Saga: A modular blockchain platform for games

Modular blockchain provides innovative solutions to the decentralization, security, and scalability challenges in blockchain technology. This approach distributes the fundamental functions of blockchain, such as execution, settlement, data availability, and consensus, across specialized networks. Unlike traditional blockchains that rely on a single network to handle all operations, modular blockchain separates these tasks, significantly enhancing the efficiency of each function.

Modularity is a promising path to enhance the scalability of Blockchain, addressing key issues of decentralization and security that many Blockchain projects are exploring. Since the birth of Celestia, various solutions have emerged in the modular blockchain space, including shared sequencers, validation systems, interoperability protocols, order flow abstraction projects, as well as infrastructure providers like rollup frameworks and Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS).

Saga, as a modular Layer 1 platform tailored for the gaming industry, has recently emerged in the field of cryptographic technology, becoming an innovative player.

Overview of Saga

Starting a blockchain typically involves complex technical challenges, and developers need to address many aspects of the blockchain infrastructure. The Saga protocol simplifies this process by providing Chainlet, a dedicated blockchain that developers can easily launch just like deploying a smart contract. This solution integrates key elements such as data availability, consensus, execution, and settlement to create a seamless product experience. By integrating these components, Saga not only saves time for developers but also reduces the common complexities associated with modular systems.

The Saga protocol operates on a fully decentralized proof-of-stake model, ensuring that each Chainlet maintains the same high security standards as the Saga mainnet and uses the same set of validators.

The influence of Saga is reflected in its rapid growth. In less than two years, it has attracted 350 projects, 80% of which focus on the gaming industry. Strategic partnerships with industry leaders further highlight Saga's ability to effectively expand infrastructure and support a wide range of Blockchain applications.

Saga Architecture

Chainlets

The Saga protocol revolutionizes the deployment of Blockchain through its product Chainlets. These are interoperable and customizable automated, high-performance Blockchains within the Saga ecosystem.

Chainlets are protected by the Saga Blockchain and are validated through the "inter-chain security" shared security model, enjoying solid protection. This model allows Saga to provide security guarantees for its Chainlets, ensuring they have the same level of security and decentralization as Saga itself, functioning similarly to the Cosmos SDK application chains but without the need to manage their own validator set.

Chainlets provides developers with a decentralized and secure way to deploy blockchains for specific applications, allowing them to freely choose their preferred virtual machine. This flexibility was fully demonstrated at the Saga Multiverse Summit with the launch of Saga Realms, enabling developers to launch customizable chains with different features and services on Saga.

Compared to the replication security mechanism used by Cosmos Hub, the process of launching a Chainlet has a unique permissionless feature. Developers only need to pay for the setup and maintenance of the Chainlet using $SAGA tokens, similar to subscribing to a cloud service provider.

Security Chain

The Secure Chain is the main security source of the Saga protocol, built using Cosmos-SDK. It is responsible for the minting and staking of $SAGA tokens, as well as the penalties for validator misconduct.

platform blockchain

The platform chain is also built on the Cosmos-SDK and serves as a place for developers to launch and manage Chainlets. It brings together various security sources, including the security chain, and extends security to Chainlets through Cross-Chain Validation (CCV), while reporting any misconduct back to the security chain for potential penalties.

In the early stages, the platform chain will mainly obtain security assurance from the Saga secure chain, but plans to incorporate additional security sources from other mainstream blockchain validators in the future.

Team, Adoption, and Alliances

The Saga team is led by a group of experienced co-founders, including Jin Quan (Chief Strategy Officer), Jacob McDoman (Chief Technology Officer), Bogdan Alexandrescu (Technical Expert), and Rebecca Liao (Chief Executive Officer).

As of April 2024, the Saga Innovators Program includes 350 projects, with 80% focused on the gaming sector, 10% focused on NFTs and entertainment, and 10% focused on decentralized finance (DeFi).

Saga has partnered with several leading blockchain protocols to achieve scalability using its Chainlets technology, including XPLA, Com2uS, Celestia Labs, Polygon, and Avalanche.

Saga Origins will be launched in March 2024, aiming to lead Web3 games into the market. This department provides support at all stages of game development, including influencer collaborations, user acquisition support, and extensive promotional activities.

Token Economics

The $SAGA token has multiple uses within the Saga protocol, including paying network validator fees, rewarding stakers, and participating in network governance. The initial issuance is 1 billion $SAGA tokens, of which approximately 9% are released during the token generation event.

The market value is $22.5 million, with a fully diluted value of $3.6 billion. Currently, the circulating supply of tokens is 90 million, accounting for 9% of the total supply.

Financing Journey

Since its establishment, Saga has undergone multiple rounds of financing:

• October 2021: Received a $2 million investment
• May 2022: Seed round financing of 6.5 million dollars
• November 2023: Expanded seed round financing of 5 million USD

In addition, Saga's launch on a certain trading platform set a record for all previous launch pools on that platform, attracting over 13 billion dollars in funding within 24 hours.

Positive Factors

• The Key Importance of Modularization: As an early adopter, Saga has an advantage in the modular blockchain space.
• The rise of the game finance industry: Saga has invested a significant amount of resources in the GameFi sector.
• Strategic partnership: Establish cooperation with mainstream Blockchain to strengthen technical infrastructure.
• Obtain significant investment: Gain support from well-known investors to provide financial stability.

Negative Factors

• Intense market competition: The competition in the blockchain field is fierce, and Saga needs to continuously innovate to maintain its competitiveness.
• High market volatility: The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and can be easily affected by macroeconomic factors.
• Regulatory and legal risks: Regulatory changes may affect the operation of Saga, especially in key markets.

Summary

Saga, as an important participant in modular blockchain technology, has demonstrated its significance in the gaming sector by enhancing efficiency, security, and scalability. The introduction of Chainlets and its commitment to scalable, interoperable, and cost-effective infrastructure make Saga capable of not only meeting the current demands for blockchain solutions but also profoundly influencing the future development of decentralized applications. Saga's commitment to progress and innovation marks it as a key entity in the blockchain ecosystem that deserves attention.