Forget about decentralizing sequencers — Rollups need security first

A centralized sequencer “makes a lot of sense” for many rollup applications

article-image

Pla2na/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

A recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Foobar about layer-2 rollup sequencer decentralization stirred up debate in the crypto community.

Loading Tweet..

He’s got a point, according to Eclipse founder Neel Somani.

Speaking to Blockworks on the Lightspeed podcast (Spotify/Apple), Somani asks, “What are you really giving up when you have a centralized sequencer?”

“You don’t give up safety or liveness, in the formal sense,” he says. “You give up liveness guarantees in the short term.”

“Usually the way that you regain liveness,” he explains, “is through some sort of forced inclusion through the [layer-1], which probably has longer block times.” But from a security perspective, Somani says, “you don’t really give up anything.”

The major trade-off, Somani says, is that the sequencer has the freedom to “re-order things as they see fit — and they can continue doing that indefinitely.” 

“For some DeFi applications,” he says, “that will prove to be really difficult because you don’t want the sequencer to be trusted in doing that.” But for many apps such as games, where low latency and short confirmation times are top priorities, a centralized sequencer “makes a lot of sense,” according to Somani.

“What Foobar is saying,” adds Celestia chief operating officer Nick White, “is that rollups are supposed to be trust-minimized and ensure the state validity, or that the rules of the rollup are followed.”

“Until you have fraud proofs and ZK proofs and all that stuff,” he says, “they’re fundamentally not secure. That rollup operator could actually just steal all your money.”

Security, White argues, is far more important than the censorship-resistance and liveness that might be achieved via decentralization.

You’re always trusting something

White acknowledges that “censorship-resistance and liveness are really important features of blockchains,” pointing out that centralized sequencers could choose to reject certain transactions and are susceptible to chain-halting outages. “But I don’t put them in the same level of priority as validity and verifiability of the underlying execution.”

White mentions that a few teams, like Astria and Espresso, are working on decentralized sequencers “without having to add more overhead.” This could result in a “best of both worlds” scenario, White says, “where you get decentralization, censorship resistance and liveness guarantees, while not needing to run new infrastructure for yourself.”

“One other thing to keep in mind,” Somani says, is that “people get obsessed with the words ‘centralized’ and ‘decentralized.’” 

“That’s a remnant from [layer-1s],” he says, “where that was a critical property in order for the system to operate in a trustless way, to whatever degree ‘trustlessness’ actually makes sense as a concept.”

Somani argues that it is possible for a system to contain multiple centralized components, yet remain fully verifiable and permissionless to access. “I hate using the word, ‘trustless’,” he says, “but it’s still trustless, to some degree.”

“You’re always trusting something.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The €7 million investment marks Luxembourg’s first sovereign exposure to Bitcoin

by Blockworks /
article-image

The chain-agnostic app layer aims to reward players of any game, in any token

article-image

The exchange will now offer direct access to CME futures across commodities, equities, and currencies through its US platform

by Blockworks /
article-image

The exchange’s full approval from the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority marks a regulatory milestone for global crypto oversight

by Blockworks /
article-image

Founded by Coinbase and Cruise veterans, CipherOwl plans to bring artificial intelligence to blockchain monitoring and risk detection

by Blockworks /
article-image

As the shutdown enters its second week, sources say the Senate Banking Committee looks to move ahead with a market structure bill markup