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Polkadot's dominance in the blockchain industry is gaining significant attention from users and developers. The platform works as a Layer 0 ecosystem with an advanced central ledger known as the Relay Chain. Surrounding the Relay Chain are parachains, a group of diverse blockchains tied to Polkadot. In essence, parachains run as parallel blockchains that can interact with each other. The following piece intends to highlight the most prominent parachains features.
Parachains Definition and Features
Parachains represent independent blockchains that share Polkadot's governance, security, and scalability. The networks operate within one ecosystem and have a trustless communication system. Some of the well-known parachains features include:
Scalability
Scalability refers to a network's ability to handle a growing number of transactions. The performance of a blockchain is mainly determined by the average time it takes to verify transactions. As such, without any scaling solution, blockchains can become overloaded with numerous transactions. This event also attracts higher transaction fees to users. Parachains offer scalable networks where multiple blockchains can communicate with each other. Transaction processes in the parachains operate in a parallel manner. Therefore, transactions are spread across various chains to avoid bottlenecks that could slow down a network.
Interoperability
Interoperability is a crucial factor that drives blockchains as it primarily encourages interactions. The process involves the transmission and exchange of data between different blockchain networks. Through interoperability, users can easily transact on a different blockchain without experiencing any difficulty. Parachains adopt a similar concept since they allow users to trade inside and outside the chain. Apart from trading tokens, users can exchange various data such as smart contract calls and verifiable credentials. The interoperability feature ultimately introduces a decentralized and interactive system and eliminates the idea of isolated blockchains.
Security
Adequate security helps keep a blockchain network safe from malicious users. In most instances, new chains have to improve their security statuses by gathering a group of validators and miners. However, building a network of validators may be time-consuming and somewhat difficult to undertake. In the end, such blockchains remain vulnerable to attacks due to insufficient security. Parachains offer adequate security since they are automatically connected to Polkadot. The chains come with an in-built solution known as shared security. This solution gives blockchains bank-like security, making them safer for the blockchain team. That way, interested blockchain investors will take minimal time to deploy the network.
Flexibility
Parachains extend flexibility to developers who wish to establish their chains. Depending on a developer's requirements, the networks can be designed to meet several use cases. Hence, a parachain can have native asset and governance roles and run privately/publicly. Establishing a project through smart contract platforms may sometimes be limiting. In a smart contract platform, developers have to follow the designs applied by the underlying blockchain. By leveraging parachains, developers can explore the benefits of layer-1 networks, which encourage customizations.
The Capacity to Upgrade
Parachains hope to remain relevant even as the technology space continues to expand. Upgrading a blockchain can be a labor-intensive exercise that could involve forking or splitting up a network. Parachains seek to use forkless upgrading procedures on every network. According to Polkadot, the forkless upgrade will be based on the community's determination. A community's preparedness allows parachains to evolve and keep up with the latest technologies.
Simple Development Procedures
Setting up a parachain network is easy because there are specialized tools available for developers. Substrate is one software development kit that parachains employ during the development process. The platform functions as a blockchain development framework designed by Parity Technologies. Developers can use readily available modules to establish parachains that match their requirements through the kit. This feature helps reduce the amount of time required to set up a project and its blockchain.
The Parachain Slot Auction
Interested developers who plan to build parachain-based projects can obtain a lease through the Relay Chain. Here, developers take part in bidding for a lease slot through DOT, Polkadot's native asset. Therefore, developers can lock a certain amount of DOT depending on the lease period. Furthermore, the developing team receiving a parachain can rent it for a minimum of six months and a maximum of one year. The DOT amount will be accessible once the leasing period ends. During this process, developers cannot transfer, stake, or use the bidding amount. The slot auction makes parachains a free-to-use ecosystem since the locked funds are released when the leasing timeline ends. It further means that parachains can look for advanced computing power without asking for expensive upfront fees.
Conclusion
From the description above, it is clear that parachains run as independent blockchains and share several features from Polkadot. The main agenda behind parachains is to advocate for scalability and interoperability. Scalability allows the chains to divide transaction validation processes to other chains. At the same time, chains can interact with each other and exchange data in real-time. Developers also have a choice of designing their projects based on their requirements. This flexibility, coupled with security and interoperability, makes parachains a recognizable advancement.