What Is a Sidechain?
A sidechain is a blockchain connected or linked to another blockchain through a two-way peg protocol. That means one can move a value from the first blockchain to the second and vice versa through locking value on the first blockchain and unlocking it on the other. Through this concept, we are likely to have an interoperable network of computers in the future.
A Deeper Look at This Term
Today there are close to three thousand blockchains out there, and more are being built over time. There is a growing need to have them interoperate so that users can move digital value from one to another without going through a centralized platform such as an exchange. There is also a need to scale some of these blockchains to handle more transactions.
Sidechain architecture seems to solve these two problems. With the first one, a two-way protocol is created such that one can send their tokens on one blockchain to a special wallet. That action triggers a release of an equivalent amount of tokens on the other blockchain.
In the second use case, a blockchain, like the bitcoin blockchain, would have smaller blockchains created and linked to it to handle some of the excess transactions. This has the potential to give users a better experience.
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