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Rollups & anchoring

A rollup on QoreChain is an application-specific chain that runs its own execution layer off the Main Chain, then periodically anchors its state back to QoreChain. Anchoring is the mechanism that ties the rollup's history to a quantum-safe Layer 1.

The execution layer​

Your rollup executes transactions in its own runtime — evm, cosmwasm, svm, or a custom VM — at its own block time and throughput. This is where your application's activity lives: trades, game state, mints, enterprise workflows. The Main Chain is not in the hot path for these transactions, which is what lets a rollup target high throughput and low latency.

Anchoring state to the Main Chain​

Off-chain execution alone is not verifiable. Anchoring closes that gap. The rollup groups its activity into settlement batches and submits each one to QoreChain. A batch commits two things:

  • A state root — a cryptographic commitment to the rollup's new state after the batch, along with the previous state root it builds on.
  • A data commitment — the dataHash of the batch's data, so the underlying transactions can be made available and checked (see Data availability).
import { buildDaBlob } from "@qorechain/rdk";

// A batch commits to its data through a dataHash.
const blob = buildDaBlob({ data: new TextEncoder().encode("batch data") });
console.log(blob.dataHash); // place this in the settlement batch

Once anchored, the rollup's progress is recorded on the Main Chain. The chain links each batch to its predecessor by state root, forming a verifiable history.

Why anchor to a quantum-safe Layer 1?​

The anchor is only as durable as the chain that holds it. QoreChain is a quantum-safe Layer 1: its accounts and transactions support post-quantum signing. Anchoring a rollup's state roots there means the integrity of the rollup's history is protected by the same post-quantum posture as the base chain — the commitments that pin down "what happened" do not rely solely on classical assumptions that a future quantum adversary could undermine.

What the paradigm decides​

Anchoring is universal, but how a batch becomes final depends on the rollup's settlement paradigm:

  • Optimistic — a batch is accepted on submission and finalizes after a challenge window unless someone proves it fraudulent.
  • ZK — a batch carries a validity proof that is verified on-chain; valid proofs finalize immediately.
  • Based — ordering and inclusion are inherited from host-chain proposers.
  • Sovereign — the rollup runs its own consensus and settles off the Main Chain.

Continue to Settlement paradigms for how each one works and when to choose it.