Ethereum Architecture and Ecosystem

In this chapter, we will show you the Ethereum 1.0 (Eth1) architecture and how Eth1 works under the hood. We will discuss how the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) works and how smart contract code is executed within the EVM. We will help you understand blockchain scalability challenges, and various layer 1 and layer 2 options for scaling Ethereum. We will then introduce Ethereum 2.0 (Eth2), including Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake (PoS), Beacon Chain, and the Eth1 and Eth2 merge. You will be able to learn the modular design of Eth2 blockchain architecture, get a deep understanding of the execution layer and consensus layer, and how the beacon chain works in the context of PoS. At the end of this chapter, we will discuss rollups and explain in detail how optimistic rollups and Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollups work.

To reflect the changes that took place with the Ethereum merge in September 2022, in this book, we will change the nomenclature...