For a technology that has been called disruptive, revolutionary, and remarkably powerful, many blockchains and Blockchain -powered projects still struggle when it comes to efficiency.
Not only is there a massive amount of redundancy due to platforms with overlapping features, but the blockchains upon which many of these operate frequently trade security for efficiency — rather than offering both in equal measure.
But with more eyes on the industry than ever before and a range of projects are appearing to tackle these concerns, it might not be long until efficiency is considered a standard attribute of the blockchain landscape — much like security and cost-effectiveness already are.
Building a More Efficient System
Right now, two of the top five blockchains by the number of users are secured by a Proof-of-Work (POW) consensus mechanism — which means they use a decentralized network of energy-intensive miners to secure the network through the principles of “accumulated work”.
While this is incredibly secure, it also has adverse environmental consequences, due to the amount of electricity and material resources required to maintain the integrity of POW networks.
Nonetheless, other blockchains may offer similar speed and security, but don’t yet have the userbase or product ecosystem to be considered a major contender right now.
But with dozens of purpose-built blockchains out there, all offering something unique and potentially attractive, it only makes sense for there to be a solution that bridges these together — helping users easily take advantage of the broader blockchain ecosystem without having to hold utility tokens for each individual platform.
As it turns out, there is — and it’s called Wanchain. Wanchain seeks to enable the seamless exchange of data and value between multiple different blockchain ledgers through its advanced cross-chain bridge protocol.
Through Wanchain’s cross-chain Bridge , users can easily bridge assets between blockchains like XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Wanchain, and Bitcoin without relying on a centralized intermediary.
But more than this, Wanchain is also pioneering an additional technology known simply as X-Rollup — a layer-2 solution designed to address some of the inefficiencies of Ethereum, including high fees and low transaction throughput.
This leverages an intermediary layer known as the Layer Connector to connect Ethereum and Wanchain together, helping to efficiently move assets between the two chains while settling important data on the Ethereum mainchain periodically.
"Different blockchains have different strengths and solve different problems. While the Bitcoin Network is incredibly secure, it does consume a large amount of energy.
Today, Bitcoin is not well suited for consumer transactions,” said Wanchain Founder and CEO, Jack Lu. “Wanchain helps to overcome some of these inefficiencies by bridging different chains together with several cross-chain solutions.”
Breaking Down Barriers With Aggregators
While there are a huge number of projects looking to address the individual inefficiencies of different blockchains — such as a range of interoperability and cross-chain bridge solutions, comparatively fewer solutions are looking to improve efficiency at the level of the end user.
With the blockchain landscape and ecosystem of decentralized applications (DApps) growing at an incredibly rapid pace, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up or identify the best solution for a problem or an individual’s specific needs.
However, this is beginning to change thanks to the advent of a range of so-called blockchain aggregators.
These are essentially platforms that collect and organize a range of available blockchain-based solutions for a specific purpose, and allow the user to pick and choose the tools or features that work best for them.
ColdStack is a poignant example of how a single platform can massively improve efficiency for the end user. As an aggregator for decentralized storage networks (DSNs), ColdStack helps users take advantage of various DSNs, such as Arweave, Filecoin, BitTorrent, Crust etc., through a single interface.
? ColdStack and Crust Network Collaborate For Decentralized Storage!
? We will integrate Crust into our AI-based system to provide an additional storage option ? Learn more about @CommunityCrust and @coldstack_io collaboration details ?https://t.co/eXLusR90eA pic.twitter.com/bcIemqHNba — ColdStack (@coldstack_io) May 17, 2021
Rather than requiring users to create accounts with various different decentralized storage providers to manage their files or ensure the redundancy of their data, ColdStack instead eliminates this hurdle by helping end users manage their files across multiple DSNs using a single payment plan and API — maximizing efficiency.
But ColdStack isn’t the only aggregator working to break down barriers to entry in the crypto space. 1inch and Orion Protocol are massively popular aggregators for decentralized exchange platforms (DEXs), Yearn Finance makes yield farming more efficient by aggregating yields, while Litentry is designed to aggregate cross-chain identities.
With the foundational infrastructure for most sought-after blockchain-based applications already established, aggregators will likely begin to play an important role in making the blockchain industry as a whole more accessible and efficient — helping to eliminate some of the choice overload that both new and established users can face.
