Summary: Decision-makers need blockchain guidance grounded in 2025 realities, not 2018 slideware. This executive-ready guide shows how 7Block Labs delivers an architecture review that turns today’s standards (Dencun/EIP‑4844, OP Stack interop, W3C VC 2.0, FASB ASU 2023‑08, MiCA) into concrete choices, cost models, security controls, and a 90‑day action plan.

Enterprise blockchain consultant: Delivering an Executive‑Ready Architecture Review

Executives don’t need a “blockchain 101.” You need a decision. Our job at 7Block Labs is to compress signal from the latest protocol, standard, and regulatory changes into a design you can fund, govern, and run. Below is exactly how we structure an executive‑ready architecture review in 2025—what changed, what to choose, the trade‑offs, and the artifacts you’ll get.

What changed in 2024–2025 that alters enterprise decisions

Ethereum Dencun (Mar 13, 2024) introduced EIP‑4844 “blob” transactions. Blobs are posted to L1 with a separate fee market and are pruned after ~18 days; they cut L2 data costs and enabled sub‑$0.10 fees on many rollups. Targets started at 3 blobs per block (0.375 MB) with their own base fee mechanics. (eips.ethereum.org)
OP Stack chains (Base, OP Mainnet, others) standardized 200ms protocol block times, multi‑DA options (Ethereum, Celestia, EigenDA), and are rolling out Superchain interoperability (native mint/burn, Interop upgrades in 2025). (docs.optimism.io)
Rollup frameworks matured: Arbitrum Orbit enables L2/L3 with custom gas tokens and AnyTrust (DAC) DA; Polygon CDK supports zkEVM rollup or Validium (off‑chain data) modes. (docs.arbitrum.io)
Identity became interoperable: W3C Verifiable Credentials v2.0 achieved W3C Recommendation status (May 15, 2025); OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance (OIDC4VCI) reached Final Specification in Sept 2025. SIWE (EIP‑4361) continues to be the baseline wallet login. (w3.org)
Accounting clarity in the US: FASB ASU 2023‑08 requires fair‑value measurement of in‑scope crypto assets for fiscal years beginning after Dec 15, 2024 (early adoption permitted). Expect separate balance‑sheet presentation and expanded footnote disclosures. (dart.deloitte.com)
EU rulebook: MiCA stablecoin rules applied from June 30, 2024; broader CASP provisions from Dec 30, 2024; ESMA’s interim registers and guidance are now live. Transitional (grandfathering) can last to July 1, 2026 depending on Member State. The EU Data Act imposes smart‑contract “safe termination” and auditability for data‑sharing scenarios. (finance.ec.europa.eu)

Why it matters: these updates compress fees, change DA choices, formalize digital identity, tighten disclosures, and set new compliance gates—directly affecting your architecture, unit economics, and risk posture.

The 7Block Labs architecture review: scope and deliverables

We deliver a defensible recommendation with artifacts your board, security, finance, and engineering can act on:

Executive scorecard

Business goals, target KPIs, and a go/no‑go decision tree matched to ledger/rollup choices and deployment models.
A TCO/ROI model that includes DA costs post‑Dencun, observability, security audits, and identity wallet flows.

System architecture pack

Context and container diagrams, trust boundaries, data classification, and DA selection with rationale (Ethereum blobs vs Celestia vs EigenDA vs AnyTrust).
Identity/authorization stack (SIWE + VCs), key management, and custody strategy.
Interop plan (OP Superchain, Orbit L3s, CDK interop), bridge posture, and exit mechanisms.

Risk, controls, and compliance mapping

Controls mapped to OWASP SCSVS/SCSTG, SWC classes, incident runbooks, and EU Data Act termination/auditability patterns. (scs.owasp.org)

Migration and 90‑day plan

Proof‑of‑concept scope, SLOs, and an operations plan (Prometheus/OpenTelemetry metrics; alerting and dashboards). (besu.hyperledger.org)

Choosing your execution and DA stack: a 2025 decision tree

A. Public Ethereum L2 (rollup) for open ecosystems and liquidity

When to choose: consumer apps, marketplace liquidity, composability with DeFi/NFT/RWA, or multi‑chain distribution.
Mature options:
- OP Stack (Base/OP): 200ms protocol block times, standardized upgrades via OP Governance, Ethereum/Celestia/EigenDA DA, interop program for 1‑block latency in roadmap. (docs.optimism.io)
- Arbitrum Orbit: launch L2/L3 with Rollup or AnyTrust DA; custom gas tokens supported; mainnet‑ready and audited, with detailed operator tooling. (docs.arbitrum.io)
- Polygon CDK: deploy zkEVM rollups or Validium (off‑chain data) for cost reduction; uses Polygon zkEVM prover stack. (docs.polygon.technology)
- ZK Stack (zkSync): customizable ZK chains with stated >15k TPS claims and interop; verify your latency/cost profile during POC. (zksync.io)

Key 2025 lever: DA. After EIP‑4844, posting to Ethereum uses blobs with a separate fee market and 18‑day availability, lowering L2 costs dramatically compared with calldata. For higher throughput and fee stability, consider DA options like Celestia (DAS) or EigenDA (restaked security) where appropriate. (eips.ethereum.org)

B. Permissioned Ethereum (Hyperledger Besu) for consortia and private data

When to choose: data residency, deterministic fees, fine‑grained privacy, and enterprise governance.
Capabilities: Besu with QBFT PoA, privacy via Tessera, plugin and profile support, and production‑grade monitoring via Prometheus/OpenTelemetry. (besu.hyperledger.org)

C. Orchestrated multi‑rail (FireFly) when on‑chain is not the whole story

FireFly abstracts blockchain connectors, private data exchange, and token operations across public and private chains—ideal when most payloads are off‑chain but notarized/on‑ramped on‑chain. (hyperledger.github.io)

Data availability (DA): choosing blobs vs modular DA vs DAC

Ethereum blobs (EIP‑4844): cheapest “default” for many rollups; independent blob gas market, 3‑to‑6 blobs per block initial limits, ~18‑day retention. Good out‑of‑the‑box choice; fee variability exists during blob demand spikes. (eips.ethereum.org)
Celestia (DAS): light clients sample data; namespaced Merkle trees let apps fetch only their data. Blobstream bridges DA commitments into Ethereum for rollups; high‑throughput testnets (e.g., “mamo‑1” 128MB blocks) advance scale testing. (docs.celestia.org)
EigenDA: restaked ETH‑secured DA (dual/custom quorums) with “production traffic” support and renewed throughput claims; evaluate SLAs and operator sets during POC. (forum.eigenlayer.xyz)
AnyTrust (Arbitrum): DAC‑backed availability with trust assumptions trading off cost vs L1 inclusion. (docs.arbitrum.io)

Practical pricing: L2Fees trackers show post‑Dencun user fees fell by 10x–99% across major L2s; your TCO should model DA fees under normal and surge blob‑markets plus sequencer margin. (l2fees.info)

Identity and access: from wallet logins to enterprise‑grade credentials

Customer login: SIWE (EIP‑4361) for secure, domain‑bound, nonce‑based wallet sign‑in; consider SIWE ReCaps (ERC‑5573) to scope delegated capabilities. (eips.ethereum.org)
Verifiable credentials: adopt W3C VC 2.0 and OpenID4VCI for issuance into user wallets (employee, supplier, or KYC credentials), with selective disclosure and support for multiple cryptosuites. (w3.org)
On‑chain attestations: Ethereum Attestation Service (EAS) provides schema registry + attestations on EVM chains; useful for compliance marks, KYC flags, and risk scoring shared across apps. (attest.org)

Design tip: keep SIWE for session auth, VCs for attributes/entitlements, and EAS for portable, on‑chain signals that contracts can consume.

Security: what “good” looks like in 2025

Development and audit baselines
- Apply OWASP SCSVS controls and SCSTG testing methodology; map findings to SWC classes for regression tests and auditor alignment. (scs.owasp.org)
- Enforce upgrade hygiene (proxy patterns, role separation), invariants testing, fuzzing, and differential testing pre‑mainnet.
“Safe termination” for EU Data Act contexts
- Add emergency stop/upgrade/archival mechanisms in smart contracts executing data‑sharing agreements; document and test the procedures to meet Art. 30 safety, archiving, and access control requirements. (eur-lex.europa.eu)
Bridges and interop
- Prefer native interop where available (Superchain Interop) and L2‑native mint/burn for tokens; avoid bespoke bridges unless risk‑assessed and monitored. (docs.optimism.io)
Keys and post‑quantum posture
- Align long‑lived credential/signature systems with NIST PQC FIPS 203/204/205 (ML‑KEM, ML‑DSA, SLH‑DSA) roadmap; add crypto‑agility plans for wallets, signers, and VC issuers. (nist.gov)

Observability and SRE: treating your chain like a product

Metrics and traces
- Besu and Geth expose Prometheus metrics; enable OpenTelemetry for traces. Track p95 submission‑to‑inclusion, reorg rate, blob submission failures, DA posting latency, and contract‑level SLOs. (besu.hyperledger.org)
Example: scrape Besu metrics

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: besu
    scrape_interval: 15s
    static_configs:
      - targets: ["besu-node-1:9545"]

(besu.hyperledger.org)

Dashboards and alerts
- Ship Grafana dashboards and alert rules with on‑call runbooks (sequencer health, DA backlog, blob base‑fee spikes, L1/L2 finality deltas). Use profiles/plugins for enterprise/private performance tuning. (besu.hyperledger.org)

Costing your design: a concrete model

DA and fees
- For OP Stack/Orbit/CDK rollups posting blobs: model base_fee_per_blob_gas volatility vs target blob gas and usage; simulate monthly cost under normal (≤ target) and surge scenarios. Include margin charged by RaaS/sequencer. (eips.ethereum.org)
- Validate with live fee telemetry (e.g., L2Fees) and your expected TPS/event mix (simple transfers vs swaps vs mints). (l2fees.info)
Identity and KYC
- Cost VC issuance flows (OIDC4VCI endpoints, wallet SDKs), revocation lists, and EAS schema management.
Accounting and reporting
- From FYs starting after Dec 15, 2024, crypto assets within ASU 2023‑08 scope must be measured at fair value with expanded disclosures—update your chart of accounts, policies, and close process now. (dart.deloitte.com)

Three proven patterns (with 2025‑ready specifics)

1) Multi‑chain consumer app with native token interop (OP Stack)

Stack: OP Stack L2 (e.g., Base) + Superchain Interop‑ready token (SuperchainERC20) + Ethereum blobs DA.
Why: 200ms protocol blocks, governance‑facilitated upgrades, and forthcoming native cross‑chain mint/burn minimize liquidity fragmentation. (docs.optimism.io)
Deliverables: token contract deployed at identical addresses on targeted OP chains per Superchain guidance; interop‑safe mint/burn roles set pre‑launch. (docs.optimism.io)

2) Private supply‑chain with selective public anchoring

Stack: Hyperledger Besu (QBFT) + Tessera privacy groups + FireFly for private data exchange and tokenization; periodic anchor to Ethereum L2 using blobs.
Why: deterministic throughput, confidential state, and simpler compliance reviews; FireFly handles event orchestration and private payloads. (besu.hyperledger.org)
Deliverables: privacy group policies, ledger snapshot/retention plan, and anchoring cadence tuned to SLA and legal holds.

3) Compliance‑gated marketplace with portable credentials

Stack: SIWE for session auth; W3C VC 2.0 credentials (KYC/KYB) issued via OpenID4VCI; on‑chain allowlists expressed as EAS attestations consumed by marketplace contracts.
Why: consistent sign‑in UX, regulator‑friendly selective disclosure, and verifiable on‑chain policy checks. (w3.org)
Deliverables: credential schemas, issuer trust framework, revocation strategy, and attestation schema registry with consumer contracts.

Compliance snapshot (EU/US)

EU MiCA: stabilize your EU go‑to‑market if issuing tokens or operating CASP services. Confirm whether you rely on transitional regimes through July 1, 2026 and register/authorize accordingly. (eba.europa.eu)
EU Data Act: document contract termination, data archiving, and access controls for data‑sharing smart contracts; include conformance declaration. (eur-lex.europa.eu)
US GAAP: implement ASU 2023‑08 fair value measurement and footnote disclosures starting FYs after Dec 15, 2024. Coordinate with treasury, tax, and audit. (dart.deloitte.com)

What you will see in the final deck

A one‑page recommendation with a clear yes/no and a fallback path (e.g., OP Stack with Ethereum blobs DA; fallback to Celestia or EigenDA if blob fee spikes breach SLOs). (docs.optimism.io)
Architecture diagrams (execution, DA, identity, monitoring), an interop map, and a bridge risk register.
A costed roadmap: POC (30 days), Pilot (60), Limited Production (90), including audits and SRE onboarding.
Control matrix (OWASP SCSVS), test evidence plan (SCSTG), and post‑quantum cryptography transition note. (scs.owasp.org)

30/60/90‑day action plan

Days 1–30:
- Spin up reference environments: OP Stack devnet and/or Besu QBFT cluster; Prometheus/Grafana and OpenTelemetry collectors. (besu.hyperledger.org)
- Implement SIWE auth and a minimal VC issuance flow; stand up EAS schemas for policy flags. (eips.ethereum.org)
- Run early DA cost probes (blobs vs Celestia/EigenDA) using synthetic load; record p95 posting latencies. (eips.ethereum.org)
Days 31–60:
- Harden contracts to SCSVS Level targets; complete audit sprint and fuzzing/invariant suites. (scs.owasp.org)
- Build operational runbooks and alerts for sequencer health, DA backlog, and fee spikes. (besu.hyperledger.org)
- Draft MiCA/Data Act and ASU 2023‑08 policy notes with legal/finance. (finance.ec.europa.eu)
Days 61–90:
- Pilot with real users or counterparties; activate interop where relevant (Superchain/Orbit). (docs.optimism.io)
- Finalize production config (DA selection, blob limits/alerts, identity trust lists, termination procedures).
- Executive go/no‑go with updated TCO and risk residuals.

Emerging best practices we apply by default

Separate your “wallet login” from “authorization proofs”—combine SIWE (session) with VC‑backed entitlements and optional EAS attestations. (eips.ethereum.org)
Treat DA as a price‑latency‑risk dial: start with blobs; pre‑bake Celestia/EigenDA configurations and roll over on policy when fee SLOs breach. (eips.ethereum.org)
Design for interop first: if you’re on OP Stack, align token deployments to SuperchainERC20 and Interop messaging requirements now to avoid costly migrations. (docs.optimism.io)
Build for auditability: adopt OWASP SCSVS/SCSTG as your control framework; keep runbooks and termination procedures ready for EU Data Act contexts. (scs.owasp.org)
Plan PQC transition for long‑lived signatures in identity and document workflows (NIST FIPS 203/204/205). (nist.gov)

Ready to decide in weeks, not quarters

If you’re evaluating blockchain today, the architecture conversation has fundamentally shifted. Fees, identity, accounting, and regulation have caught up to enterprise needs—if you pick the right stack and controls. 7Block Labs will deliver the architecture review that gets you to a confident go/no‑go with a 90‑day path to pilot.