← Back to glossary

Parachain

A parallel blockchain in the Polkadot ecosystem that connects to the main relay chain and benefits from shared security. Parachains can specialize in specific use cases (DeFi, p…

Aliases
2
Related terms
6
Tagged articles
16
Core definition

What it means

A parallel blockchain in the Polkadot ecosystem that connects to the main relay chain and benefits from shared security. Parachains can specialize in specific use cases (DeFi, privacy, smart contracts) while maintaining interoperability through Cross-Consensus Messaging (XCM). They process transactions in parallel and are validated by the relay chain's validator set.

Also known as

Alternate spellings and abbreviations linked to this entry.

Glossary tags

Related glossary entries

Explorer coverage

Recent Soranauts articles tagged with this glossary concept.

Examples

Common scenarios where this concept appears.

  • SORA parachain
  • DeFi parachains
  • Privacy-focused chains
  • Smart contract platforms

More resources