Introduction

Waterfall is a highly scalable and decentralized BlockDAG EVM-compatible Layer 1 protocol. The distributed protocol is based on DAG (Directed Acyclic Graphs) technology, with fast finality Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus.

The Waterfall platform relies on Coordinating and Shard networks achieving high transaction throughput via parallelized block production (Figure left panel). Each network Worker consists of two parts, a Coordinator and a Validator, presented in their corresponding networks (Figure right panel).

Figure: Coordinating and Shard networks (left panel) and the structure of a node (right panel).

The timeline is divided into slots, epochs, and eras. The Coordinating network maintains a register of Validators and also assigns block producers, committee members, and leaders in each slot at the epoch’s beginning. Moreover, this network contains information about the approved blocks created on the Shard network. An honest producer accompanies its created block with links to all known tip-blocks of the DAG. At the same time, the linearization (ordering) and finalization of the distributed ledger are performed in the Coordinating network, increasing overall security and synchronization.

A native coin (WATER) serves as a main network digital asset that allows for the transfer of transactions, running of smart contracts, governance voting, and auxiliary token creation, forming an ecosystem with the prospect of synergistic interaction of all its elements.