Layer 2s and Scaling
January 5, 2022, 11:11AM EST
• 10 min read

Comparing sharding technologies

Arnold Toh

Quick Take

  • There are two main types of sharding for blockchains: state and network
  • State sharding is typically more difficult to execute but scales blockchains more sustainably than network sharding
  • Contrary to the belief that shard chains are fully functional, most shard chains are currently mainly utilizing a single shard for smart contracts to reduce the technical complexity
  • The eventual growth in shard chains can serve as a useful precursor for the development of Ethereum 2.0 shard chains

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