Input Output Global, the company behind the development of Cardano (ADA), announced on January 12 to launch a software toolkit later this month. This toolkit is intended to help developers create independent side chains on Cardano in order to improve the ecosystem. The announcement also included the official technical documentation for the sidechain toolkit.
⛓️ The #Cardano sidechain toolkit was previewed at #IOScotFestand we’re happy to share the first iteration is out now.
Here’s the lowdown on this exciting new project! https://t.co/Ny9tQuJh5K
— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) January 12, 2023
Cardano side chains
A sidechain is an independent blockchain that is connected to the main blockchain main called chain. In this case Cardano is the main chain. Such a sidechain has its own characteristics, but benefits from the community and security of the main blockchain. Adding sidechains can make a main network much more scalable. The load on each sidechain does not affect the speed of the operations of the main chain.
IOG developers have already used the toolkit to build a public testnet for a sidechain compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). When the audit is complete, anyone can deploy decentralized applications, create smart contracts, and move tokens across different testnets. The toolkit also allows developers to choose their preferred consensus mechanism.
In the blog post, IOG said the following about the sidechains on Cardano:
“Sidechains make Cardano extensible and more scalable without compromising the stability or security of the main chain.”
Furthermore, IOG hopes that sidechain developments will “pave the way for mass adoption” and that it will see “a family of Cardano sidechains and partner chains appear in the near future”.
Solana as a partner chain
Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Cardano, has expressed that he would like to see Solana (SOL) as a partner chain. He made this known in an AMA (ask me anything) op December 10. According to him, Cardano could benefit from Solana’s network speed and Solana, in turn, could benefit from Cardano’s infrastructure and security.