# The Ecosystem Trilemma

By [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2) · 2022-09-19

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The [‘blockchain trilemma’](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/blockchain-trilemma) was identified as a series of trade-offs required for the growth of blockchains by Vitalik Buterin.

Basically, it posited that you could have security, scalability, or decentralization, but not all three.

Since then, every major blockchain out there has run into this conundrum.

[Radix](https://www.radixdlt.com) has addressed the trilemma by going around it, since it’s not a blockchain (though it is a public ledger).

That’s a big leap for many people to make since most people think that all public DLTs=blockchain, but that is like saying “all cars are Teslas.”

The “blockchain trilemma” is an engineer’s problem and, well, since it’s not a problem any longer (as far as Radix is concerned), I’ve started to turn my attention to the thing that will really impede the growth of a network over the long-term.

Ecosystem health.

And that’s where the new trilemma exists.

The Three Drivers of Ecosystem Health
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For a crypto network to successfully grow and thrive, it has three big inputs.

*   infrastructure that doesn’t inhibit the rapid growth of network usage
    
*   a developer experience (DevEx) that is both fast and secure
    
*   a user experience (UX) that is intuitive, allowing for rapid adoption by increasingly non-technical folks
    

Typically, what happens as networks (especially blockchain-based ones) grow, is that they run into the aforementioned dilemma, so they look for ways to scale. Now, if they compromise on security or decentralization, those are both going to impact the long-term DevEx and UX.

Devs won’t trust a platform that isn’t secure and they will feel vulnerable if there’s not sufficient decentralization.

Users will be in the same boat.

Ok, so what if the blockchain network compromises on scalability? Well, then, the network will be slow. Again, poor UX and poor DevEx.

All of those hinder the long-term ecosystem health of the network.

And, as they way, “but wait, there’s more.”

Most, if not all, blockchain-based Layer 1 networks have either implemented, or will implement, scaling solutions which break one of the “4 Superpowers” of Web3…Atomic Composability (AC).

AC is the ability for any application or component on a network to connect directly and without permission or friction with any other application or component on a network.

However, when a blockchain-based Layer 1 implements a “Layer 2” solution to help with scaling or when it “shards” its chain so that app 1 lives over here while app 2 lives over there, AC is broken.

AC is a magical weapon in the hands of developers, so breaking it as part of an infrastructure scaling solution is going to lessen the overall DevEx.

That, in turn, will give users less choice, which is a reduction in UX.

So, networks that don’t compromise on AC will ultimately have a better DevEx and a better UX, key drivers of ecosystem health.

The trilemma that most L1s face is that they can’t square this circle and figure out how to ensure a thriving ecosystem where infrastructure growth is unimpeded without affecting either UX or DevEx.

The L1 that can will have a strong competitive differentiator.

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*Originally published on [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2/the-ecosystem-trilemma)*