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Blockchain & Crypto vocabulary · Networks, Forks & Scaling

Scalability

Meaning in blockchain & crypto, with examples

/ˌskeɪ.ləˈbɪl.ə.ti/nounCommon term

In blockchain & crypto, scalability means: The ability of a blockchain to handle more users and transactions without becoming slow or expensive. It is one of the biggest technical challenges in the field.

In Turkish: ölçeklenebilirlik

How it is used

Used in technical debates and pitches: the scalability problem, scaling solutions, transactions per second (TPS). People often mention the blockchain trilemma, the idea that it is hard to get security, decentralization and scalability at the same time.

Example sentences

  1. Scalability was the main reason we moved from mainnet to a rollup.

  2. The whitepaper promises scalability, but the testnet handled only 200 transactions per second.

Common collocations

  • scalability problem
  • improve scalability
  • scaling solution
  • blockchain trilemma
  • layer 2A network built on top of a layer 1 blockchain that handles transactions faster and more cheaply, then sends the results back to the main chain for security. Rollups and the Lightning Network are examples.
  • rollupA type of layer 2 that bundles many transactions together off the main chain and posts the compressed data or a proof back to layer 1, which cuts fees while keeping layer 1 security.
  • layer 1A base blockchain that processes and finalizes transactions on its own network, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Other systems can be built on top of it.
  • gas feeThe fee paid to the network to process a transaction or run a smart contract, especially on Ethereum and similar chains. It goes up when the network is busy.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Networks, Forks & Scaling

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