Add Substrate EVM Adapter application

[dastanbeksamatov]

Project Abstract

Substrate EVM adapter aims to present an alternative approach to EVM compatibility for Substrate chains. The main goals are to improve developer experience and introduce an approach that requires the least amount of changes to the runtime and client. It does so by leveraging the best parts of multiple existing compatibility solutions and other awesome ecosystem tools.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (project_name.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (DOT, USDC & USDT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that 30% of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[dastanbeksamatov]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[PieWol]

To my understanding this application tries to do what the Metamask snaps developed by Chainsafe try to do. I'm personally not fond of supporting another project with the same goal, especially as you are planning to completely discard a core piece of this grant application in the long run (adapter pallet). Other than that I left a few comments that should be addressed. Let's see what my colleagues will say.

[PieWol]

I think the metamask snaps especially by Chainsafe are exactly what you are looking for.

[dastanbeksamatov]

changed it to more generic text about possibility of having evm compatibility without the pallet.
also, see my comment below for more context.

[PieWol]

How is this Node different from existing EVM chains like Moonbeam?

[dastanbeksamatov]

moonbeam and many other EVM compatible chains built with Frontier have the ETH RPC baked in in the client. They also add a lot pallets, runtime APIs and other changes to the runtime to ensure full EVM compatibility. Integrated ETH RPC complicates the code, really slows down the node, tps takes a hit and makes it hard to benchmark etc.

This deliverable in comparison, will have the most minimal setup: normal Substrate client and runtime with stripped down, lightweight version of the pallet-evm and pallet-evm-adapter. rpc-adapter is a standalone light client and does not have the problems of integrated rpc

[dastanbeksamatov]

thanks for the review! @PieWol

In general, I described pros and cons for similar in the Ecosystem Fit section and I believe there is a need for this kind of solution, as evidenced by forum and StackExchange posts.

what the Metamask snaps developed by Chainsafe try to do.

I took a look at their snap as well, and it comes down to the same thing I mentioned for polkamask - the need to install a third party plugin, and the fact that it is closely tied to Metamask itself. It does not work in a script with web3.js or ethers.js, for example

I'm personally not fond of supporting another project with the same goal, especially as you are planning to completely discard a core piece of this grant application in the long run (adapter pallet)

I think, I understand where the confusion comes from. With enabling near to full evm compatibility without the pallet, I meant having such possibility, pallet would remain there as an option for teams to consider when they want to have EVM compatible chain. But it would be possible to "write" to the chain without using the adapter pallet. And snap is a very low hanging fruit that can be defaulted to if I don't find any better solution. And that future plans section is very raw right now, and I expect it will change during the course of this grant's development.

[semuelle]

Welcome back and thanks for the application, @dastanbeksamatov.

You write that "In the future, we plan to explore if we can make the adapter pallet optional". Are you planning to use this architecture in a project of your own, or are you just building it in the hopes that it will generate enough community interest to maintain itself?

[dastanbeksamatov]

Welcome back and thanks for the application, @dastanbeksamatov.

thanks @semuelle!

In the future, we plan to explore if we can make the adapter pallet optional

IMO, one of the main disadvantages of current solutions is the fact that they require a lot of changes to the core protocol (runtime and client). And by having the adapter pallet, we are not completely fixing that. This is why I think it is important to explore options that could enable frictionless EVM compatibility that does not require changes to the protocol. Obviously without sacrificing security of the chain.

Are you planning to use this architecture in a project of your own, or are you just building it in the hopes that it will generate enough community interest to maintain itself?

RPC adapter itself will be a community tool that can run a light client of any Substrate chain and expose ETH RPC from it. As I mentioned above, there is enough community interest for this. And the evm adapter pallet, it will also be a public module that chains can use to provide "almost" full EVM compatibility. I can maintain it for the foreseeable future. If it generates enough interest (especially from the polkadot evm community), I would be interested in integrating it to upstream frontier monorepo as a stripped down version of pallet-evm.

[semuelle]

Thanks for the clarification, @dastanbeksamatov. Sounds good to me. I will share your application with the rest of the committee.

[Noc2]

Looks good to me

[keeganquigley]

Hi @dastanbeksamatov thanks for the explanations and also for the presentation you gave me during our call. Based on your previous work, also happy to approve it.

I know you've worked with us a lot but I don't believe you've gone through a KYC phase with us yet, which we now require for all grantees. Could you take a moment to submit verification? Thanks! Once that is done we can merge the grant.

[dastanbeksamatov]

Hi @dastanbeksamatov thanks for the explanations and also for the presentation you gave me during our call. Based on your previous work, also happy to approve it.

I know you've worked with us a lot but I don't believe you've gone through a KYC phase with us yet, which we now require for all grantees. Could you take a moment to submit verification? Thanks! Once that is done we can merge the grant.

just completed it! thanks!

[github-actions]

Congratulations and welcome to the Web3 Foundation Grants Program! Please refer to our Milestone Delivery repository for instructions on how to submit milestones and invoices, our FAQ for frequently asked questions and the support section of our README for more ways to find answers to your questions.

Before you start, take a moment to read through our announcement guidelines for all communications related to the grant or make them known to the right person in your organisation. In particular, please don't announce the grant publicly before at least the first milestone of your project has been approved. At that point or shortly before, you can get in touch with us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to collaborate on an announcement about the work you’re doing.

Lastly, please remember to let us know in case you run into any delays or deviate from the deliverables in your application. You can either leave a comment here or directly request to amend your application via PR. We wish you luck with your project! 🚀