Adaora Anders
3 min readSep 12, 2021

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A Deep Dive Into How Cypherium Solves The Blockchain Trilemma

As revolutionary as blockchain technology might be, the current digital ledgers struggle in the face of three major issues, often called the blockchain trilemma. The concept of the blockchain trilemma is notorious in the crypto space. Developers cannot build a perfect blockchain as one of the trio of security, decentralization, or scalability is often sacrificed for others.

An ideal blockchain has to be secure, scalable, and decentralized. Yet, the reality of existing blockchains is far from ideal. Exploits happen too often, which puts a dent in the security of the digital ledger. Existing blockchains struggle to prevent these attacks.

Security isn’t the only challenge. Blockchains can’t seem to handle the volume of transactions that are considered easy-peasy for their centralized counterparty. This lack of capacity points to the scalability problem of blockchains.

Decentralization claims of certain blockchains are as bogus as they come — fewer nodes give them away. Some blockchains rely on third parties to effect transactions, going against the tenets of decentralization. Though the concept of the blockchain trilemma rings true, several blockchains are capable of tackling the blockchain trilemma. While only a few have succeeded in that regard, Cypherium belongs in that small group.

How Cypherium Overcomes The Blockchain Trilemma

As highlighted earlier, the blockchain trilemma is due to a tripod of issues — decentralization, security, and scalability — and that one of these becomes the alternative for.

Nevertheless, most blockchains have struggled to overcome the blockchain trilemma. With the Cypherium Network in the picture, that impasse might be over. To understand how Cypherium Network navigates scalability, look towards the finality of existing blockchains. While other blockchains require as much as 30 confirmations — which takes several seconds to complete — Cypherium concludes transactions in 2–3 confirmations within a few milliseconds. The scalability of Cypherium is possible through the blockchain’s use of its novel CypherBFT consensus, running on the HotStuff algorithm.

You can’t ignore the role of the Cypherium Virtual Machine (CVM) in the scalability potential of Cypherium Network. The CVM works on the Ethereum Virtual Machine blueprint, but the former offers more that makes the Cypherium Network more scalable.

Smart contracts might be great at removing the middleman, but they are often subject to vulnerabilities. While regular contracts on Ethereum and other blockchains succumb to such flaws, the CVM eliminates these errors through frequent security checks. It’s an indication of how the Cypherium network tackles one of the issues in the blockchain trilemma: security.

Cypherium also maintains a secure network through a unique model. This consists of validator nodes that are indistinguishable from other nodes. This is made possible through the CypherBFT consensus. Unlike the Nakamoto Consensus, the CypherBFT is more ‘upbeat’ and in-tune with current realities in the digital space.

The combination of CypherBFT and HotStuff improves the ease of usage of the blockchain. Such a mix makes Cypherium more decentralized, an aspect of the blockchain trilemma.

Cypherium Network consists of several embodiments that deliver the distributed system, reinforcing the decentralized framework of the blockchain. The reliance on several embodiments also works in favor of the scalability of the Cypherium Network.

One of the reasons why Cypherium Network succeeded in solving the blockchain trilemma where others struggle is the mix of its proprietary CypherBFT consensus and HotStuff. Both bring a lot to the table, complementing each other in ways many are yet to comprehend.

Conclusion

Cypherium has what it takes to tackle the infamous blockchain trilemma. The blockchain’s use of CypherBFT and HotStuff should remove all doubts on the capacity of Cypherium to deliver on decentralization, security, and scalability.

Hopefully, the debate regarding the blockchain trilemma is brought to an end.

RESOURCES ON CYPHERIUM:

WEBSITE: https://cypherium.io/

GITHUB: https://github.com/cypherium

TELEGRAM: https://t.me/cypherium_supergroup

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cypheriumchain

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CypheriumChain/

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