Challenger

The Challenger is a process distinct from the Executor, responsible for monitoring the Executor’s output proposals and challenging any invalid submissions. This ensures the integrity of rollup’s state and prevents malicious actions by the Executor. The Challenger plays a key role in validating and processing various operations such as deposits, oracle updates, and outputs between the Initia (L1) and rollup (L2) blockchains.

The primary responsibilities of the Challenger include:

1. Verifying Deposits:

• Ensure that the MsgInitiateTokenDeposit event is relayed correctly to the MsgFinalizeTokenDeposit event.
• Check if MsgInitiateTokenDeposit was relayed within the required time frame.

2. Verifying Oracle Updates:

• Confirm that Oracle data is correctly relayed to MsgUpdateOracle.
• Ensure that Oracle updates are processed on time.

3. Validating Outputs:

• Check that the OutputRoot submitted with MsgProposeOutput is accurate.
• Ensure that the next MsgProposeOutput is submitted within the expected time frame.

Detailed Architecture

The Challenger architecture is designed to ensure that interactions between Initia (L1) and rollup (L2) are correctly validated, securing internal processes within the Initia ecosystem. Each part of the architecture is tailored to handle specific challenges while maintaining the security and reliability of the Initia-rollup interactions.

Deposit Challenges

Deposits from L1 to L2 must follow a strict verification process to ensure that tokens are correctly transferred between chains.

The Challenger plays a critical role in this by confirming that MsgInitiateTokenDeposit is not only correctly triggered but also completed within a specific timeframe by matching it to MsgFinalizeTokenDeposit.

This prevents potential discrepancies or fraud, ensuring that deposits are secure.

When a MsgInitiateTokenDeposit event is detected on the L1 chain, it is recorded as a Deposit challenge.

The system checks if it matches the MsgFinalizeTokenDeposit event for the same sequence.

// Deposit is the challenge event for deposit data
type Deposit struct {
	EventType     string    `json:"event_type"`
	Sequence      uint64    `json:"sequence"`
	L1BlockHeight uint64    `json:"l1_block_height"`
	From          string    `json:"from"`
	To            string    `json:"to"`
	L1Denom       string    `json:"l1_denom"`
	Amount        string    `json:"amount"`
	Time          time.Time `json:"time"`
	Timeout       bool      `json:"timeout"`
}

Output Challenges

Outputs, which represent state changes in the L2 chain, must be correctly submitted to maintain the synchronization between L1 and L2.

The Challenger ensures that the OutputRoot of the submitted MsgProposeOutput matches the system’s expectations and that future proposals are made within the designated timeframe.

This process prevents any incorrect or malicious outputs from being finalized, ensuring the integrity of the system.

When a MsgProposeOutput event is detected on the L1 chain, it triggers an Output challenge.

The system replays up to the L2 block number and verifies whether the OutputRoot matches the one submitted.

// Output is the challenge event for output data
type Output struct {
	EventType     string    `json:"event_type"`
	L2BlockNumber uint64    `json:"l2_block_number"`
	OutputIndex   uint64    `json:"output_index"`
	OutputRoot    []byte    `json:"output_root"`
	Time          time.Time `json:"time"`
	Timeout       bool      `json:"timeout"`
}

Oracle Challenges

Oracles serve as external data providers for the blockchain, and any failure in updating their data can lead to inaccuracies within the system.

The Challenger ensures that oracle updates happen in a timely manner and are properly relayed from L1 to L2 through MsgUpdateOracle, safeguarding the accuracy of external data within the Initia ecosystem.

If the oracle_enable setting is turned on in bridge config, the 0th transaction’s bytes are saved as an Oracle challenge event.

This data is verified against the MsgUpdateOracle for the same L1 height.

// Oracle is the challenge event for oracle data
type Oracle struct {
	EventType string    `json:"event_type"`
	L1Height  uint64    `json:"l1_height"`
	Data      []byte    `json:"data"`
	Time      time.Time `json:"time"`
	Timeout   bool      `json:"timeout"`
}

Batch Challenges

Batch data is not verified by the challenger bot.

Rollback Challenges (TBA)

If a challenge is created and the event is not finalized within the timeout period, it is possible to rollback before the challenge is finalized. This feature will be announced in a future release.