Blockchain’s Scaling Problem, Explained

Failing to definitively address blockchain’s scaling issues could have far-reaching ramifications.

Unless action is taken, it’s likely that transactions will take longer and longer to process. In a digital economy where fiat payments can be sent and received instantly, blockchain platforms need to offer the same if they are going to be regarded as a viable alternative — even if they offer an array of other compelling advantages. Otherwise, there’s a real risk that even the most ardent crypto enthusiasts will abandon this technology altogether.

Dwindling user numbers could see prices for major cryptocurrencies tumble, with assets once worth thousands of dollars depreciating in value to a small fraction of what they were before.

It could also mean that centralization is here to stay, with all of the imperfections that motivated the dawn of the blockchain community in the first place. From here, who knows how many brilliant crypto platforms may never come to fruition.

Fractonet worked on a “complete redesign” of the blockchain to eliminate scalability issues once and for all. With a block size of 1.5GB, the startup says it successfully managed to process 33,888 transactions per second during functional testing. The company claims that its protocol can store data on-chain as well as transactions with real data immutability, meaning businesses no longer have to entrust third parties with sensitive information.

It has created a new protocol called RIFT to facilitate the synchronization of this data, and says the bigger block size will reduce the costs associated with transactions and mining. Fractonet says the base of the blockchain is already functional, paving the way for different features like DApps, sidechains, smart contracts and the possibility to have data accessible only through private key with different levels of access.