SHARDING

Sharding is typically regarded as a database optimization technique where tables are partitioned (into shards) and distributed among multiple database instances to increase overall throughput. This technique can also be applied to blockchains where nodes in a given network hold parts of the overall chain so that each shard can work in parallel to reach consensus in a more load balanced manner. This overall optimization in the consensus mechanism of the chain theoretically leads to an overall increase in network transaction speeds.

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