Blockchain has a scaling issue.
This is true.
Here’s an example.
I bought a kitty May 20th.
The transaction took more than 20 mins to be mined. This is not okay for normal users. Only crypt enthusiast can stand.
Gas cost was also expensive.
To purchase $1.76 kitty, I paid $0.67 for fee, roughly 28%.
So we should stop putting everything on the main net.
We should use off-chain solution like plasma to store heavy files or to do micro transactions. We can borrow trust from the main net with technologies like plasma.
But what we should use as a side-chain?
Recently I found a good candidate, PoA Network.
PoA Network is a Ethereum clone with proof of authority. Actually PoA Network is not developed for a side chain technology but for a new public blockchain network.
Here’s how PoA network works
Proof of authority is not a PoA Network’s invention. It’s one of consensus algorithm which Geth and Parity provide.
Pre authorized validator nodes can create a block without competition unlike proof of work. So it don’t require much computation aka electricity. I don’t think validator nodes need even GPU.
So proof-of-authorigy can scale linearly.
But the problem is proof of authority needs special nodes which have privilege. This is against philosophy of decentralization.
And how can we trust the special nodes?
Notary system
To fix the problem, PoA Network use notary system. All validators are public figure like professors and they have to go though KYC process.
So it’s trustable even though it not 100% decentralized.
PoA Network as a side chain
If you are decentralized enthusiast, PoA Network’s approach is still not the best. If you are in enterprise market maybe PoA network’s approach is okay because enterprise don’t care decentralization much.
How about use PoA Network as a side chain?
PoA Network has quite a few sophisticated smart contracts to make managing validators easy. And they are even developing bridge solution.
Bridge solution is a technique that move token between PoA Network and the Ethereum main net.
This is great for side chain.
Side chain don’t need proof of work because side chain exist for specific purposes. I mean decentralization is not the purpose.
Here’s side chain needs
- Manage validator nodes
- Borrow trust from the main net
- Move token between the main net and side chain
PoA Network’s smart contracts are very sophisticated and I think I can use them or I can tweak their codes. It’s better than me writing smart contracts from scratch.
I even think PoA Network’s revenue model should be supporting blockchain projects which use PoA Network as side chains. The objective of public PoA Network can be an example or test net.
Maybe their revenue model is supporting enterprise already…
Again I think we should use off-chain solutions including side chain to make entire blockchain ecosystem sustainable and reasonable.
And PoA Network is good for side chain.
I even hope they have a support plan for startups…
Thanks for reading.
