Cryptonite is the first implementation of the mini-blockchain scheme, a scheme designed for maximum scalability, achieved by addressing the problem of blockchain bloat and providing a solution which allows all old transactions to be forgotten by the network after they become old enough. This allows new nodes to synchronize with the network extremely quickly and allows existing nodes to free up disk space by deleting old transactions. As a result of this scheme the network doesn’t need to become increasingly centralized only by nodes capable of handling the full blockchain, so mining can remain more decentralized.
