Trends and Innovations in Blockchain Nodes
Introduction
Over the years, blockchain technology has witnessed notable developments, particularly regarding its infrastructure. Hence, it goes without saying that we would not have the type of blockchain that is widely adopted if not for the innovations and trends that help retain its usability. However, beneath the surface level, blockchains like Ethereum, Aptos, Base, Gnosis, and Arbitrum are run by individual devices to verify block data, ensure agreement to the trueness or validity of a transaction, and keep data regarding that transaction safe and encrypted. These devices are called NODES.
What are blockchain nodes?
Nodes are an integral part of the blockchain network because they are used to facilitate blockchain management, transaction validation, and data storage. For blockchains to be decentralized, nodes act as its stakeholders, replacing the central entity that exists in the traditional system.
Trends and Innovations in Blockchain Node
Today, when issues of scalability and transaction throughput are often discussed, nodes are like stakeholders that have to updated their knowledge and capacity to meet corporate demands. Some of the innovative development that ensures that blockchain nodes are up to users' and developers' demands include:
- RPC for Node Interaction
The use of RPC or Remote Procedure Call to communicate with blockchain nodes remains one of the notable innovations in the blockchain space today because they serve both users' and developers' needs. Let's imagine RPC as a messenger delivering information from one person to another. The message sender can be anyone: a user who needs to perform a transaction or a developer who needs details on block state. RPC ensures that the above can swiftly and seamlessly interact with the blockchain.
Now, it is easy to wonder why service providers like Chainnodes are dedicated to providing dApps with reliable and efficient RPC, particularly because it is possible to communicate directly with blockchain and eliminate the messenger, but here are reasons why using RPC is gaining endless adoption.
Benefits
- Decentralization and Security: RPC retains the decentralized nature of blockchain while facilitating communication with different nodes. Additionally, this interaction is secured because communicating with blockchain through RPC is essentially communicating directly with blockchain without unnecessary hiccups.
- Abstraction and simplification: Another reason why the use of RPCs is growing among developers is due to its ability to offer simplified interaction with blockchain by abstracting complex steps and details. Contrarily, communicating directly with blockchain requires developers to manually query each node, eliminate raw and unrequired data, and have extensive knowledge of the blockchain, such as its internal structure or transaction formats. With RPCs, developers are dealing with higher-level interfaces that allow them to communicate get only required and structured data.
Get access to Blockchain RPCs for free on Chainnodes - Oracle for Node Automation
Oracle enhances the process of communicating with blockchain nodes by facilitating the auto-completion of tasks that can be resource-intensive if done manually. Hence, in the blockchain space, we have Oracle protocols that can be used to automate deployment, query and retrieve data, and monitor and scale blockchain nodes with constant manual intervention. One such tool is The Graph, an indexing oracle used by developers to access web3 and blockchain data in a structured manner.
Benefits
- Accessible blockchain data: The Graph operates like a real-world oracle and provides web3 developers access to structured blockchain data, which can be utilized in the process of building blockchain dApps. For instance, sufficient and accurate information on bottlenecks experienced by users in the blockchain space can fuel the development of a dApp to resolve the problem.
- Data Integrity: In the blockchain, where decentralization means a lack of central control, ensuring data integrity is vital. Interestingly, The Graph leverages decentralization to resolve this problem and thereby create a system of data flow that is resistant to censorship or manipulation.
Want to interact with The Graph? Get free Dedicated Nodes here. - Interoperable Nodes for Cross-Chain Transactions
The need for users to facilitate transactions across multiple blockchains is evident; however, users are faced with severe obstructions like high gas fees and the use of native tokens for transaction fees. For instance, sending or swapping an ERC20 token on Ethereum requires you to have $ETH for the transaction. This requirement can be very costly and inconvenient for users. However, interoperability allows swift cross-chain communication and, therefore, provides users with an option to swap or transfer assets across multiple chains. A leading example here is the Polkadot blockchain, which relies on Relay Chains and Substrate to enable interoperability. With this, the chains can interact with one another, and users can perform transactions on different chains while using a single token as a gas fee. For instance, when you initiate a transaction on any chain using a polkadot-related protocol, you pay the gas fee using $DOT.
Benefits
- Flexibility: Using interoperable nodes makes blockchain extensively accessible and flexible for users. Performing transactions across multiple chains without delay or unnecessary hardship enhances security while offering low gas fees.
- Smooth Integration and Visibility: Interoperable nodes ensure that the developer can easily integrate their decentralized application with the existing ecosystem. Furthermore, this feature further allows project reach and appeal to users.
Conclusion
The increasing demand for blockchain in several spaces has been a leading tool driving innovation and trends. While many question the ability of blockchain to deliver some of its promises, it is becoming confident that with innovative approaches like RPCs, Layer-2, and interoperability, blockchain is becoming an indispensable tech tool for innovative developers and industries.