Relay Chains

A relay chain is a central blockchain that coordinates the security and communication of multiple connected shards or sub-chains. It acts as the "source of truth" for the network, aggregating state information and managing validator assignments.

By offloading the coordination to a relay chain, the shards can focus purely on transaction execution and data storage. This hub-and-spoke architecture is a popular design for scalable blockchains, as it provides a clear path for cross-shard communication and security pooling.

The relay chain ensures that all shards are following the same protocol rules and are properly synchronized. It is a critical component for maintaining global state consistency in complex, sharded systems.