Single Chain

One single block chain with all the transactions abiding by the same rules, such as Bitcoin

Multi-Chain

System involves in more than one chain with or without a central "master chain"

• By Composition

  • Homogeneous:
    All chains abide by the same rules but with different data, such as Ardor

  • Heterogeneous:
    Each chain could have different rules and different data, such as Cosmos

  • Hybrid:
    Some chains are homogeneous and some chains are heterogeneous, such as Telegram TON

• By Interoperability

  • Centralized or multisig notary schemes:
    Transactions take place on one chain with the validations carried out on another
    main chain or central chain, such as R3 Corda

  • Sidechains or Relays:
    Systems inside of one blockchain that can validate and read events and/or state in other blockchains, such as Rootstock

  • Hash-locking:
    Setting up operations on chain A and chain B that have the same trigger, usually the revelation of the preimage of a particular hash, such as Interledger and Lighting Network

  • Master Chain using PoS consensus with common API:
    This is more general and broader apply of the sidechain technology. Normally sidechain is pegged to a "main" chain such as Bitcoin, whereas systems implementing this is a decentralized network of independent parallel blockchains, such as Cosmos, Polkadot and Telegram TON

Blockchains can be classified by accessibility and control as:

• Public chains
• Consortium/Permissioned chains
• Private chains

See my previous article Short Summary of Blockchain Tokens

单链系统

所有交易都遵守相同规则的单个区块链，例如比特币

多链系统

系统涉及多个区块链，有或没有中央“主链”

• 按构成划分

  • 同质组合：
    所有的区块链都遵守相同的规则，但处理不同的数据，例如Ardor

  • 异质组合：
    每个区块链可以有不同的规则和不同的数据，例如Cosmos

  • 混合组合：
    一些区块链是同质的，一些区块链是异质的，例如Telegram TON

• 按互通性划分

  • 单一或多重签名公证：
    交易在一条链上发生，签名验证在另一条主链或中心链上进行，例如R3 Corda

  • 侧链或中继传递：
    一个区块链可以验证和读取其他区块链中的事件和/或状态，例如Rootstock

  • 哈希锁：
    在链A和链B上设置具有相同触发的操作，通常是显示特定哈希的预映像，例如Interledger和Lighting Network

  • 采用PoS共识的主链结合通用API：
    这是侧链技术更通用和广泛的应用。通常情况下，侧链与比特币等“主”链相挂钩，而此类系统则是一个多条并行区块链互联的分散网络，例如Cosmos，Polkadot和Telegram TON

按照接入和控制权限可分为：

• 公有链
• 联盟/许可链
• 私有链

如有兴趣，可参看我前一篇区块链通证小结

Reference (参考资料):

https://www.r3.com/blog/2017/11/03/chain-interoperability-2/
https://www.ardor.world
https://www.rsk.co
https://interledger.org
https://lightning.network
https://cosmos.network
https://polkadot.network
https://www.jianshu.com/p/0add0dbb88b2
Telegram TON whitepaper