Scalability Solution – Alternatives to Rollups We have learnt | House Of Chimera

Scalability Solution – Alternatives to Rollups

We have learnt that there exist different blockchain scalability solutions. Earlier, we discussed Danksharding as an on-chain method to scale Ethereum. However, off-chain approaches also handle transactions outside the primary chain. In addition to Rollups, which can convert a single chain into a modular one , we will briefly introduce other off-chain alternatives.

Sidechains
Sidechains are independent blockchains and have their own consensus method, ecosystem design and parameters (e.g. different block creation times), and security mechanisms . Thus, sidechains are isolated from the main chain. Sidechains utilise a two-way peg to move assets from the main chain to the side chain(i.e. bridge). For example, Gnosis, an independent blockchain, is a sidechain on Ethereum.

Plasma
Plasma is a framework of child chains that have an independent consensus mechanism and produce their own blocks. A child-chain has a parent-child structure whereby the main chain (e.g. Ethereum) is the parent. All transactional functions of the blockchain are performed in the child chains, and the result is posted to the parent chain. Compared to Sidechains, Plasma relies on main chains' security measures. Additionally, Plasma does utilise off-chain storage and does not post transactional data on the parent chain. For example, Polygon Network is a Layer 2 built on Ethereum using Plasma.