Rather Labs has been working at the frontier of blockchain innovation by developing a Move-to-WASM compiler for Arbitrum Stylus, the latest upgrade to Ethereum’s leading Layer 2. Stylus introduces WebAssembly (WASM) as a co-equal execution environment alongside the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling smart contracts to be written not only in Solidity but also in languages like Rust, C, and Move.
This leap forward opens the door to greater efficiency, lower transaction costs, and a more diverse ecosystem of decentralized applications.
Arbitrum DAO has been spearheading the development of Stylus to overcome the limitations of Solidity-based development. By embracing additional programming languages, Stylus provides developers with a familiar toolkit, encourages cross-ecosystem adoption, and sets a foundation for performance-driven applications. The challenge lies in bridging the gap between Move’s unique resource model and Stylus’ dual-VM architecture, while ensuring compatibility, security, and reliability on par with established ecosystems such as Sui.
The core objective of the Arbitrum grant was to create a compiler capable of executing Move contracts within Stylus, all while preserving interoperability between EVM and WASM environments. This required designing a storage model aligned with Move’s resource-oriented philosophy, ensuring secure validation, and maintaining seamless integration across both execution layers.
Beyond the technical complexity, the project demanded rigorous collaboration with Arbitrum DAO and key ecosystem stakeholders to align with community standards and long-term vision.
Rather Labs approached the project through an iterative process divided into milestones funded by the Arbitrum Foundation. Technical validations were carried out in close collaboration with experts from OpenZeppelin and the Arbitrum DAO, guaranteeing compliance with security and performance expectations.
A storage model inspired by the Sui blockchain was implemented to respect the fundamentals of Move, while coverage of the Move standard library was progressively expanded. This step-by-step approach allowed the team to deliver tangible progress while ensuring stability and scalability at every stage of development.
The project has already delivered significant advances, including the initial implementation of the Move-to-WASM compiler and growing compatibility with modules from the Move standard library. In parallel, the team has made considerable progress on the storage model, ensuring it remains faithful to the resource-oriented design of Move. Most importantly, Move contracts have been successfully executed in Stylus under real conditions, proving the viability of this integration and laying the groundwork for broader adoption across the ecosystem.
The project was also presented at Aleph Hub’s L2 Meetup, where the team shared progress alongside Arbitrum and other leading Layer 2 ecosystems, strengthening visibility and community engagement.
The integration of Move into Arbitrum Stylus positions Arbitrum as the first EVM Layer 2 to embrace this language. For developers in ecosystems like Sui, this creates a smoother migration path and reduces the barriers to entering Ethereum’s DeFi landscape.
The outcome is a more versatile environment that broadens the scope of secure, scalable, and cost-efficient decentralized applications. In doing so, Stylus not only strengthens Arbitrum’s role as a leader among Layer 2 solutions but also redefines the possibilities for the Ethereum ecosystem as a whole.
“Working in synergy with the community and the Arbitrum team was key to carrying out a project of this magnitude. Developing the Move-to-WASM compiler represented a significant technical and organizational challenge, and at the same time a unique opportunity to prove our ability to play in the big leagues within the global ecosystem.”
Mauro Giménez, Project Manager
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