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Irys's vertical integration: When "modularity" becomes a developer's nightmare Recently, I was chatting with a friend who develops for Web3, and he said something that left a deep impression on me: "Modular blockchains sound great, but in actual development, it's like using five remote controls to operate one TV." The ideal of modularity vs. reality In the past few years, "modular blockchain" has been one of the hottest narratives in the industry. The logic is simple: break the blockchain into execution layer, data availability layer, consensus layer, and settlement layer, with each layer focusing on doing its own job, then combine them like Legos. Sounds perfect, right? But the reality is, if you really want to build a slightly more complex dApp—not just transferring funds, but needing to handle data, store files, and execute logic—you'll find yourself trapped in integration hell: Ethereum handles execution, and you have to pay ETH and gas fees. Celestia or EigenDA handles data availability, and you have to learn a new tech stack and use a new token. Arweave handles long-term storage, which means another new token and another new API. Three protocols, three tokens, three sets of documentation, three communities. I've seen too many projects spend months just getting these integrations sorted out. And each layer is a new risk point—if any one link fails, the entire application crashes. Irys's answer: vertical integration What Irys does is very simple: it combines these three layers into one protocol. Data availability, storage, execution—all natively integrated. One token, one tech stack, one interface. This reminds me of Apple. What were smartphones like before 2007? You had to buy a phone, an MP3 player, a camera, and a GPS. Each device had its own charger, its own operating system, and its own learning curve. Then Jobs introduced the iPhone and said, "We’ve integrated all of these into one device." Everyone said he was crazy. "Professional camera manufacturers do it better!" "MP3 players should exist independently!" "This goes against modular design principles!" But users don’t care about principles; they care about experience. The true value of vertical integration Many people think vertical integration is just "convenient," but its value goes far beyond that. First, it reduces cognitive load. Developers don’t need to become experts in five protocols; they only need to learn one. This means faster development speed, fewer bugs, and lower learning costs. Second, it eliminates integration risks. When all components run natively within one protocol, you don’t have to worry about cross-chain bridges being hacked, token price fluctuations, or sudden upgrades causing incompatibility. Third, it makes innovation possible. When you don’t have to spend 80% of your time on integration, you have more time to focus on what really matters—building user experiences and solving real problems. But this comes at a cost. To be honest, my attitude towards vertical integration is contradictory. It is indeed more user-friendly, but it also means fewer choices. You are locked into one ecosystem, and if a certain design of Irys doesn’t meet your needs, you can’t replace one of the layers. This is the eternal trade-off between openness and usability. Android is more open than the iPhone, but the iPhone is more user-friendly. Linux is more flexible than macOS, but macOS is smoother. Modular blockchains are more decentralized than Irys, but Irys is more practical. There are no perfect answers, only different choices. In conclusion I have always believed that the evolution of technology is not linear, but pendulum-like. First, there was integration (Bitcoin, Ethereum), then modularity (Celestia, EigenDA), and now we are starting to return to vertical integration (Irys). This is not a regression; it is a spiral ascent. With each swing, we are rethinking the same question at a higher level: how to find a balance between decentralization, security, and usability? Irys's answer is: first enable developers to use it, then discuss the rest. Whether this answer is correct will be revealed in time. But at least, it is addressing a real problem. Sometimes, the best architecture is not the most perfect, but the most practical. #KaitoYap @KaitoAI @irys_xyz #Yap @josh_benaron #Irys @Mira_Network