What is the Blockchain Trilemma

The Blockchain Trilemma refers to a widely accepted concept that a decentralized network can only achieve two of the following three features: decentralization, security, and scalability.

What is decentralization in blockchain?

Decentralization refers to how power is distributed to people around the world to manage, rather than being centrally controlled by one person or entity. In the blockchain field, it mainly represents the number of nodes involved in block creation and transaction validation. The more nodes there are, the higher the degree of decentralization.

What is a node? What role does it play in blockchain? Please refer to the entry “What is a node/validator.”

What is blockchain security?

According to the nature of blockchain, if someone can control more than half of the network nodes (51%), they can alter blocks, manipulate transactions, and steal funds from the network. Security generally represents the cost required to manipulate the network, which is often related to the consensus mechanism. The higher the cost, the more secure the blockchain.

How to achieve control over more than half of the nodes? Please refer to the entry “What is a 51% attack.”

What is blockchain scalability?

Scalability refers to the blockchain’s ability to support high transaction volumes and future growth. This means that the performance of the blockchain will not be affected by increased usage scenarios and user numbers. Generally, the faster the blockchain processes transactions, the higher its scalability.

The “Impossible Triangle”

Centralized platforms, such as VISA, have both scalability and a certain level of security. Decentralization, however, is the cornerstone of blockchain and digital assets. It ensures that every user can access a transparent network openly, but it also has a tricky downside: because the amount of information needed to maintain the data sharing system is too large, transaction speeds are slower, and the system is harder to scale.

However, it is precisely scalability that is the main avenue for blockchain networks to compete with traditional centralized platforms. Currently, centralized platforms’ network settlement speed and availability far surpass those of blockchain networks. To improve scalability, blockchain networks inevitably need to sacrifice some decentralization (such as reducing the number of nodes), or security (such as changing the consensus mechanism), or both. But doing so makes it easier for attackers aiming to take over the network.

These issues together form the “Blockchain Trilemma.” Under current technological conditions, any blockchain network must make trade-offs among decentralization, security, and scalability. #区块链#Decentralization **$QKC **$QNT **$IQ **