Sei Labs Introduces The Parallel Stack to Boost Ethereum’s Performance
In an exclusive reveal to The Zero Byte, Sei Labs, a startup founded by Jay Jog, a former Robinhood engineer, and Jeff Feng, a former Coatue VC, has unveiled The Parallel Stack. This open-source project aims to revolutionize the performance of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based layer-2 blockchains by leveraging parallel processing, a well-established computer science concept.
Sei Labs’ Impressive Funding and Valuation
Sei Labs has already garnered attention in the crypto community after securing $30 million in funding at an impressive valuation of $800 million. Initially focused on developing its own high-speed, open-source, layer-1 blockchain tailored for crypto trading, Sei has now shifted its focus to enhancing Ethereum, the largest blockchain by total value locked.
Addressing Ethereum’s Throughput Limitations
Ethereum’s default sequential transaction processing results in slow throughput, limited to around 50 transactions per second (TPS). This bottleneck hinders the growth of Ethereum’s ecosystem and leads to high gas fees, making it unaffordable for the vast majority of users. Sei Labs’ co-founder, Jay Jog, emphasized the significance of this issue:
“The biggest limitation of the EVM is the lack of throughput. Ethereum’s throughput can’t go beyond 50 TPS, which is limiting growth of its ecosystem and results in high so-called gas fees, the fees charged to transact on Ethereum blockchains. These fees make Ethereum unaffordable for “99.9% of normal users.”
Sei V2: Parallelizing the EVM
In addition to The Parallel Stack, Sei Labs has been developing Sei V2, a parallelized EVM that processes multiple transactions concurrently. This upgrade aims to make Sei accessible to a global community of EVM developers. By focusing on parallelization, Sei Labs is working towards scaling the EVM and improving its performance.
Comparing Transaction Speeds
To put things in perspective, Bitcoin’s blockchain averages 5 TPS, while Ethereum manages 20-30 TPS. Newer layer-2 blockchains like Polygon and Arbitrum boast impressive speeds of 65,000 and 40,000 TPS, respectively. The Parallel Stack currently achieves around 5,000 TPS but aims to reach 10,000 TPS by the end of the year.
Sei’s Unique Approach to Scaling Ethereum
While other projects like Optimism’s OP Stack are also working on scaling Ethereum, Sei Labs’ approach stands out with its focus on parallel processing. Jeff Feng, Sei Labs’ co-founder, likens it to cooking multiple dishes simultaneously on a stove, as opposed to preparing them sequentially.
Democratizing Access to Parallel Processing
Despite developing its own layer-1 blockchain, Sei Labs recognizes the importance of addressing Ethereum’s scaling challenges. With the majority of developers working on Ethereum, Sei aims to democratize access to parallel processing, making it as plug-and-play as possible. By offering a solution to improve Ethereum’s performance, Sei Labs hopes to introduce developers to the core tenets of its ecosystem.
Open-Source Ethos and Transparency
Sei Labs’ decision to share The Parallel Stack as an open-source project aligns with the ethos of many crypto projects. Jay Jog’s experience at Robinhood during the GameStop saga, where a lack of internal transparency led to unexpected decisions, motivated him to build a decentralized, open-source chain accessible to everyone.
The Parallel Stack is expected to generate excitement among Ethereum-focused applications facing bandwidth limitations and seeking higher TPS options. As Sei Labs continues to push the boundaries of blockchain technology, their innovative approach to parallelization holds the potential to propel the industry forward.
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Ethereum’s need for speed finally being addressed!