What is Coordinator?
Let's find out Coordinator meaning, definition in crypto, what is Coordinator, and all other detailed facts.
A coordinator is a client responsible for tracking validator nodes on the blockchain system to ensure the data is accurate. Blockchains function as distributed ledgers that contain transaction data that need to be verified by a decentralized network that consists of validator nodes. The functionality of different blockchains varies across the board.
The information across all network nodes has to match. Therefore, a coordinator is responsible for issuing milestones – transactions that are recorded on the blockchain and utilized by validator modes to confirm the validity of their copy of the ledger. Coordinator clients are not utilized in all blockchain systems.
The IOTA blockchain is well-known for utilizing a coordinator client for ledger verification. The coordinator was a crucial part of the IOTA network, as it provided additional security to the blockchain and ensured an even distribution of valid ledger copies.
The IOTA foundation has since revamped its blockchain system by implementing the next steps on the network’s roadmap and removing the coordinator client component.
Coordinator clients are not perceived positively by many blockchain users. Some critics state that the coordinators negatively impact the decentralized nature of blockchain technology.
Coordinators hold a concentrated power that could be perceived as centralized since they directly affect all the ledger copies within the network. Thus, blockchains with a coordinator client cannot be seen as fully decentralized.
Since the core idea of blockchain is a decentralized network without a single overseeing authority, the centralized behavior of a coordinator client interferes with what the technology itself promotes. While IOTA employed a coordinator client at its inception, the foundation’s goal was to eventually shift operations to a secure decentralized model.
New consensus mechanisms have emerged with further blockchain developments. Such mechanisms are notable for providing better decentralization. After removing the coordinator client, IOTA now employs the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) to verify transactions and allow nodes to validate them.
Such developments may see the slow removal of coordinator clients on other blockchain systems. However, some networks can still rely on coordinators as an additional network security measure.