Blockchain platforms are bringing to life the concept of a consensus computer - a distributed network of computers carrying out useful tasks. One of the most pressing problems facing these platforms is their lack of scalability, i.e., the ability to handle a larger number of transactions per second as the network grows. A number of works have noted how existing blockchains are handicapped in their ambition to scale the next generation of Internet-style applications. An oft-cited example is the 3-7 TX/s available in Bitcoin and Ethereum today and the demands of payment processing in centralized operators (e.g., VISA, MasterCard) for supporting thousands of TX/s.

Zilliqa is a new blockchain platform that is designed to securely scale in an open, permissionless distributed network. The core feature that makes Zilliqa scalable is sharding - the division of the network into several smaller component networks capable of processing transactions in parallel. As a result, the transaction rate in Zilliqa increases as the mining network expands. Zilliqa aims to rival traditional centralized payment methods such as VISA and MasterCard. In fact, with a network size of 10,000 nodes, Zilliqa will enable a throughput which matches the average transaction rate of VISA and MasterCard with the advantage of much lower fees for the merchants.

Zilliqa leverages proof-of-work (PoW) to establish identities and perform sharding. However, unlike several existing blockchain platforms (such as Ethereum and Bitcoin), Zilliqa does not employ PoW to achieve consensus.