What is sharding? Sharding is a technique that splits the blockchain into smaller blockchains — shard chains. This enables blockchains to handle more transactions. Many blockchains, such as Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cosmos, use sharding to increase the capacity of their networks.
With that in mind, this guide will show you how sharding works in practice, discuss its main challenges, and compare database and blockchain sharding.
Here’s all you need to know about sharding.
What Is Sharding and How Does Sharding Work?
The term sharding crypto refers to the process of dividing the blockchain into smaller parts or shard chains. This technique aims to improve the network’s scalability and increase transaction speed. Now that you know what sharding is, here’s how this process works.
Blockchain nodes are responsible for handling transactions within the blockchain, meaning that each node must be able to process all transactions. This is where sharding comes into play.
Sharding removes the requirement for nodes to check and keep entire blockchains by spreading the workload across all nodes. It assigns nodes to specific shards. Each shard has its own validators, data, and smart contracts, making each shard distinct. This allows each shard to process transactions on its own.
This parallel processing of information helps the network confirm more transactions per second. In short, sharding is a technique that replaces the linear transaction processing system with a parallel model.
One of the biggest benefits of sharding is its potential to solve the scalability problem of PoW networks.
Sharding in Practice
As mentioned above, many blockchains experiment with sharding. The best examples include Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cosmos. Here’s how these blockchains use sharding:
Ethereum Sharding Explained
After transitioning from PoW to the PoS consensus mechanism, Ethereum began testing sharding. In fact, sharding became part of its 2.0 upgrade. Ethereum’s approach to sharding is known as danksharding. Danksharding is different from the typical shardible crypto method because it employs a unified market fee system. For instance, the network depends on a single block proposer instead of multiple ones. Danksharding is designed to support Ethereum’s shift from PoW to PoS and ensure that shard chains operate effectively.
How does sharding work in Ethereum 2.0? It divides the network into 64 shards, each capable of processing transactions individually.
Polkadot Sharding Explained
Polkadot is a multi-chain protocol that aims to provide interoperability across different networks. It’s also a sharded blockchain, which means that transactions will be processed parallel to each other.
Polkadot uses heterogeneous shards called parachains. Each parachain is connected to its main network, the Relay Chain. Parachains can also be connected to external networks, such as BTC and ETH. Thanks to parachains, Polkadot can process up to 1,000 transactions per second. Each parachain is tailored to serve a specific use case. Moreover, it can share data with other parachains and have its native token. At the time of writing, polkadot can handle up to 100 parachains.
Cosmos Sharding Explained
Cosmos is a blockchain that aims to solve the scalability issues of blockchain networks. Its shards are called zones since they act independently. Zones use a self-validating and self-governing model and communicate only with the Cosmos Hub, enabling users to plug into any zone.
Zones are connected to the Hub via side chains. Once the transaction is confirmed, the token on the original chain will be burned. Then, the receiving chain will mint a new token. The biggest downside of zones is their need for shared security.
Challenges of Sharding
Now that you know what sharding crypto is all about, let’s discuss its key challenges.
Security
Shards are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Why? Because each shard can process transactions individually, each shard can be hacked. This can lead to loss of data. Moreover, a hacked shard will contain malicious transactions that can affect its parent blockchain. Hackers will also be able to manipulate the execution order of transactions.
Complexity
Sharding is a complex technique that requires constant monitoring. Developers must also determine when to add a shard to the blockchain. Adding multiple shards to the blockchain is a challenging task, requiring skill and knowledge. On top of that, developers will also have to process cross-shard transactions to prevent double-spending and ensure consistency.
Data Availability Issues
Shard validators can only store transaction data within their shard. This means there is no guarantee that other validators and shards follow the rules. Developers must use techniques such as cryptographic proofs and data replication to maintain the integrity of the data.
Database Sharding vs Blockchain Sharding
Here’s how database sharding differs from blockchain sharding:
Type of Sharding
Database Sharding
Blockchain Sharding
Purpose
To increase the storage capacity of the system
To improve the scalability of the network
Data distribution
Splitting data into multiple databases that can be stored on different machines
Splitting the blockchain into smaller parts or shards that can process transactions independently
Inter-Shard Communication
Shards communicate through techniques like routing, scatter-gather, and query coordination
Shards communicate with each other through specific protocols, such as state channels
Control
Each shard operates independently and has control over its data
Each shard operates independently and has control over its data
Conclusion — The Future of Sharding Crypto
What is sharding? Sharding is the process of splitting the blockchain into smaller parts or shards that will operate individually. Its goal is to solve scalability issues without compromising the decentralized nature of blockchains. Many notable blockchains, such as Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cosmos, have started to implement sharding.
However, sharding also has several drawbacks, including security risks, complexity, and data availability issues.