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Blockchain trilemma is a concept in computer science and cryptocurrency that suggests public blockchain networks face an inherent trade-off when attempting to simultaneously achieve three critical properties: decentralization, security, and scalability. Coined by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, the trilemma posits that due to technical limitations, blockchain architects typically must sacrifice or compromise at least one of these properties to optimize the other two.^[1][2]

The trilemma revolves around three core properties of blockchain architecture:^[3]

• Decentralization: The distribution of control across a broad network of independent participants nodes rather than relying on a central authority. A highly decentralized network ensures censorship resistance and eliminates single points of failure. However, achieving high decentralization often requires complex communication between a large number of nodes, which can slow down the network.^[2]
• Security: The network's resilience against malicious attacks, transaction reversals, and "double-spending". Security is typically tied to the computational power (hash rate in proof-of-work systems) or economic capital (stake in proof-of-stake systems) required to compromise the ledger. As block sizes or transaction throughput increase, the computational overhead to securely validate the network can become a challenge.^[4]
• Scalability: The capacity of the blockchain to handle a high volume of transactions per second (TPS) quickly and cheaply to support global, mass-market adoption. Highly scalable blockchains often increase block sizes or reduce the number of validators required to confirm transactions, which can inadvertently lead to greater centralization.^[1]

Because of the constraints outlined in the trilemma, blockchain developers must make architectural compromises. For example, Bitcoin and Ethereum historically prioritized decentralization and security, resulting in lower transaction throughput and higher fees during periods of network congestion. Conversely, networks that prioritize high scalability often rely on fewer, more powerful validators, which increases centralization.^[3]

To address the trilemma, the blockchain industry has explored various scaling solutions. These include Layer 2 protocols, such as rollups, which process transactions off-chain before settling them on the main Layer 1 blockchain, as well as advances in consensus mechanisms, sharding, and parallel transaction execution.^[4]

• Blockchain
• Decentralization
• Scalability