Khalani Musings is a collection of thought provoking X posts, pieced together for your convenience. This article is compiled from the following from Kevin Wang:
Apps want ASSes.
What is ASS? App-specific sequencing (ASS) allows applications to take control of the ordering of transactions that interact with their state. If we only have 10,000 independent apps, we would only need 10,000 provable ASSes, then we're done - ASS Is All You Need (AIAYN).
But, apps have dependencies. An app may call out to Uniswap to trade tokens, then to Aave to lend out tokens. This forms an app dependency graph, or to be more specific, a dependency DAG. Now to realize the vision of AIAYN, we need a DAG of ASSes that mirror the DAG of app dependencies, with SuperASSes functioning similar to shared sequencers, but not to share sequence chains, but to share sequence apps.
Apps now just need to point their transactions to their own simple (if no dependency) or super (if with dependency) ASSes. In this architecture, we no longer need:
MCP, since CR moves to the app level and on-chain is just settlement with little incentive to censor.
MEV, time game solutions etc, because all MEV is internalized at app level, and on-chain is just settlement with little incentive for timing games.
App chains or app rollups, because apps already internalize their own MEV.
Chain-based shared sequencing, because interoperability is solved at the app level.
Cross-chain application composability, because SuperASSes compose apps on their ASS level.
Liquidity segmentation, because SuperASSes can tap into liquidity anywhere.
Chain abstraction, because cross-chain interoperability is solved at the app level. We do still need cross-chain atomic settlement solutions, which could be either an in-cluster proof aggregation solution, or a more globally unified solution that'll come up in the future.
ASS Is All You Need…
…for now.
The Next Evolution of ASSes
What are the roles of intents and solving in the "ASS Is All You Need" (AIAYN) future?
First, even in an AIAYN world, apps would interact with their ASS through intents, serving as requests for on-chain, provable outcomes. Then the logical progression is for apps to enable multiple competing ASSes to sequence the best outcome, essentially mirroring today’s solver competition landscape. This is when we’ll start hearing terms like "ASS Markets" and "ASS Solvers."
Competition will drive ASSes to collaborate with other specialized solvers. Liquidity will begin to re-bundle around ASSes and solving, enhancing clearance and settlement efficiency. Once ASSes, solvers, and liquidity can collaborate in permissionless markets with permissionless solvers on permissionless liquidity, apps will only need to help their users express intents and ensure satisfaction.
In essence, we’ll transition through these stages:
ASS Is All You Need
Solving Is All You Need
Intent Is All You Need
@khalani_network will contribute to much of the infrastructure needed for the transition.