Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
13 lines (7 loc) · 931 Bytes

the-blockchain-trilemma.md

File metadata and controls

13 lines (7 loc) · 931 Bytes

The Blockchain Trilemma

Category: Blockchain

The blockchain trilemma states that a blockchain must trade off three characteristics: security, decentralisation, and scalability. Conventional thinking supports the notion that it is only possible to support two out of the three characteristics simultaneously.

  • Scalability - refers to throughput and the speed of transactions (in TPS) executed on the blockchain.

  • Decentralisation - refers to the number of participating nodes which confirm and validate transactions where more is better.

  • Security - refers to the ability to prevent groups from taking over the blockchain and controlling over half the network (a.k.a. the "51%" attack) through ironclad defences.

Note: Rollups, sidechains, and sharding are solutions which attempt to address scalability and performance. Some of these operate at "Layer 2" and synchronize back to the parent (Layer 1) blockchain.