Benchmarking Blockchain Data Availability: Polkadot ELVES vs Modular DA Layers

[prasad-kumkar]

Project Abstract

We propose a comprehensive research study comparing the data availability (DA) mechanisms of Polkadot’s integrated availability protocol (used in ELVES) with those of leading blockchain DA schemes like Celestia, Avail, Espresso's Tiramisu, and NEAR. Our goal is to evaluate and benchmark these systems on key performance, security, and efficiency metrics, such as bandwidth usage, latency, light-client trust assumptions, and validator resource overhead. We will use real network telemetry from Polkadot/Kusama, Celestia mainnet, Avail testnet, and other platforms, along with protocol analysis and reproducible experiments, to generate a detailed and objective comparison.

The research will deliver a deeply technical report, open-source benchmarking tools, and curated datasets, all licensed openly under Apache-2.0 and CC BY 4.0. The findings will inform protocol developers, parachain teams, and researchers about the strengths and trade-offs of each approach, and highlight Polkadot's positioning in a growing ecosystem of modular and scalable blockchain architectures. We also propose optional dissemination via an interactive dashboard, tutorial videos, and blog posts to maximize the accessibility and long-term value of the research.

This proposal is in response to the Research Task shared by W3F.

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 (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage 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: @prasad-kumkar:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

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

[prasad-kumkar]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[github-actions]

The applicant has requested the discussion of the application to happen in a private chat room.

[keeganquigley]

I am willing to approve. In the meantime can you please fill out KYC/KYB verification? Thanks!

[semuelle]

LGTM

[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 on our website for more ways to find answers to your questions.

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[keeganquigley]

Hi @prasad-kumkar seeing as only one milestone has been submitted, are you still working on this grant?

[prasad-kumkar]

@keeganquigley yes! We went deep into each protocol which is taking much longer than we expected, we are more clear now. Throughput & cost analysis of each network turned time-taking, recently published Ethereum's - https://dune.com/prasad_chainscore/ethereum-da-analysis

Other chains are underway, and other parameters are much more straightforward and we expect to get through them much quickly. I'll share updates more frequently in our Matrix channel. Thank you for following :)

[keeganquigley]

Thanks for the update @prasad-kumkar but unfortunately, significant delays require an amendment to be passed. Given that all the milestones are due (M5 was due in Dec. 2025), I think it's best to close the grant for now.

If you have already completed a significant amount of work on M2 and want to submit it now (or in the next week), I'm willing to consider it. But I'll be honest in saying that it's unlikely a committee will be willing to approve an amendment for the remaining milestones.

[prasad-kumkar]

Okay I understand, we have completed most of the work for M2 (data collection) and M3 (preliminary analysis) for most networks- I'll try to wrap everything up and submit by next week.

[prasad-kumkar]

@keeganquigley We're submitting Milestones 2, 3, and 4 together. Our workflow was protocol-first rather than milestone-first - we built each protocol's full pipeline (collection, transform, analysis) end-to-end before moving to the next. This made it impractical to submit milestones incrementally, but the final output covers all deliverables across all three milestones.

I am apologetic about the delay - the original target was Dec2025, but since many protocols had upgrades in Dec & Jan we had to include them in the research, then also challenges with data collection (particularly for low latency networks) and deeper-than-expected research extended the timeline by over a month.

We also went beyond the original scope by adding Ethereum EIP-4844 as a sixth protocol to the study and building live Dune Analytics dashboards for all six networks.

[keeganquigley]

Thanks @prasad-kumkar sounds good. Thanks for submitting quickly, we will take a look in the next few days.

[prasad-kumkar]

When you are ready @keeganquigley, thank you!

[prasad-kumkar]

@keeganquigley could you please take a look?

M2 - w3f/Grant-Milestone-Delivery#1312
M3 - w3f/Grant-Milestone-Delivery#1313
M4 - w3f/Grant-Milestone-Delivery#1314

Thank you