How QKC Works

QuarkChain (QKC) is a high-capacity blockchain project designed to deliver fast and efficient transactions. It integrates several technological innovations to address the limitations found in earlier blockchain solutions, primarily scalability, security, and decentralization. Here’s a breakdown of how QuarkChain (QKC) functions.

Sharding Technology

The core of QuarkChain’s solution lies in its use of sharding, a horizontal partitioning method already common in distributed database systems. Sharding splits the entire blockchain network into smaller partitions, called "shards," each capable of processing its own transactions independently. By doing this, QuarkChain increases throughput, relieving congestion with each shard acting as a mini-blockchain. Thus, multiple transactions can be processed in parallel without affecting the performance of the entire network.

Root Chain and Shards Interaction

The QuarkChain network is composed of a main root chain connected to several shards. The root chain's primary purpose is to confirm transactions from these shards. Shards operate as smaller blockchains connected to this root chain, carrying out most of the work and sending finalized information to the root for validation. This setup allows the system to maintain a balance between scalability and security, as only one root chain oversees the entire ecosystem, while separate shards handle various transactional work sessions.

Cross-Shard Transactions

One of the key challenges with sharding is facilitating cross-shard transactions (i.e., dealing with data residing in different shards). QuarkChain utilizes an efficient mechanism that supports cross-shard transactions, allowing them to be completed within just two block confirmations. This enables greater flexibility and maintains high throughput when users want to transact between different shards. Importantly, users do not need to know which shard their data resides in, simplifying the user experience.

Consensus Mechanism

QuarkChain employs a hybrid consensus mechanism combining Proof of Work (PoW) across different shards with an overarching root chain validation. By adopting PoW for its shards, stable security can be maintained despite shards operating semi-independently. The blockchain further optimizes mining by distributing hash power across shards, meaning miners don't focus solely on the root chain.

Adaptive Blockchain Architecture

QuarkChain’s architecture is flexible and adaptive, able to add more shards or refactor existing ones to adjust the network’s capacity, depending on demand. This dynamic framework minimizes inefficiencies and bottlenecks, giving the network higher flexibility than traditional blockchains, which are often limited by their maximum throughput.