Despite the recent surge in the popularity of blockchain technology and its potential to completely disrupt a number of different industries worldwide, there are still a number of major roadblocks that are preventing the industry from progressing.

The biggest cons of blockchain technology can be summed up in the infamous ‘scalability trilemma’ that has plagued developers constantly over the past few years. Essentially, it means that blockchains can’t currently exist without having to compromise on either scalability, security, or decentralization.

A number of scalability solutions have been proposed over the years. However, so far, most have had notable pitfalls which have ultimately made them unsuitable.

Two key scalability solutions proposed over recent years have shown significant potential. These are known as sidechains and sharding.

These two solutions are frequently compared. Sidechains are the newest solution, and have a few notable advantages over sharding.

Many companies are starting to realize the benefits of sidechains. One of the the major companies that is currently leading the charge is aelf — a decentralized cloud computing blockchain network that has been utilizing sidechains to fulfill its aim of becoming a highly effective, customizable OS.

Ultimately, it will become the “Linux system” for blockchain.