The Web3 area is huge, and it’s rising larger and greater day-after-day. And never solely are we seeing new decentralized functions (dapps) pop up regularly, however new blockchains repeatedly emerge as nicely. So, what number of blockchains are there? And what are the various kinds of blockchains? Be a part of us on this article as we handle each of those queries to supply readability into the ever-expanding panorama of Web3!
Overview
We’ll kickstart right this moment’s article by answering the query: ”What number of blockchains are there?”. From there, we’ll dive straight into the various kinds of blockchains. In doing so, we’ll discover what they’re, why they exist, and canopy some distinguished examples for every sort. Subsequent, we’ll additionally discover various kinds 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 final word instruments in case you’d prefer to get into blockchain app growth. With our industry-leading interfaces, you possibly can construct the whole lot from block explorers to NFT video games very quickly.
Additionally, do you know that you would be able to join with Moralis free of charge? It solely takes a few clicks, and also you’ll achieve fast entry to all our premier Web3 growth instruments so you possibly can 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 many others. Moreover, the blockchain area is repeatedly rising as quite a few organizations and tasks develop their very own chains to handle particular wants.
With that mentioned, 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 counsel that the variety of current blockchains is no less than 1,000!
What Are the Completely different Forms of Blockchains?
There are 4 important forms of blockchain networks, together with public blockchains, non-public blockchains, hybrid blockchains, and consortium blockchains. Every sort has distinctive advantages, drawbacks, and excellent use instances. 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 absolutely decentralized and open for anybody to take part. A majority of these networks are mostly used for exchanging and mining cryptocurrency.Non-public Blockchains: Non-public blockchains are permissioned, that means that just a few choose folks can take part within the community. These networks are sometimes 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’ll determine who has entry to particular knowledge saved on the community and what data will likely 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 wishes to make use of the community for collaborative efforts. Customers outdoors of the consortium/group typically can’t get entry to the blockchain community.
What Function Does the Completely different Forms of Blockchains Serve?
The various kinds of blockchains have their very own units of distinctive benefits and drawbacks. On this part, we’ll look nearer at what goal public blockchains, non-public blockchains, hybrid blockchains, and consortium blockchains serve.
Public Blockchains: Public blockchain networks have many advantages. Some examples embrace being utterly clear, absolutely decentralized, pseudonymous, and open to the general public. These benefits make them excellent to be used instances resembling exchanging cryptocurrencies and organizations constructed on transparency and belief. Non-public Blockchains: Non-public blockchain networks excel on the subject of privateness, safety, pace, and scalability. These advantages make non-public blockchains good to be used instances resembling provide chain administration, asset possession, inner voting, and many others. In these cases, it’s helpful for the community to be cryptographically secured, however the controlling entity needs the knowledge to be stored non-public.
Hybrid Blockchains: Hybrid blockchains can present closed ecosystems, excessive flexibility, privateness with communication, and higher scalability. These optimistic traits make hybrid chains excellent to be used instances the place some, however not all, knowledge must be shared with customers. As an example, medical information could be saved on a hybrid blockchain, the place solely customers can entry their very own knowledge by way of sensible 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 instances resembling banking, funds, and provide chain administration. As an example, two banks can come collectively and type a consortium to make funds extra environment friendly.
Completely different Forms of Blockchain Examples
Now, with an outline of the varied various kinds 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 until you could have been residing beneath a rock for the previous few years, odds are you’ve heard of no less than one. The 2 most important 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 answerable 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 gasoline charges on the community.
Non-public Blockchain Instance
Non-public chains are – because the title signifies – non-public. 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 selected non-public blockchain instance, let’s briefly dive into Hyperledger Material – an open-source non-public blockchain framework.
Hyperledger Material 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 Material provides distinctive identification administration and entry management options, making it excellent for numerous {industry} functions, together with provide chain administration, finance, loyalty and reward techniques, and many others. 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 awesome instance is IBM Meals Belief – a number one initiative using a hybrid blockchain answer to reinforce transparency and traceability in provide chains.
IBM Meals Belief’s non-public blockchain gives a permissioned atmosphere for provide chain contributors to distribute delicate data whereas concurrently sustaining privateness. In brief, it ensures that solely trusted entities achieve entry to confidential data.
Consortium Blockchain Instance
As with the opposite blockchain sorts, there are additionally many alternative consortium blockchain networks. Nonetheless, to provide you an instance, we’ll briefly discover R3 Corda – a blockchain community specifically designed for monetary companies.
R3 Corda is an open-source blockchain venture launched in 2016 by a consortium of banks, know-how corporations, and monetary establishments. The venture was constructed on interoperability, safety, and privateness rules. And it permits for safe and environment friendly exchanges of knowledge between events.
Completely different Forms of Blockchains for Builders
There are additionally a number of forms of blockchains for builders, and they are often categorized in a number of other 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 sensible contracts. Consequently, builders can write and deploy the identical sensible contracts throughout a number of EVM blockchain networks with out making any important modifications to the code. Some examples of EVM chains embrace Ethereum, BNB Good Chain (BSC), Polygon, and many others. 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 seek advice from base networks, and a few examples embrace Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, BSC, and many others. L2 Chains: Layer-2 blockchains are community protocols layered on prime of an L1 answer. An L2 protocol sometimes leverages the safety infrastructure of the L1 community however is extra versatile in its means to scale transaction processing and total throughput. Examples of L2 blockchains embrace Polygon, Base, Polygon zkEVM, Optimism, Arbitrum, and many others.
However, that covers some various kinds 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 Strategy to Construct On Completely different Forms of Blockchains
The simplest method for builders to construct on a number of various kinds of blockchains is to leverage Moralis. Moralis is an industry-leading API and blockchain infrastructure supplier, and with our interfaces, you possibly can effortlessly construct dapps throughout a number of blockchain networks. Moreover, Moralis’ Web3 APIs at present energy blockchain tasks for thousands and thousands of finish customers worldwide!
However why do you have to 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 tasks expertise elevated adoption, you by no means have to fret concerning the efficiency of your dapps. Prime Efficiency: Moralis’ Web3 APIs are industry-leading. Whether or not you prioritize pace, reliability, or some other metric, our APIs constantly blow the competitors out of the water. Cross-Chain Compatability: Our APIs are chain agnostic, that means you possibly can 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 plenty of others.
When you’d prefer to discover our total suite of premier interfaces, take a look at 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, you could find taps for all main testnets. If you wish to be taught extra about this, you possibly can, for instance, take a look at our ”What’s a Goerli Faucet?” information and discover ways to get Goerli faucet funds in a heartbeat!
Abstract: How Many Blockchains Are There, and What Are the Completely different Varieties?
In right this moment’s article, we kicked issues off by answering the query, ”What number of blockchains are there?”. In doing so, we discovered that the area repeatedly grows at a fast price, making it laborious to pinpoint precisely what number of networks there are. Nonetheless, estimations counsel that there are no less than 1,000 blockchains!
From there, we additionally explored various kinds of blockchains. In doing so, we discovered that there are 4 important classes:
Public ChainsPrivate ChainsHybrid ChainsConsortium Chains
We additionally explored completely different use instances and coated some examples of every blockchain sort, the place we discovered that all of them have their benefits and drawbacks. Subsequent, we dove a bit deeper into various kinds 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 discovered that they provide unparalleled scalability, prime efficiency, and cross-chain compatibility. As such, if you wish to construct dapps your self, don’t neglect to enroll with Moralis instantly. You possibly can create an account freed from cost, and also you’ll achieve fast entry to all our premier interfaces so you possibly can construct dapps with out breaking a sweat!
Additionally, in case you favored this blockchain information, contemplate testing extra content material right here on our Web3 weblog. As an example, examine ethers.js, be taught the ins and outs of Web3 Python, or discover the intricacies of the blockchain tech stack! Lastly, in case you’d prefer to discover the various kinds of blockchains, maybe see them in a “listing view”, be certain to take a look at our Web3 Wiki! Moralis’ Web3 Wiki is the most effective place to discover blockchain networks, NFT instruments, platforms, DeFi dapps, and many others! For a short introduction to our Web3 Wiki, learn our “Dapp Retailer” article!
