Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey
Blockchain (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum) has drawn much attention and has been widely-deployed in recent years. However, blockchain scalability is emerging as a challenging issue. This paper outlines the existing solutions to blockchain scalability, which can be classified into two categories: first...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IEEE
2020-01-01
|
| Series: | IEEE Access |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9133427/ |
| _version_ | 1818932162690285568 |
|---|---|
| author | Abdelatif Hafid Abdelhakim Senhaji Hafid Mustapha Samih |
| author_facet | Abdelatif Hafid Abdelhakim Senhaji Hafid Mustapha Samih |
| author_sort | Abdelatif Hafid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Blockchain (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum) has drawn much attention and has been widely-deployed in recent years. However, blockchain scalability is emerging as a challenging issue. This paper outlines the existing solutions to blockchain scalability, which can be classified into two categories: first layer and second layer solutions. First layer solutions propose modifications to the blockchain (i.e., changing the blockchain structure, such as block size) while second layer solutions propose mechanisms that are implemented outside of the blockchain. In particular, we focus on sharding as a promising first layer solution to the scalability issue; the basic idea behind sharding is to divide the blockchain network into multiple committees, each processing a separate set of transactions. More specifically, (a) we propose a taxonomy based on committee formation and intra-committee consensus; and (b) we compare the main existing sharding-based blockchain protocols. We also present a performance-based comparative analysis (i.e., throughput and latency), of the advantages, and disadvantages in existing scalability solutions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T04:28:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-60c1bddae7ad414f85986182b6d6808a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T04:28:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-60c1bddae7ad414f85986182b6d6808a2022-12-21T19:53:27ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362020-01-01812524412526210.1109/ACCESS.2020.30072519133427Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive SurveyAbdelatif Hafid0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1377-1387Abdelhakim Senhaji Hafid1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8597-7344Mustapha Samih2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9751-9161Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, Team of EDA–Mathematical Laboratory and their Applications, University of Moulay Ismail, Meknes, MoroccoDepartment of Computer Science and Operational Research, Montreal Blockchain Laboratory, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, Team of EDA–Mathematical Laboratory and their Applications, University of Moulay Ismail, Meknes, MoroccoBlockchain (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum) has drawn much attention and has been widely-deployed in recent years. However, blockchain scalability is emerging as a challenging issue. This paper outlines the existing solutions to blockchain scalability, which can be classified into two categories: first layer and second layer solutions. First layer solutions propose modifications to the blockchain (i.e., changing the blockchain structure, such as block size) while second layer solutions propose mechanisms that are implemented outside of the blockchain. In particular, we focus on sharding as a promising first layer solution to the scalability issue; the basic idea behind sharding is to divide the blockchain network into multiple committees, each processing a separate set of transactions. More specifically, (a) we propose a taxonomy based on committee formation and intra-committee consensus; and (b) we compare the main existing sharding-based blockchain protocols. We also present a performance-based comparative analysis (i.e., throughput and latency), of the advantages, and disadvantages in existing scalability solutions.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9133427/Blockchainscalabilityshardingfirst layer solutionssecond layer solutions |
| spellingShingle | Abdelatif Hafid Abdelhakim Senhaji Hafid Mustapha Samih Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey IEEE Access Blockchain scalability sharding first layer solutions second layer solutions |
| title | Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_full | Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_fullStr | Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_short | Scaling Blockchains: A Comprehensive Survey |
| title_sort | scaling blockchains a comprehensive survey |
| topic | Blockchain scalability sharding first layer solutions second layer solutions |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9133427/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdelatifhafid scalingblockchainsacomprehensivesurvey AT abdelhakimsenhajihafid scalingblockchainsacomprehensivesurvey AT mustaphasamih scalingblockchainsacomprehensivesurvey |