EquiFlowShard: A Blockchain Sharding Protocol with Optimized Account Distribution

Abstract

Blockchain sharding is a scalable solution for distributed ledgers, but may be hindered due to cross-shard transactions and uneven workload distribution. This paper presents EquiFlowShard, an advanced blockchain sharding protocol designed to improve robustness and enhance cross-shard efficiency. Specifically, by employing Optimized Account State Distribution Algorithm (OSADA), EquiFlowShard dynamically assigns and segments account states, so as to minimize cross-shard transaction volume and balance shard workloads. In addition, the protocol introduces the SFlow mechanism to facilitate secure and consistent state transfers and a Smooth Transition scheme to mitigate performance impacts during state reconfigurations. Evaluation results confirm that EquiFlowShard outperforms existing benchmark protocols in terms of throughput, transaction confirmation latency, and cross-shard transaction ratio, demonstrating its effectiveness in dynamic blockchain environments.