The Web3 area is huge, and it’s rising greater and larger every single day. And never solely are we seeing new decentralized functions (dapps) pop up incessantly, however new blockchains repeatedly emerge as properly. So, what number of blockchains are there? And what are the several types of blockchains? Be part of us on this article as we tackle each of those queries to supply readability into the ever-expanding panorama of Web3!
Overview
We’ll kickstart in the present day’s article by answering the query: ”What number of blockchains are there?”. From there, we’ll dive straight into the several types of blockchains. In doing so, we’ll discover what they’re, why they exist, and canopy some distinguished examples for every kind. Subsequent, we’ll additionally discover several types of blockchains for builders. To go together with that, we’ll prime issues off by introducing you to the simplest technique to construct blockchain functions: Moralis’ industry-leading Web3 API suite!
Moralis’ Web3 APIs are the last word instruments in the event you’d prefer to get into blockchain app improvement. With our industry-leading interfaces, you’ll be able to construct every thing from block explorers to NFT video games very quickly.
Additionally, do you know that you could enroll with Moralis free of charge? It solely takes a few clicks, and also you’ll acquire speedy entry to all our premier Web3 improvement instruments so you’ll be able to construct dapps each quicker and smarter!
How Many Blockchains Are There?
There’s a large number of blockchain networks in existence, and a few distinguished examples embrace Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and so forth. Moreover, the blockchain area is repeatedly rising as quite a few organizations and initiatives develop their very own chains to deal with particular wants.
With that stated, what number of blockchains are there?
As a result of ever-growing state of the Web3 area, the precise depend of blockchains is difficult to pinpoint. Nonetheless, estimates recommend that the variety of present blockchains is a minimum of 1,000!
What Are the Totally different Varieties of Blockchains?
There are 4 important sorts of blockchain networks, together with public blockchains, personal blockchains, hybrid blockchains, and consortium blockchains. Every kind has distinctive advantages, drawbacks, and excellent use circumstances. As such, let’s briefly discover them one after the other, beginning with public blockchains:
Public Blockchains: Public blockchains are permissionless, that means they’re totally decentralized and open for anybody to take part. Some of these networks are mostly used for exchanging and mining cryptocurrency.Personal Blockchains: Personal blockchains are permissioned, that means that only some choose folks can take part within the community. These networks are usually managed by a corporation or an organization, which determines who’s granted entry to learn and write privileges.Hybrid Blockchains: Hybrid blockchains are networks that mix options of each private and non-private chains. These networks are managed by single entities. Nonetheless, they will resolve who has entry to particular knowledge saved on the community and what data shall be open to the general public. Consortium Blockchains: Consortium blockchains are fairly just like hybrid blockchains. Nonetheless, not like hybrid blockchains with one controlling entity, consortium blockchains are designed by a gaggle that desires to make use of the community for collaborative efforts. Customers exterior of the consortium/group usually can’t get entry to the blockchain community.
What Goal Does the Totally different Varieties of Blockchains Serve?
The several types of blockchains have their very own units of distinctive benefits and downsides. On this part, we’ll look nearer at what goal public blockchains, personal blockchains, hybrid blockchains, and consortium blockchains serve.
Public Blockchains: Public blockchain networks have many advantages. Some examples embrace being fully clear, totally decentralized, pseudonymous, and open to the general public. These benefits make them excellent to be used circumstances similar to exchanging cryptocurrencies and organizations constructed on transparency and belief. Personal Blockchains: Personal blockchain networks excel in relation to privateness, safety, pace, and scalability. These advantages make personal blockchains good to be used circumstances similar to provide chain administration, asset possession, inside voting, and so forth. In these situations, it’s useful for the community to be cryptographically secured, however the controlling entity desires the data to be stored personal.
Hybrid Blockchains: Hybrid blockchains can present closed ecosystems, excessive flexibility, privateness with communication, and higher scalability. These constructive traits make hybrid chains excellent to be used circumstances the place some, however not all, knowledge must be shared with customers. As an example, medical data might be saved on a hybrid blockchain, the place solely customers can entry their very own knowledge through good contracts. Consortium Blockchains: Consortium blockchains even have a number of benefits, together with excessive safety, management, and the potential for no transaction charges. These advantages make consortium blockchains nice to be used circumstances similar to banking, funds, and provide chain administration. As an example, two banks can come collectively and type a consortium to make funds extra environment friendly.
Totally different Varieties of Blockchain Examples
Now, with an outline of the assorted several types of blockchains, let’s take this part to discover some examples for every. And to kick issues off, we’ll begin with public blockchain networks!
Public Blockchain Instance
Public blockchains are essentially the most well-known networks. And except you will have been residing beneath a rock for the previous few years, odds are you’ve heard of a minimum of one. The 2 most vital examples are Bitcoin and Ethereum:
Bitcoin: The Bitcoin blockchain is a proof-of-work-based (PoW) distributed public ledger that launched in 2009. The blockchain hosts the BTC cryptocurrency and is accountable for sustaining the historical past of each transaction on the community. Furthermore, because the Bitcoin blockchain is public, anybody can take part and fetch a duplicate of the community to trace each switch since its origins. Ethereum: Ethereum is a public proof-of-stake (PoS) ledger, and it’s a scalable, programmable, and safe community. With Ethereum being programmable, it’s the blockchain of selection for a lot of builders and enterprises seeking to create decentralized functions (dapps). Ethereum additionally has its personal native token known as ether (ETH), which is used to pay for fuel charges on the community.
Personal Blockchain Instance
Personal chains are – because the title signifies – personal. Consequently, particular person networks aren’t all that attention-grabbing since they are often comparatively area of interest. As such, as a substitute of exploring a specific personal blockchain instance, let’s briefly dive into Hyperledger Cloth – an open-source personal blockchain framework.
Hyperledger Cloth is an open-source blockchain framework created by the Linux Basis. And organizations use the framework to construct permissioned and personal blockchain networks. Furthermore, Hyperledger Cloth gives distinctive id administration and entry management options, making it excellent for numerous {industry} functions, together with provide chain administration, finance, loyalty and reward programs, and so forth. As such, this framework is often utilized in enterprise settings.
Hybrid Blockchain Instance
Hybrid chains mix each private and non-private blockchain options, and an incredible instance is IBM Meals Belief – a number one initiative using a hybrid blockchain answer to boost transparency and traceability in provide chains.
IBM Meals Belief’s personal blockchain gives a permissioned setting for provide chain contributors to distribute delicate data whereas concurrently sustaining privateness. In brief, it ensures that solely trusted entities acquire entry to confidential data.
Consortium Blockchain Instance
As with the opposite blockchain varieties, there are additionally many alternative consortium blockchain networks. Nonetheless, to offer you an instance, we’ll briefly discover R3 Corda – a blockchain community specifically designed for monetary providers.
R3 Corda is an open-source blockchain challenge launched in 2016 by a consortium of banks, expertise corporations, and monetary establishments. The challenge was constructed on interoperability, safety, and privateness ideas. And it permits for safe and environment friendly exchanges of information between events.
Totally different Varieties of Blockchains for Builders
There are additionally a number of sorts of blockchains for builders, and they are often categorized in a number of alternative ways. Nonetheless, a preferred technique to divide them is to categorise them as both EVM (Ethereum Digital Machine) or non-EVM chains.
So, what’s the distinction between them?
EVM Chains: EVM-compatible chains can run and execute Ethereum good contracts. Consequently, builders can write and deploy the identical good contracts throughout a number of EVM blockchain networks with out making any vital adjustments to the code. Some examples of EVM chains embrace Ethereum, BNB Sensible Chain (BSC), Polygon, and so forth. Non-EVM Chains: Non-EVM chains, alternatively, are all different networks that aren’t EVM-compatible. Some distinguished examples of non-EVM chains embrace Solana, Polkadot, Cardano, and so forth.
One other technique to classify each EVM and non-EVM chains is to divide them into layer-1 (L1) or layer-2 (L2) networks:
L1 Chains: Layer-1 blockchains discuss with base networks, and a few examples embrace Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, BSC, and so forth. L2 Chains: Layer-2 blockchains are community protocols layered on prime of an L1 answer. An L2 protocol usually leverages the safety infrastructure of the L1 community however is extra versatile in its capacity to scale transaction processing and general throughput. Examples of L2 blockchains embrace Polygon, Base, Polygon zkEVM, Optimism, Arbitrum, and so forth.
However, that covers some several types of blockchains for builders. From right here, we’ll introduce you to Moralis – the simplest technique to construct dapps on any blockchain community!
Exploring Moralis: Best Technique to Construct On Totally different Varieties of Blockchains
The simplest manner for builders to construct on a number of several types of blockchains is to leverage Moralis. Moralis is an industry-leading API and blockchain infrastructure supplier, and with our interfaces, you’ll be able to effortlessly construct dapps throughout a number of blockchain networks. Moreover, Moralis’ Web3 APIs at the moment energy blockchain initiatives for thousands and thousands of finish customers worldwide!
However why must you leverage our APIs particularly?
To reply the query above, let’s discover three advantages of working with Moralis:
Scalability: All our APIs are constructed to scale. Consequently, as your initiatives expertise elevated adoption, you by no means have to fret in regards to the efficiency of your dapps. Prime Efficiency: Moralis’ Web3 APIs are industry-leading. Whether or not you prioritize pace, reliability, or every other metric, our APIs persistently blow the competitors out of the water. Cross-Chain Compatability: Our APIs are chain agnostic, that means you’ll be able to construct cross-chain appropriate dapps on a number of networks with ease. Some distinguished examples of supported chains embrace Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Solana, Gnosis, Arbitrum, and lots of others.
Should you’d prefer to discover our whole suite of premier interfaces, try the Web3 API web page!
Additionally, together with the Web3 APIs, Moralis has much more to supply. As an example, with our crypto taps web page, yow will discover taps for all main testnets. If you wish to study extra about this, you’ll be able to, for instance, try our ”What’s a Goerli Faucet?” information and learn to get Goerli faucet funds in a heartbeat!
Abstract: How Many Blockchains Are There, and What Are the Totally different Varieties?
In in the present day’s article, we kicked issues off by answering the query, ”What number of blockchains are there?”. In doing so, we realized that the area repeatedly grows at a speedy charge, making it exhausting to pinpoint precisely what number of networks there are. Nonetheless, estimations recommend that there are a minimum of 1,000 blockchains!
From there, we additionally explored several types of blockchains. In doing so, we realized that there are 4 important classes:
Public ChainsPrivate ChainsHybrid ChainsConsortium Chains
We additionally explored totally different use circumstances and coated some examples of every blockchain kind, the place we realized that all of them have their benefits and downsides. Subsequent, we dove a bit deeper into several types of blockchains for builders, the place we coated EVM vs non-EVM chains and L1 vs L2 networks.
To prime issues off, we launched you to Moralis and our industry-leading suite of Web3 APIs. In doing so, we realized that they provide unparalleled scalability, prime efficiency, and cross-chain compatibility. As such, if you wish to construct dapps your self, don’t overlook to enroll with Moralis instantly. You’ll be able to create an account freed from cost, and also you’ll acquire speedy entry to all our premier interfaces so you’ll be able to construct dapps with out breaking a sweat!
Additionally, in the event you preferred this blockchain information, think about testing extra content material right here on our Web3 weblog. As an example, examine ethers.js, study the ins and outs of Web3 Python, or discover the intricacies of the blockchain tech stack! Lastly, in the event you’d prefer to discover the several types of blockchains, maybe see them in a “listing view”, ensure to take a look at our Web3 Wiki! Moralis’ Web3 Wiki is the very best place to discover blockchain networks, NFT instruments, platforms, DeFi dapps, and so forth! For a quick introduction to our Web3 Wiki, learn our “Dapp Retailer” article!
