Blockchain Trilemma
Fleeting- External reference:
- External reference: https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
- External reference: https://eth.wiki/sharding/Sharding-FAQs
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in all blockchain protocols each node stores the entire state (account balances, contract code and storage, etc.) and processes all transactions.
blockchain cannot process more transactions than a single node can. In large part because of this, Bitcoin is limited to ~3–7 transactions per second, Ethereum to 7–15, etc.
are there ways to create a new mechanism, where only a small subset of nodes verifies each transaction?
could we not split up transaction processing between smaller groups of nodes to greatly increase a blockchain’s total throughput?
he impossible triangle of blockchain refers to a blockchain system which cannot satisfy three angles at the same time. It must improve the index of the other two angles at the expense of one certain angle
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
The most popular version of the impossible triangle theory is the one by “Vitalik
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
blockchain system cannot simultaneously combine decentralization, scalability and security.
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
theory of impossible triangle has not been subject to any logical and systematic argument. The author only enumerated some questions and then initiated the viewpoint.
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
Those who have written academic papers must know that in order to prove their researches can solve problems, the first step was usually to raise questions; to prove the effectiveness of their researches, they usually described the problem very important and difficult to be solved. The article On sharding blockchains is exactly written in the same structure.
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
if the readers are patient enough to read the whole article on the “Vitalik” impossible triangle, they will find that Ethereum has solved this triangle problem through its sharding technology
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
The so-called “impossible” has been demonstrated as “possible” on the first day of its birth.
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
impossible triangle theory has been widely recognized, partly because of the popularity of Changjia and Vitalik. But does it really stand up to scrutiny?
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
Distributed system CAP theorem is the real impossible triangle
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The CAP theorem is one of the most important principles in the field of distributed systems, which profoundly affects the development of distributed computing and system design
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
The specific meanings of CAP theorem consistency, availability and partition tolerance are as follows:
Consistency: If the system returns a successful write operation, then the subsequent read request must read the new data; if the return fails, then all read operations cannot access to the data, so the data is highly consistent to the caller. Availability: All read and write requests can be responded within a certain period without always waiting. Partition tolerance: The network in the system may suffer from partition failure, that is, communication between nodes cannot be guaranteed, but it does not affect the normal service of the system.
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
According to the CAP theorem, a distributed system can only implement two of aforesaid three elements at the same time
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
- If the AP is satisfied at a certain moment, that is, the separated node external service without mutual communicate, it will result in inconsistency which cannot meet the condition of C;
- if the condition of CP is met, then in the case of network partition, the request can only wait to meet the condition of C, so the condition of A cannot be met;
- if the condition of CA is met, that is, the node status is consistent within a certain period, then the network partition cannot be realized, which will not meet the condition of P.
— https://www.eastshore.xyz/the-impossible-triangle-a-lie-about-blockchain/
are there ways to create a new mechanism, where only a small subset of nodes verifies each transaction? As long as there are sufficiently many nodes verifying each transaction that the system is still highly secure, but a sufficiently small percentage of the total validator set so that the system can process many transactions in parallel,
three main categories of “easy solutions”
first is to give up on scaling individual blockchains, and instead assume that applications will be split among many different chains
second is to simply increase the block size lim
third is “merge mining”, a technique where there are many chains, but all chains share the same mining power (or, in proof of stake systems, stake)
trilemma claims that blockchain systems can only at most have two of the following three properties: Decentralization (defined as the system being able to run in a scenario where each participant only has access to O© resources, i.e. a regular laptop or small VPS) Scalability (defined as being able to process O(n) > O© transactions) Security (defined as being secure against attackers with up to O(n) resources)