Layer 1 blockchain na di main ground wey all blockchain dey stand on top, like di foundation of a house. E dey responsible for di whole structure and how e dey operate. Bitcoin and Ethereum na di two biggest Layer 1 blockchains wey everybody sabi. Dem dey provide di basic structure and security wey Layer 2 blockchains need to function well. 

People fit use Layer 1 to build different apps and resources, and e dey give dem access to better things like scalability (make am fast and handle plenty transactions), security, and decentralization (nobody fit control am alone). 

Di foundation dey decentralized, so no central authority fit control di system, which means everything dey open and secure. But e get some wahala dem dey face like how to make am handle more transactions quickly and di plenty energy e dey use. 

Despite all these challenges, Layer 1 blockchain still dey very important. E dey serve as di groundwork for different blockchain applications across many industries, like finance, supply chain, and healthcare. E dey also push di growth of decentralized finance (DeFi), wey dey change how money matter dey work without banks or traditional institutions.

 Why Layer 1 Blockchain dey needed?

Layer 1 blockchain dey do plenty important work. E dey host and run smart contracts, keep di distributed ledgers, validate and process transactions, and maintain network well well through person-to-person communication.

Layer 1 dey crucial because e hold di main principles of blockchain: decentralization, security, and transparency. Na di foundation wey all blockchain activities and applications dey build on top.

Layer 1 na where cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum dey live, and na here smart contracts, wey be self-executing contracts with di agreement coded inside, dey run.

Make we no forget sey Layer 2 blockchain dey on top Layer 1. E dey use Layer 1 for network and security but fit handle more transactions and dey more flexible for scaling. Examples na Polygon (wey dey on top Ethereum) and Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Even Coinbase, launch Blockchain wey dem dey call Base, deir Ethereum Layer 2 network, for August 2023.

Key Characteristics and Benefits wey Layer 1 Blockchain get:

1. Consensus Mechanism: Na di way dem dey validate transactions. Common ones na Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS).

2. Scalability: Na how well di blockchain fit handle plenty transactions. E dey hard for    many Layer 1 blockchains.

3. Security: E dey make sure say di blockchain dey safe and nobody fit change am anyhow.

4. Decentralization: E mean say nobody get full control over di whole network.

5. Transparency and Immutability: All transactions for blockchain dey open and nobody fit change dem, so people fit trust am. Plus, all di code wey follow di transactions dey public and (open-source) everybody-fit-see-source. 

Benefits:

• Trustless Environment: People fit do transactions without need to trust any middleman. E reduce di risk of fraud and corruption and also cut down on costs.

• Global Accessibility: Layer 1 blockchains dey available to anybody wey get internet, making financial services open to everybody.

• Innovation Platform: Dem provide ground for more new things wey dey work better in decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts to improve real-world use cases.

Functionality:

Layer 1 blockchains dey work by allowing plenty blockchain nodes (computers) to join di network. Each node dey keep im own copy of di ledger (account book), and transactions dey checked through di consensus mechanism. This one make sure say di network dey very secure and trustworthy.

Examples:

Bitcoin: Bitcoin dey use Proof of Work (PoW), focusing on security and decentralization (ie everybody de decide wetin go be). Na di first blockchain network wey change digital payments by allowing person-to-person transactions without any central authority.

Ethereum: Ethereum start with PoW but change to Proof of Stake (PoS) for 2022 to improve di ability to grow bigger and energy efficiency. Ethereum bring smart contract functionality to blockchain, allowing programmable applications, to expand wetin blockchain fit do beyond just transactions.

BNB Chain: Dis special Layer 1 blockchain get im own base layer but e still dey compatible with Ethereum virtual machine. dis mean sey e get strong smart contract capabilities and reliable blockchain protocol. BNB Chain dey use a bit more centralization (dis na wen de oga kpata- kpata dey make most of di decisions) than others, but e offer better security, impressive scalability, and low transaction fees.

Solana: Compared to other blockchains, Solana dey use unique consensus protocol wey dem dey call proof of history. This one use timestamps to validate and record transactions. Proof of history dey very scalable and fit boost transaction speeds to 65,000 TPS. Plus, Solana’s smart contract capabilities make am easy to handle different DApps (Decentralized Applications).

Avalanche:

This Layer 1 blockchain dey popular with crypto investors because of im unique smart contract capabilities. E dey use consensus method wey dem dey call sub-sampled voting to push up transaction throughput. People fit finalize transactions very fast on Avalanche, so e dey favored by those wey want speed without losing security.

To cut the long story short, Layer 1 na di core wey all blockchain functionalities dey build on top, to provide di necessary framework for protocol to verify transactions through cryptography and record dem for decentralized digital ledger.

Wetin be Layer 1 Scaling Solution?

Example of a Layer 1 scaling solution na Ethereum’s move to proof-of-stake. E reduce di network’s computational needs and prepare ground for future wey fit handle hundreds of thousands of transactions per second.

Di types of Layer 1 Scaling Solutions we get

E get different ways to scale Layer 1 blockchains:

Increased Block Size:

Some Layer 1 blockchains don change their code to increase di block size, so dem fit verify more transactions at once, expanding di network capacity. Example na Bitcoin Cash (BCH) wey upgrade di block size from 1 MB to 8 MBs, and then to 32 MBs. This one mean sey e fit process more than 100 transactions per second, compared to Bitcoin’s seven transactions per second.

Updated Consensus Mechanism:

Di consensus mechanism for blockchain dey validate transactions to make sure sey di network dey accurate and secure. For example, Bitcoin dey use proof-of-work (PoW), wey need plenty processing power to solve cryptographic puzzle before dem fit record di next block. Once dem solve di puzzle, di blockchain go confirm transactions by verifying block hashes.

Ethereum start with PoW but don upgrade to proof-of-stake (PoS), wey require node operators to lock up big Ether (ETH) deposit to process transactions.

Sharding:

Sharding dey like how dem dey partition database, allowing blockchain database to break into smaller parts so transactions fit process at di same time. This one dey increase di overall capacity of a Layer 1 blockchain network.

Key Challenges wey dey for Layer 1 Blockchain

Scalability: Di ability to process plenty transactions fast and efficiently still be big wahala. Even Layer 2 solutions dey face issues, like Arbitrum wey experience partial outage because of traffic surge. Dem dey continue to develop solutions to tackle scalability issues, wey fit change how transactions dey processed. Scaling na di biggest priority for Ethereum’s vision and roadmap.

Sustainability: Di energy wey Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains like Bitcoin dey use na big concern for di environment. For example, Bitcoin dey use more energy per year than di whole Ukraine, about 137.91 TWh. People don dey focus to make things more sustainable, especially for consensus mechanisms, to reduce environmental impact. Blockchains like Polygon dey focus on sustainability, dem don publish green manifestos and make CO2 emissions fully transparent.

Interoperability: Dis na wen different blockchain networks go fit communicate and work together, and e still dey im early stages. Technologies like sidechains and blockchain bridges dey help communication and move transactions between different blockchains. External data feeds, wey dem dey call oracles, dey bring real-world information to blockchain networks, making more complex things possible. For DIA, interoperability na top priority. Dem dey lead with cross-chain price feeds to enable cross-chain applications. Plus, dem dey develop solutions like bridge, and

attestation oracle to improve bridge security and transparency. These solutions dey open-source for di benefit of everybody in di ecosystem.

Big change wey dey come:

Layer 1 blockchains get potential to change not only de financial sector but many parts of how we dey interact digitally and for our society. As technology dey change, we fit expect Layer 1 blockchains to dey do things sharp sharp, to dey easy for people to use and reach for am, and for im to dey part of our digital world.

Conclusion

To end dis talk, e dey important to know sey Layer 1 Blockchains research and development dey happen now, now as we dey write dis article. As technologies dey improve, regulations dey change, and di way people dey use Layer 1 Blockchain dey make am change and grow sharply. These blockchains na di backbone of di decentralized world, and e dey make am possible for plenty applications, from decentralized finance (DeFi) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to supply chain management and identity verification.