Celestia (TIA)

Celestia is a modular data availability network designed to scale securely with the growing number of users. It allows for the easy deployment of personalized blockchains by separating execution from consensus and introducing data availability sampling. Celestia was founded by Mustafa Al-Bassam and Ismail Khoffi.

Overview

Celestia is a blockchain that organizes and publishes transactions without executing them. It achieves this by separating the consensus and application execution layers, offering new possibilities for decentralized application builders. Celestia was deployed to Mainnet Beta, codenamed Lemon Mint, on October 31, 2023.

Ticker	TIA
Category	Smart Contract Platform
Website	https://celestia.org/
Twitter	@CelestiaOrg
Telegram	CelestiaCommunity

Architecture

Celestia functions as a data availability (DA) layer, addressing the data availability problem in a scalable manner. It incorporates data availability sampling (DAS) and Namespaced Merkle trees (NMTs) to enable light nodes to verify data availability and selectively download relevant transactions.

Data availability sampling (DAS)

Light nodes typically download block headers containing commitments, like Merkle roots, for block data. Celestia uses a 2-dimensional Reed-Solomon encoding scheme to encode block data into a matrix, which is then extended with parity data. Merkle roots are computed for the extended matrix, and the root of these serves as the block data commitment.

Namespaced Merkle trees (NMTs)

Celestia organizes block data into separate namespaces for specific applications. NMTs ensure data completeness within a namespace by structuring Merkle trees with leaf nodes ordered by namespace identifiers.

Building a PoS blockchain for DA

The Celestia DA layer is structured as a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, named celestia-app, and operates as an application within the Celestia ecosystem. Built using the Cosmos SDK, celestia-app provides transactions to facilitate the DA layer. It is built on celestia-core, a modified version of the Tendermint consensus algorithm, and interfaces with the application layer through ABCI++.

Celestia Modular Meetup Program

The Celestia Modular Meetup Program supports organizers by offering education and support, promoting collaboration within the Web3 ecosystem. Organizers receive resources like sample workshops, venue guidance, and marketing assistance, as well as access to speakers from Celestia Labs and the modular ecosystem.

Modular Fellows

The Modular Fellows program aids modular builders in developing scalable blockchain networks. Participants receive engineering support, mentorship, and a monthly stipend to work on their projects. The program includes weekly office hours, lessons, tutorials, and concludes with a demo day presentation. Mentors include industry experts like Mustafa Al-Bassam and Ismail Khoffi.

Modular Summit

Modular Summit is a two-day event hosted by Celestia Labs, focusing on modular blockchain. The 2023 edition took place in Paris, featuring speakers such as Mustafa Al-Bassam, Sandeep Nailwal, and Vitalik Buterin.

Celestia Foundation

The Celestia Foundation, based in Liechtenstein, guides the Celestia ecosystem and upholds its values. Governed by the Foundation Council, its initial members include Dr. Mustafa Al-Bassam, Batuhan Dasgin, Ismail Khoffi, and Reinhold Wohlwend.

Funding

In October 2022, Celestia's Series A and B funding rounds were led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital, raising $55 million. This resulted in a valuation of $1 billion, with participation from investors like Coinbase Ventures, Delphi Digital, and Jump Crypto.