In recent days, I came across a very interesting and imaginative project: tapeout.net.
Simply put, it allows users to create their own “integrated circuits” on the blockchain.
Before introducing this project, let me share some basic knowledge about logic circuits.
Everything we use in chip products, if we peel away their shells and break them down layer by layer, will reveal that they are actually made up of the most basic components.
This most basic component is the transistor.
People use transistors connected in different circuits to form various slightly “advanced” components, such as different gates (AND gate, OR gate, etc.). If we further combine these gates into more complex circuits, we can form even more “advanced” devices, such as computational units (adders, multipliers, etc.).
If we continue to combine these units layer by layer, we can ultimately arrive at today's high-tech chips that seem unattainable and mysterious: GPUs, CPUs...
Therefore, if we completely deconstruct chips, they actually consist of two elements:
One is the constituent element------transistors;
And the other is the way transistors are connected------circuits.
This is purely hardware technology, so what does it have to do with the crypto ecosystem?
This is the creative point of the tapeout project:
It uses ERC-1155 tokens to realize the function of “transistors”; then it uses ERC-721 tokens to realize the “circuits” that connect these “transistors.”
In this way, on the blockchain, we obtain permanent and uninterrupted “on-chain chips.”
In real products, to truly make a chip operate, having transistors and circuits is not enough; they are just a bunch of “dead” hardware. A clock frequency that generates a regular “heartbeat” is also required--------------this is the primary driving force that makes a chip truly function.
Coincidentally, blockchain technology provides this clock frequency: the blockchain generates a block at regular intervals, which perfectly serves as the clock frequency for this “on-chain chip.”
Thus, this “on-chain chip” perfectly replicates the operational logic and methods of real chips, and can run indefinitely.
The project was initially launched on the BNB chain and is currently in operation, with many enthusiasts attempting to mint “transistors” and design their own “chips.”
Readers can independently read or search for details about this project and the chips designed by enthusiasts; I won't share that information here.
Because compared to this information, the significance of the project itself is much greater.
Although, from aspects such as clock frequency and the current functions of the “chips,” this project seems quite primitive and “childish,” it has opened a door, a door to another world that no one had ever thought of before: semiconductor chips can also be realized on-chain.
The imagination and potential applications within this may be beyond our comprehension.
Speaking of chips alone.
In the AI era, chips are the physical brains of AI. We have always said that AI should not become a monopolistic tool of a few companies or organizations; we must find ways to decentralize it, turning it into a common good for all humanity.
The crypto ecosystem has attempted many methods, but in my view, none of those methods hold as much significance as this project.
Even if this project fails in the future, it has provided a completely new vision and a new perspective: can we achieve decentralization of AI hardware, software, computing power, etc., based on this idea?
The possibilities and space for exploration in this direction are enormous.
As I write this, I cannot help but recall Vitalik’s early emphasis on Ethereum: Ethereum is a world computer that never stops.
Time has passed, and a truly everlasting chip (which is essentially a small computer) has been realized.
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