation and potential rewards." These fees are paid to contributors.
Rewards can be earned in the supported token (e.g., the token for Double Zero, or SOL for Solana).
Mainnet is anticipated for "late Q3... sometime in fall," with a "much broader metro set" (27-30 metros globally) and higher bandwidth (1000 gig depending on contributors).
Mainnet will have "various models... financial models or economic models" for connecting, with some "validation that... you've done certain activities."
Incentives and Economic Model
The discussion explores the "upside of participating" for network contributors.
Validators are motivated to switch infrastructure because "Cloud-based costs literally a thousand times as much. Collocated, you're going to get better performance."
For validators already collocated, Double Zero is presented as a "net improvement to your collocation set up" that is "dramatically cheaper than EWS."
For network contributors, the incentive is the economic model allowing them to profit from providing the infrastructure.
The network is expected to become "multi-talented" in the near future, allowing contributors to earn fees from "many networks," not just Solana.
There are "quite a number of different use cases," including non-Web3 related distributed systems.
Low-Latency Applications (Market Making)
A market maker seeks "fast prices" from centralized exchanges (like Binance in Tokyo) to trade on a decentralized chain (like Solana, with infrastructure primarily in Europe).
The Double Zero network could potentially help by allowing the market maker to "collocate either at both points at the service provider in Tokyo and in Europe" or have "one machine in Tokyo on the Double Zero network" to subscribe to the Solana feed.
However, the network itself doesn't subscribe to exchange price feeds; someone (like an RPC or validator) would need to "provide that data across the network."
Latency can be "asymmetric" on a private link, meaning latency from one point to another might be lower than the reverse.
Challenges and Criticisms
One participant, with experience in Ethereum and low-latency networks, expresses concern that while Double Zero is described as "permissionless," the high capital expenditure, specific hardware requirements, and need for specialized expertise make it "not really" permissionless in the same way as some other blockchain networks.
The cost of participating is described as "several hundred thousands of dollars" in addition to the required expertise.
Despite the high cost, this participant acknowledges that the capital outlay is "not actually that high" when viewed from the perspective of "private networking" rather than typical Ethereum participation.
Action Items/Further Discussion Points
Clarify the specific economic model and fee structure for network contributors and users on mainnet.
Provide more detailed information on the hardware certification process for new vendors and models.
Discuss the roadmap for supporting additional protocols beyond Solana.
Explore strategies for addressing the perception of permissioning due to the high capital and expertise requirements for network contribution.
Investigate how market makers and other low-latency users can effectively leverage the Double Zero network to propagate external data sources like exchange price feeds.
Detail the governance model for the global coordination piece facilitated by the blockchain.