Shard Chain

A shard chain is one of the parallel partitions created by sharding: an individual chain that processes its own slice of transactions or stores its own slice of data while remaining part of a single coordinated network. Each shard chain has its own set of validators, usually assigned at random and rotated regularly so no group can quietly gain control of one shard, and it reports to a coordinating layer such as a beacon or relay chain that tracks every shard's state and supplies shared security. For users, assets sitting on different shard chains must move through a cross-shard messaging protocol, which adds latency and — as with any mechanism that passes value between chains — extra implementation risk worth understanding before you rely on it.