Celestia

Celestia is a modular data availability network built with the Cosmos SDK. Celestia operates by separating the core functions of a layer 1 blockchain, thus aiming to overcome the scaling difficulties faced by traditional blockchains.

Celestia’s unique architecture offers developers a platform to build highly scalable decentralized applications and rollups. As Celestia directly provides the data availability and consensus layer, and Optimint provides the settlement layer, developers only have to focus on building the execution layer. 

TIA is the native token of Celestia.

Celestia’s approach to blockchain technology was first outlined in a document titled “LazyLedger: A Distributed Data Availability Ledger With Client-Side Smart Contracts” by Mustafa Al-Bassam from the Department of Computer Science at University College London. The document proposed a design for distributed ledgers where the blockchain is optimized solely for ordering and guaranteeing the availability of transaction data. This marked the beginning of the journey towards the creation of Celestia, the first modular blockchain network.

The genesis TIA drop was held in September 2023. The Celestia mainnet and token launched on October 31st, 2023.

Celestia uses a technique known as data availability sampling, which allows nodes to verify that data is available for a block without having to download the entire block. This approach aims to minimize the resources required to reach consensus, as transaction validity rules can be decoupled from consensus rules. It allows for easier experimentation as new application-specific or general-purpose blockchains can be deployed to Celestia and immediately inherit security from Celestia’s validator set. Development time is primarily reduced by enabling developers to combine existing rollup  technology options to create their own customized stack. 

Celestia is a proof-of-stake (PoS) network, which means TIA plays a key role in keeping the network secure. The TIA token’s role in the Celestia blockchain is three-fold:

1. Developers use TIA to pay gas fees on transactions and to publish data to what’s known as a ‘blobspace’ on the network’s data availability layer.
2. Network validators and delegators stake TIA to support network consensus activities—verifying and securing transactions across a decentralized network of computers—as Celestia is a proof-of-stake blockchain. Validators and delegators also earn staking rewards in the form of TIA.
3. TIA holders get some governance powers, being able to propose and vote on proposals to change a subset of network parameters.