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Chainless Apps: A Modular Framework for Building Apps with Web2 Capability and Web3 Trust

Brian Seong, Paul Gebheim

TL;DR

The paper addresses the UX-trust trade-off in blockchain apps by decoupling off-chain execution from on-chain verification and settlement, proposing Chainless Apps with app-specific sequencing and modular layers. It combines verifiable compute (via zkVMs, ZKPs, or TEEs) with an interoperability layer (Agglayer) and a settlement layer to enable fast Web2-like UX while preserving Web3-level trust. Key contributions include a detailed four-layer architecture (Execution, Trust, Interoperability, Settlement), flexible trust-model design, and the Agglayer-based cross-chain framework with pessimistic proofs and proof aggregation, demonstrated through the zkSpot prototype. The framework supports diverse applications—from high-speed trading to verifiable games and verifiable Web2 data feeds—promising scalable, interoperable, and trust-minimized experiences across multi-chain ecosystems.

Abstract

Modern blockchain applications are often constrained by a trade-off between user experience and trust. Chainless Apps present a new paradigm of application architecture that separates execution, trust, bridging, and settlement into distinct compostable layers. This enables app-specific sequencing, verifiable off-chain computation, chain-agnostic asset and message routing via Agglayer, and finality on Ethereum - resulting in fast Web2-like UX with Web3-grade verifiability. Although consensus mechanisms have historically underpinned verifiable computation, the advent of zkVMs and decentralized validation services opens up new trust models for developers. Chainless Apps leverage this evolution to offer modular, scalable applications that maintain interoperability with the broader blockchain ecosystem while allowing domain-specific trade-offs.

Chainless Apps: A Modular Framework for Building Apps with Web2 Capability and Web3 Trust

TL;DR

The paper addresses the UX-trust trade-off in blockchain apps by decoupling off-chain execution from on-chain verification and settlement, proposing Chainless Apps with app-specific sequencing and modular layers. It combines verifiable compute (via zkVMs, ZKPs, or TEEs) with an interoperability layer (Agglayer) and a settlement layer to enable fast Web2-like UX while preserving Web3-level trust. Key contributions include a detailed four-layer architecture (Execution, Trust, Interoperability, Settlement), flexible trust-model design, and the Agglayer-based cross-chain framework with pessimistic proofs and proof aggregation, demonstrated through the zkSpot prototype. The framework supports diverse applications—from high-speed trading to verifiable games and verifiable Web2 data feeds—promising scalable, interoperable, and trust-minimized experiences across multi-chain ecosystems.

Abstract

Modern blockchain applications are often constrained by a trade-off between user experience and trust. Chainless Apps present a new paradigm of application architecture that separates execution, trust, bridging, and settlement into distinct compostable layers. This enables app-specific sequencing, verifiable off-chain computation, chain-agnostic asset and message routing via Agglayer, and finality on Ethereum - resulting in fast Web2-like UX with Web3-grade verifiability. Although consensus mechanisms have historically underpinned verifiable computation, the advent of zkVMs and decentralized validation services opens up new trust models for developers. Chainless Apps leverage this evolution to offer modular, scalable applications that maintain interoperability with the broader blockchain ecosystem while allowing domain-specific trade-offs.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 16 sections, 5 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Verifiable Compute
  4. Agglayer - Interoperability & Settlement Layer
  5. Chainless App Architecture
  6. Execution Layer
  7. Trust Layer
  8. Trust Mechanisms
  9. Trust Layer Design: Flexible Verification Models
  10. Interoperability Layer Using Agglayer
  11. Settlement Layer
  12. What Chainless Apps Unlock
  13. zkSpot
  14. Other Chainless Designs
  15. Conclusion
  16. ...and 1 more sections

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: High-level architecture of a Chainless App. It shows user interaction through Web2-like interfaces, off-chain execution in TEEs, validation via trust layers (ZKVMs, AVSs), and cross-chain bridging and settlement via the Agglayer.
  • Figure 2: The more re-execution you run in the trust layer, the more secure it is, but the higher the performance overhead.
  • Figure 3: A detailed looks of Chainless-App's Agglayer integration.
  • Figure 4: A highlevel sequence diagram of a Chainless App interacting with Agglayer
  • Figure 5: Flow of zkSpot execution, trust verification, cross-chain bridging, and settlement.