Litecoin can be viewed almost
as a sidechain to Bitcoin; providing relief to the network when there is too much traffic.
Besides, Rootstock is elaborated
as a sidechain and thus can raise interoperability between Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains — the two most successful blockchain platforms as of now.
In March 2016, Bitmain led a funding round for Rootstock, smart contract developer designed
as a sidechain operating on bitcoin's blockchain, whose aim is to expand the latter's functionality with smart contacts.
The transaction malleability fix makes it much easier to implement decentralized micro-payment networks and smart contracts (such
as sidechains).
Larger, more decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, pegged cryptocurrencies such
as sidechains, as well as distributed computing platforms like Ethereum, do not easily fit the definition of a security and also do not present the sort of consumer risk that is best addressed through securities regulation, the paper argues.
To date, the startup has raised more than $ 70m in venture capital in order to support its efforts to develop bitcoin - focused initiatives such
as sidechains and the Lightning network.
When those alternative protocol designs are implemented
as sidechains, it makes the changes optional because users can still decide to remain on the main Bitcoin blockchain.
Moreover, it will be able to «infinitely extend the scalability of a digital asset ecosystem,»
as sidechains will work independently without affecting the main blockchain.
The developer sees some alternatives which could be more efficient than the Lightning Network, such
as sidechains, for instance.
Not exact matches
So rather than focusing on Bitcoin
as a speculative currency, the true focus should be on the underlying technology, known
as the blockchain, and related «
sidechains» that result in speedier payment methods, reduced financial friction, and anonymity,
as well
as accountability and transparency.
The cryptography team at Blockstream recently launched its first prototype «
sidechain,» which functions
as a separate ledger with its own code.
, the application of
sidechains has been heralded
as the step required to bring bitcoin and the blockchain to the masses — it affords other organizations a way to apply blockchain technology to their current operations without having to develop and maintain a completely separate blockchain.
Overlay networks, such
as Lightning and
sidechains, can successfully deal with this challenge while in - service ledgers already do.
Sidechains have been viewed
as Bitcoin's way of dealing the altcoin market since 2014, when a proposal for a two - way peg between two different blockchains was first proposed in a public setting.
A specialized bitcoin
sidechain could be used
as a cheap and fast way to authenticate online dating profiles.
Sidechains are new blockchains which are backed by Bitcoins, via Bitcoin contracts, just
as dollars and pounds used to be backed by cold hard gold.
The process has noticeable parallels to several other cryptocurrency projects out there —
sidechains have been touted
as a way to tie different features to bitcoin's main network, and researchers speculate that a new type of fork, called a velvet fork, might one day enable similar functionality.
Generally we can think of the parent chain
as being bitcoin and the
sidechain as one of many other block chains.
He noted the launch of Liquid, a new
sidechain developed by industry startup Blockstream
as proof that the bitcoin blockchain is versatile enough to meet the demands of institutions that want to develop private blockchain networks, while still gaining access to the security and network effect of the bitcoin blockchain.
Blockstream will seek to provide
Sidechain Elements
as a base for the nearly 30 blockchain innovation initiatives that have been announced by major financial institutions in the past few months.
Humaniq has solved the scaling challenges of ERC20 projects by preserving the benefits of the Ethereum main - net and creating a «unique combination of
sidechain solutions in individual African countries such
as Uganda, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Rwanda.»
Dilley added, «If you're going to fall back to [a weaker security model], you might
as well be piggybacking off Bitcoin via
sidechains.»
Those building pegged off - chain or
sidechain systems needn't worry about on - chain limitations,
as Monero's dynamic block size algorithm grows and shrinks the block size limit based on the on - chain demand.
As a side note, new opcodes are required to bring
sidechains functionality to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin Alternatives:
Sidechains and layer - 2 protocols, such
as the Lightning Network, are Bitcoin's main alternatives to Dogecoin and Litecoin at least in terms of low - security, cheap alternatives to the Bitcoin blockchain.
In addition,
sidechains made big headlines this week,
as innovation in the bitcoin space continues to develop and bring exciting new ideas.
A
sidechain proposal, Drivechain acts
as a two - way peg, allowing participants to move their bitcoins to a
sidechain while remaining a part of the bitcoin network.
Proposed by Bitcoin Core's developers, SegWit's main goal is to send transactions off - chain and onto second layers like the Lightning Network or
sidechains, but it has already drawn a lot of criticism over its use of a 1:4 ratio, which some miners pointed out
as a political decision that will bind bitcoin's trajectory for years regardless of technical factors.
The new, improved app sits on the Ethereum Blockchain with the unique combination of
sidechain solutions in individual African countries, such
as Uganda, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Rwanda.
On this
sidechain, users could transact freely and privately for
as long
as they want, until the new owner decides to «move» the funds back to the Bitcoin blockchain by unlocking the original output.
In a recent interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Blockstream CTO Greg Maxwell shared his views on
sidechains as a scalability solution and why the Lightning Network will be a better option over the long term.
While many believe
sidechains could be Bitcoin's long - term solution to the scalability issue, Maxwell sees the Lightning Network
as a better option.
Overlay networks, such
as Lightning and
sidechains, can successfully deal with this challenge,» Vavilov said.
Bloq co-founder Jeff Garzik disagrees and views
sidechains as a better option.
But, they might have a ways to go,
as not all bitcoin developers are convinced that current
sidechain implementations will uphold the security of the main bitcoin network.
The venture - backed firm is best known for iterating on top of the open - source bitcoin protocol with projects such
as the Lightning Network and
sidechains, the latter of which aims to allow users to send assets back and forth between blockchains «pegged» to bitcoin.
A
sidechain using confidential transactions would also potentially be more private than the main bitcoin blockchain,
as it stands today.
Now, with
sidechains the last quadrant has also been filled: using an independent network but using Bitcoin
as the underlying currency.
The main goal of SegWit is to send transactions off - chain and onto second layers like the Lightning Network or
sidechains, which viaBTC said «are not equal to bitcoin's peer - to - peer on - chain transactions,» noting that «LN will also lead to big payment «centers,» and this is against bitcoin's initial design
as a peer - to - peer payment system.»
Tokens issued via proof - of - burn, a
sidechain or
as a reward for contributing resources in some other manner (Storj for example) are also lumped into this category of cryptocurrencies that do not involve an investment of money by users.
However, if
sidechains successfully work out, there's no reason Counterparty can't adopt them
as well, using the same embedded consensus approach
as on mainnet, with much faster block times.
We also recognize the inherent blocksize increase provided by Segregated Witness
as a positive development towards on - chain scaling, but this is dwarfed by the exponential scaling which Lightning Networks and
Sidechains, which are optimized by the adoption of Segwit, will provide.
There were several new developments in the world of Bitcoin this week, such
as the release of the anticipated
Sidechains project, and Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne to be the first to purchase a «cryptobond».
Overlay networks, such
as Lightning and
sidechains, can successfully deal with this challenge while in - service ledgers already do.
Some developers, such
as Peter Todd, have shared technical concerns with merge - mined
sidechains in the past, but this concept is likely going to be tried out in the wild, whether the contributors to Bitcoin Core like it or not.
A
sidechain is essentially an off - blockchain service that allows bitcoin users to transfer the value of the cryptocurrency away from the bitcoin blockchain to avoid issues such
as blockchain bloat.
NET applications on a
sidechain that a business «rents» or «purchases» without having to worry about learning a different proprietary language that isn't
as well known such
as Solidity (main language for development in Ethereum).
This will allow for a highly efficient and sustainable ecosystem that is organized based on businesses purchasing
sidechains to act
as an infrastructure for them to build any type of blockchain applications in C# /.
In a lengthy post, the founder of Ethereum highlights the difference between three types of
sidechains that are being developed with the old public ledger
as their base: the private blockchain, the consortium blockchain and the public blockchain.
Lisk, a blockchain platform that stores decentralized applications in
sidechains (
as opposed to the main blockchain,
as Ethereum does), saw its price soar during intraday trading.