Raiden Network’s Alderaan Beta Launched on the Ethereum Mainnet Ahead of the Beacon Chain

On May 26, 2020, the Beta version of Raiden Network’s Alderaan was launched on the Ethereum mainnet. In an announcement made through GitHub, this version follows up on the Red Eye release and introduces monitoring services, path-finding services, and mediation fees. There is no news on Atomic Swaps.

As a security measure, the team has warned that Alderaan may have its flaws. Therefore, those willing to experiment should proceed with caution. The intentions of this release are yet to be disclosed.

What Is the Raiden Network?

Raiden is Ethereum’s version of the Bitcoin’s Lightning Network for performing ERC-20 token transfers without a global consensus. It is an off-chain (Layer-2) solution conceived to scale the base layer. 

Scaling is a big concern in public chains. In light of the Blockchain trilemma where developers must strike a balance between decentralization, security, and scalability, the Raiden Network diverges and proposes a controversial of-chain approach. 

This option, while may require some form of trusted intermediaries, could nonetheless scale Ethereum enabling it to process up to 1 million transactions per second (TPS). With high throughput, the base layer can be used for transaction confirmation as it is secure and powered by Proof-of-Work miners. A successful implementation resolves the nagging concerns of network congestion. In recent years, on-chain transaction clogs have been consequential. 

Ethereum Is Prone to Clogging

In early 2018 when CryptoKitties was the main attraction in Ethereum, the average transaction fee spiked.

In March, MakerDAO, a DeFi platform, lost over $8 million when zero bids placed for all ETH collateral following a flash crash. DeFi smart contracts are highly reliant of Ethereum’s immutable primary layer which is secured by miners.  

The Path to ETH 2.0 

Meanwhile, Ethereum developers are positive as the launch of ETH 2.0 Beacon Chain mainnet nears. It was scheduled for launch at a tentative time in July. However, this may be postponed as hinted by Vitalik Buterin.

ETH 2.0 is a major milestone and is a culmination of development stretching back to the Homestead release. Otherwise known as Serenity, ETH 2.0 will shift toward incorporating the more energy-efficient Proof-of-Stake (PoS) as a new global consensus. 

Besides, instead of a Layer-2 solution, Ethereum may opt for sharding which breaks up the network into small sections called shards as a scaling option.