Modular Blockchain
A design where separate systems handle execution, settlement, consensus, and data publication instead of one chain doing everything.
A monolithic chain such as Bitcoin or Solana performs all of those functions itself, while a modular stack might have a rollup execute transactions, Ethereum settle disputes and hold assets, and a dedicated layer publish the data. The argument for splitting them is specialization: each layer can be optimized and capacity added without forcing every node to do more work. The costs are equally concrete, since every interface between layers is a place where assumptions and failure modes are added, liquidity and users are spread across more networks, and the total security of a position depends on the weakest layer it relies on. Frameworks such as the OP Stack and Arbitrum Orbit let teams launch chains that assemble these components from menus.
In de praktijk
A rollup can execute transactions, settle to Ethereum, and publish its data to a separate availability layer, so three different systems back one user transaction.
Het veelvoorkomende misverstand
Modular is a set of trade-offs rather than an upgrade; separating layers adds interfaces and trust assumptions that a single integrated chain does not have.