Stratis, the blockchain application platform today announced the Stratis federated sidechains alpha release in C# on the .NET framework. Stratis has focused on developing the sidechains infrastructure to ensure the product is easy to use and the most inclusive platform for developers and enterprises.

Enterprises can create their own sidechains whilst benefiting from on-going enhancements to the Stratis blockchain. Stratis sidechains provide enterprises with the ability to provision custom sidechains with flexible modules such as consensus, block size and privacy; delivering scalable blockchain solutions.

Building sidechains in C# makes it easier to integrate into existing enterprise architectures and opens the door previously blocked due to programming language barriers. Stratis sidechains in C# builds upon the established .NET framework, language, and ecosystem. Therefore, it is more readily poised for wider adoption.

Stratis CEO Chris Trew stated, “Sidechains provide a means to quickly provision, sandbox and deploy a bespoke blockchain tailored to specific enterprise processes. Because Stratis sidechains remain linked to the well-established Stratis mainchain, enterprises can be certain their blockchain implementations will continue to benefit from enhancements made by our core team of highly experienced developers.”

Sidechains improve the scalability of blockchains, a long-running challenge of decentralized computing. Aside from leaving the mainchain free to exchange funds, Stratis sidechains make it possible to specify both the block size and block interval, increasing the number of transactions in each block and/or reducing the time between each block.

Sidechain wallets will allow cross-chain transactions for users to transfer funds between the Stratis mainchain and the sidechains. This interoperability feature enables interactions across blockchains while giving users the confidence that any sidechain’s digital assets will always be backed by the Stratis token.

Stratis is also working on enabling enterprises to run smart contracts on their respective sidechains which will be implemented in a future release.

To showcase this technology, the Stratis team created a test environment named Apex on the Stratis testnet network. The Apex sidechain interacts seamlessly with the STRAT mainchain on the testnet network. Users can easily participate in testing this technology themselves by exchanging TSTRAT for TAPEX coins.

Users can now try out the Stratis sidechains alpha release by setting up Stratis and Apex wallets on the testnet network and use them for cross-chain deposits and withdrawals.