"Storage and Structure" TAG

One approach to increasing a blockchain network’s transaction scalability is to utilize linked Layer 2 networks to reduce burden on the main chain. They do so by allowing users to conduct a number of transactions on this separate channel, while only recording the final state (net changes) of both accounts to the main blockchain. This...

Consortium blockchains are semi-private, permissioned blockchains that verify transactions through a limited set of pre-approved nodes rather than a single entity or a decentralized network of nodes. Access to the blockchain is controlled by a consortium typically comprised of organizations involved in interconnected business ventures. Members of the consortium are also the only actors able...

A mainnet swap occurs when a project moves from one blockchain to another. Usually this means a project is transitioning from its testnet phase to its mainnet phase. This typically involves the migration of tokens from other blockchains (such as Etheruem) to the project’s native blockchain; in this case, users receive protocol coins in exchange...

A nonce is an arbitrary number usable just once in a cryptographic communication. Nonces are used in proof-of-work systems to vary cryptographic hash functions’ input. In certain PoW systems, miners compete to find a nonce that produces a hash with a value lower than or equal to that set by the network difficulty. Authentication protocols...

The Lightning Network is a system of bi-directional payment channels that enables users to securely send fast, low-cost cryptocurrency payments. Lightning gained initial traction with Bitcoin as a layer 2 scaling solution by enabling efficient micropayments and instant transactions, which allows Bitcoin to function more effectively as a medium of exchange. The network’s design builds...

‘Secure Hashing Algorithm’ is a title given to a set of cryptographic hashing algorithms designed by the NSA.

A sidechain is a blockchain that is associated to a parent blockchain and can exchange assets through a two-way peg. The purpose of a sidechain is to permit scalable transaction settlement of a cryptoasset without causing network congestion on the main chain. A token holder on the main chain locks their coins by sending them...

Bitcoin, and many protocols based on it, store data about transactions and user balances in the form of unspent transaction outputs, which are a list of “unspent” Bitcoin amounts that have been sent to a user, but have not yet been sent from him/her. The sum of these outputs is the user’s total balance. On...

Sharding is an approach to blockchain scalability, which partitions processing across multiple groups of nodes (‘shards’). The design is inspired by traditional database sharding, which effectively breaks large data structures into smaller, more easily managed pieces. Blockchain sharding is a layer 1 approach to scalability whereby consensus is no longer required globally, only locally amongst...

Plasma is a Layer 2 scaling approach for smart contract platforms, utilizing a network of bidirectional state channels to track state separately from the base blockchain. Plasma can be considered a generalized form of the Lightning Network, with the former enabling channel management for all smart contracts, beyond the payment management of the latter. Plasma,...