FASTER, MORE CONNECTED, MORE CAPACITY

There’s a tendency to think of an ‘one chain to rule them all’ future in which a single all-conquering behemoth hoovers up all possible transactions in the known galaxy before becoming self-aware and conquering the rest of the universe. [But remember… the Avengers beat Thanos in the end}. Back in the real world, it’s far more likely that each chain will become its own galaxy, complete with an eco-system of connected projects but existing within a larger universe of chains. Connecting these systems and worlds will require building the finest transport network ever devised. One capable of passing value from one chain to another but equally capable of handling critically high volume without breaking down. We are rapidly accelerating towards the age, not of big data, but of gargantuan data.

Imagine an F1 race car. The engine is a masterpiece, revving to 15,000RPM but it still requires a turbo to hit maximum speed. The driver has access to extra power provided by regenerative braking. And of course, the engine won’t go round the track by itself, it still requires a chassis, bodywork and a steering rack.

Photo by Tim Carey on Unsplash

As fast as Harmony is and will continue to become, we will still need access to this kind of ‘overboost’ to ensure we can handle the load. We need partners who can complete the missing parts for our high-performance engine.

Harmony is perfectly situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, a stone’s throw away from giant data producers who can benefit directly from the speed and security of our deep sharding protocol. We want to ensure that when we engage with these future prospects we’re coming with the most compelling proposition possible.

LAYER 2 + LAYER 1 = LAYER AWESOME

Layer 2 scaling solutions move transactions off-chain (as opposed to layer 1 scaling techniques, which improve the transaction throughput of the base chain). They present challenges of their own but if properly designed can leverage many of the benefits of blockchains (security, immutability, decentralization, etc.) without incurring the same costs (slow confirmation times, volatile and high transaction costs, etc.). Harmony is fully EVM compatible so is well-positioned to take advantage of existing solutions built for the Ethereum network.

We are therefore pleased to announce that we have partnered with Matic Network, a leading L2 scaling solutions provider that leverages an adapted version of Plasma with PoS based side chains to boost scalability considerably. Matic boasts a strong interoperability proposition that will make it simple for users to communicate and transfer value across multiple blockchains in the future.

Matic Network is now securely integrated with Ethereum but plans to integrate multiple leading smart contract platforms such as Harmony to ensure its users gain access to a full suite of functionality through sidechains.

Harmony uses sharding at state level to achieve fast transaction settlement but by integrating with Matic Network we can achieve even faster transaction speeds and scale further and faster. For those building dApps on Harmony the flexibility to move more complex operations off-chain will open up more possibilities for improving the end-user experience.

Think of big data analysis. Each day tens to hundreds of data points are generated by each user. Building an accurate persona or customer profile out of it requires analysing several thousands of permutations and combinations for each user. Such computations can be performed effectively off-chain in Matic Network.

Additionally, dApps in Harmony will be able to benefit from their own blockchain(s) i.e. each dapp can choose to run complex computation task off-chain in Matic Network. As a result, dApps pay less in gas fees and the potential slow performance due to heavy computation tasks will not affect the overall network performance and spike the gas fee.

The Messier 47 Black Hole imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope

At Harmony we draw inspiration from everywhere but nothing captured our imagination quite like the first ever image of a black hole, Messier 87, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. The project generated more than a petabyte of data, captured by over 200 using an array of telescopes scattered all over the planet. This is exactly the kind of project Harmony’s high-performance blockchain will be able to handle without breaking a sweat.

Sandeep Nailwal COO Matic shared, “Scaling will be needed for all Layer 1 blockchains. We are believers in Ethereum and its community and thus chose to implement our tech first on Ethereum. But we also strive to help promising players like Harmony to help scale their tech to allow developers to create meaningful applications and achieve mass adoption ”

The partnership with Matic Network brings more opportunities for our dApp developers.

In future Harmony dApp developers will be able to integrate with multiple blockchains and provide users a universal platform with which to use/exchange digital assets from various blockchains openly and securely.

Such application will be useful for developers building DEX in Harmony. They can build a hybrid DEX where order books can be maintained and settled off-chain in Matic Network reducing transaction fees. Additionally, the technology will allow the hosting of assets from multiple blockchains granting freedom to create multiple trade-pairs for traders and users to thrive.

Once fully integrated, Matic Network will enable the creation of multiple side chains, meaning Harmony dApps can feature their own dedicated side chains with full control of their execution environments, while still retaining the immutability, provability, and security of transactions.

Alok Kothari, co-founder of Harmony added, “ We value the importance of both Layer 1 and Layer 2 scaling projects and are excited to combine powers with Matic. Only by working together to provide global-scale throughput on blockchain, can we exponentially grow the overall size of the decentralized economy.”

To learn more about Matic Network and its Layer 2 scaling solution, visit their Website, Telegram, Twitter and blog.

To learn more about Harmony’s latest developments visit: