Many of today’s existing cryptocurrencies have limitations or functional issues associated with them. The problem of ‘blockchain bloating’ is quite prevalent across a host of different blockchain platforms. This issue exists primarily because each node within a network is required to store details of all the transactions that have been processed within the native blockchain since its inception.

One project looking to solve this issue is Ardor (ARDR), a new blockchain platform that has been designed atop the existing codebase of Nxt — an open-source cryptocurrency and payment network. The platform makes use of a unique design that’s comprised of a single parent chain responsible for network security, processing transactions and maintenance of multiple “child chains” that are required for streamlining internal processes such as creating assets, voting on polls, sending messages and more.

From an efficiency standpoint, the Ardor parent chain only stores transactions which directly affect the balances of the forgers (i.e. proof-of-stake take block validators). All remaining transactions are governed by child chains who leave behind only a cryptographic proof (hash) which serves as an indicator of their previous existence.

Similarly, owing to the framework Ardor employs, it’s technically possible to reduce the number of transactions stored on the blockchain at a ratio of up to 1:100 without any tangible effect on the overall security and privacy of the network.

Interested in Ardor? Here’s a quick rundown of the project:

Platform & Development

The primary aspect that sets Ardor apart from the competition is its use of a technology called child chains. These chains are tightly integrated into the main Ardor parent chain and are designed to process transactions securely in conjunction with the parent chain forgers. As a direct result of this, Ardor is able to facilitate cross-chain transactions as well as significantly reduce native blockchain bloat.

Another way of looking at these child chains is by viewing them as transactional links that are contained within a parent-child architectural framework. They report each individual transaction to the parent chain using a process called “bundling” — where multiple child chain processes are morphed into a single ChildChainBlock entity.

The first child chain of the Ardor platform is called “Ignis” and it comes loaded with all of the features that are currently available on the Nxt blockchain. Unlike other side chains and blockchain-related technologies, Ignis, as well as its sister chains, will possess all of the same qualities as of the Ardor parent chain — which means that they will be based on the same source code as well as provide the same level of security to their customers.

According to the project’s roadmap for 2018, the development team is currently looking to introduce additional child chains onto the Ardor platform as well as implement new features into the existing parent-child architecture that is used by the system.

Team

Lior Yafe is the Co-Founder and managing director of Jelurida — the parent company responsible for the development of Ardor. He has a B.A. in Computer Science and possesses over 20 years of experience in design, development and deployment of enterprise applications for large corporations such as Software AG.

Other key personnel associated with this project include Petko Petkov and Tomislav Gountchev, both of whom have been in the digital domain for over a decade and specialize in niche areas such as Java and C++.

Token Financials

Ardor (ARDR) currently has a total market cap of ~$257 million and possesses 999 million tokens to back its ecosystem.

Final Take

With scalability, network speed is becoming a growing concern in the blockchain industry, Ardor provides the market with a solution that can help redefine the sector and alleviate many of the scalability issues that currently plague it.

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Disclaimer: The author(s) of this article may have a position in one or more of the cryptocurrencies mentioned above. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investments.