Relay Chain
The central blockchain in a parachain architecture that provides shared consensus and security for all the connected parachains, without directly hosting their application logic.
A relay chain is the central blockchain in a parachain (see Kaavon's "Parachain" glossary definition) architecture, responsible for providing shared consensus and security to all the connected parachains, and for coordinating communication between them. The relay chain itself typically stays deliberately minimal, focusing on consensus, security, and cross-chain messaging rather than hosting complex application logic, which instead runs on the individual connected parachains.
This division of labor lets the relay chain's validator set secure many different parachains simultaneously, rather than requiring each individual chain to separately recruit and maintain its own full validator set. A relay chain's capacity for connected parachains is generally limited, meaning projects wanting to connect as a parachain typically must compete, often through an auction or similar allocation mechanism, for one of the relay chain's limited parachain slots.
Examples
- A relay chain's validator set secures every connected parachain simultaneously, rather than requiring each individual parachain to separately recruit and maintain its own full validator set.
- Because a relay chain supports only a limited number of parachain slots, projects wanting to connect often compete for one through an auction or similar allocation process.