Ethereum sharding: A beginner’s guide to blockchain sharding
Blockchain technology has evolved dramatically since its inception in 2009. Back then, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin (BTC) as a way to provide a decentralized alternative to centralized financial systems. The goal was to provide a solution that was also secure and transparent.
Bitcoin achieved this through distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain technology, allowing the network to reach a consensus without the need for a central authority. However, this also meant that as more users and transactions were added to the network, it became slower and less scalable.
The Ethereum network has addressed Bitcoin’s primary issue of scalability through the implementation of a series of development updates. Arguably one of the biggest updates on the network has been its shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) from proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism similar to Bitcoin’s.
This upgrade, dubbed the Merge, successfully integrated Ethereum’s original execution layer and its new PoS consensus layer- thereby transitioning from PoW to PoS. The Merge has brought down Ethereum’s energy consumption by 99.95%, addressing one of the longest-standing issues with PoW-based blockchain systems.
But, Ethereum’s scalability efforts don’t stop there. The network is currently undergoing development updates to introduce sharding, a process that will further increase its transaction throughput and scalability. But what exactly is sharding in the context of blockchain technology and Ethereum, in particular?
What is database sharding?
Sharding is a concept that originates from database management systems back in the 1980s. In fact, SHARD used to be an abbreviation of an ‘80s database product, System for Highly Available Replicated Data. Read More…
