Problem:
Ethereum mainnet is only able to process 15 Transactions per second when you compare this with VISA and Master card which is very very low and this thing cannot be accepted if you want wider adoption.
Effect:
Due to this, there will be a heavy impact on gas prices which go high🔥⛽ if more people try to make their Transactions at the same point in time. And the users who pay high gas fees will only be able to complete their transactions. which drastically decreases the user experience.
Solution:
Seeing this issue some of the beautiful minds of this planet have come up with a solution called "SIDE CHAINS" ⛓ ⛓ ⛓.
What is IT?
These are separate blockchains and are independent from the Ethereum mainnet But they can be connected with the help of bridges.
Yes, you heard it RIGHT these are independent blockchain networks where they have different consensus algorithms and a separate native token (Cryptocurrency) for their network.
How do they help in Ethereum Scalability:
Sidechains can help improve the scalability of the Ethereum mainnet by offloading some of the transaction processing onto a separate chain, which can handle a larger volume of transactions than the mainnet.
But info of the transactions that you have done on sidechain will be present only on sidechains not on Ethereum mainnet.
Explain More:
When a user sends a transaction from the Ethereum mainnet to a sidechain, the assets or tokens are locked on the Ethereum mainnet and a corresponding amount is minted on the sidechain. Transactions can then be processed on the sidechain, which has its consensus mechanism and can handle a larger volume of transactions with lower fees and faster processing times than the Ethereum mainnet.
Once the user is finished with the transaction on the sidechain, they can withdraw their assets or tokens back to the Ethereum mainnet, which unlocks the corresponding amount that was previously locked on the mainnet.
Let's Understand with an Example:
Let's say that Alice wants to use a sidechain called Polygon to process some transactions. Here are the general steps that Alice would need to follow:
Alice needs to make sure that she has some Ethereum assets, such as ETH or ERC-20 tokens, in her Ethereum wallet that she wants to use on the Polygon sidechain.
Alice uses a bridge, which is a mechanism that enables communication and asset transfers between the Ethereum mainnet and the Polygon sidechain. In this case, Alice uses the Polygon Bridge, which is a two-way bridge that allows assets to be transferred between the Ethereum mainnet and Polygon.
Alice locks her Ethereum assets on the Ethereum mainnet by sending a transaction to the Polygon Bridge contract on the Ethereum mainnet. This transaction tells the bridge to lock Alice's assets on the Ethereum mainnet and mint an equivalent amount of Polygon assets on the Polygon sidechain.
Alice can now send transactions on the Polygon sidechain using the Polygon assets that were minted for her. These transactions are processed on the Polygon sidechain, which has its own consensus mechanism and can handle a larger volume of transactions than the Ethereum mainnet.
If Alice wants to withdraw her Polygon assets back to the Ethereum mainnet, she needs to send a transaction on the Polygon sidechain to the Polygon Bridge contract, which tells the bridge to burn her Polygon assets on the sidechain and unlock the corresponding Ethereum assets on the Ethereum mainnet.
In this way, Alice is able to use the Polygon sidechain to process transactions, while still being able to access her Ethereum assets on the Ethereum mainnet. The bridge mechanism allows Alice to move her assets between the two chains in a secure and efficient manner.
Conclusion:
So that is how Sidechain helps the Ethereum network to Scale while maintaining it security and decentralization. I hope you understand the Sidechain concept. Let me know if you still have any questions are suggestions for this article.
I will be happy to help you. Until Then................