Sei Network: The combination of high-performance Layer 1 and parallel EVM

After the mainnet launch of the Sei Network in August 2023, it experienced a period of silence, but recently began to develop rapidly. Its token price has continued to rise, reaching an all-time high. Currently, Sei's liquid staking has surpassed 3.5 million dollars, and the total locked value of the network has exceeded 11 million dollars.

Sei is about to undergo an important V2 upgrade aimed at improving parallel processing performance and introducing EVM. Let's delve into the technical features and ecosystem of Sei Network and explore its potential opportunities.

Design Features of Sei

As a Layer 1 blockchain focused on trading, Sei offers a built-in Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) module. Developers can leverage this module to quickly create various trading applications, such as spot, derivatives, and options trading platforms. Sei's parallelized design provides a fast, high-throughput network environment for its ecosystem applications.

Sei improves the processing speed of blockchain networks in the following ways:

1. Local build hash

Sei allows validators to send blocks to the network that only contain transaction hashes. Other validators, upon receiving them, will first construct blocks based on the records in their local memory pool. If the memory pool lacks the corresponding transaction information, the validators will wait for subsequent blocks containing detailed transaction content to arrive for verification.

2. Parallel Transaction Processing

Sei Network implements parallel processing of pre-vote and pre-commit phases of blocks by validators. This parallel processing method reduces latency and increases throughput.

In the code implementation, Sei classifies transactions: sequential processing for related multiple transactions, while parallel processing for non-related transactions. Currently, this design may face consistency issues when handling a large number of transactions, therefore Sei V2 needs further upgrades in parallel processing.

Parallel EVM

What is Parallel EVM?

The EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) typically adopts a sequential execution method for transactions to ensure network security. However, this design also limits network performance. The concept of parallel EVM has emerged, aiming to allow different transactions within the EVM to be processed simultaneously, thus significantly improving processing speed and network throughput.

The current solution is to use high-performance new public chains that support parallel transactions (such as Solana, Aptos, Sei) to be compatible with EVM. Among them, Sei's parallel EVM solution has attracted the most attention from the market.

Sei V2 upgrade

The Sei project plans to launch version V2 in 2024, achieving parallel EVM and supporting the operation and interaction of Cosmwasm and EVM smart contracts. The main features of the V2 upgrade include:

1. Optimistic concurrency: Allows concurrent transaction processing, improving throughput and efficiency.
2. EVM Compatibility: Supports direct deployment of existing EVM smart contracts.
3. Geth compatibility: Sei nodes will integrate Geth to handle EVM smart contract transactions.
4. SeiDB: Improved storage layer to enhance data processing efficiency.
5. Performance Improvement: Expected block time of 390 milliseconds and a throughput of 28,300 batch transactions per second.

The Sei V2 upgrade aims to leverage the advantages of Ethereum, providing an optimized execution layer that is fully compatible with the existing EVM ecosystem, attracting more users and developers.

Sei Contract Security Recommendations

For developers planning to build applications in the Sei ecosystem, it is recommended to follow the safety practices below:

1. Be prepared to respond to attacks, build scalable smart contracts, and develop risk response plans.
2. Pay attention to deserializing the addr type and perform appropriate validation.
3. Pay attention to operation and overflow risks, and use the safe math functions of CosmWasm.
4. Prevent infinite loops, especially during data packet transmission between contracts.

Sei Ecosystem

1. Wallet

Currently, there are specific wallets that support the Sei network, such as Compass Wallet and Fin Wallet, as well as wallets compatible with Sei like OKX Wallet, Keplr, and Leap Wallet.

Security Recommendations:

• Use audited and well-established wallet projects.
• Safeguard your mnemonic phrase and private keys.
• Carefully check the transaction information when signing the transaction.

2. Kryptonite

Kryptonite is the largest liquid staking protocol in the Sei ecosystem, providing services such as Sei token staking and LP token staking. The project has passed a security audit to enhance the security of staking operations. In the future, Kryptonite plans to launch the kUSD stablecoin to further increase the liquidity of the Sei ecosystem.

3. YakaFinance

YakaFinance is committed to becoming a multifunctional DEX and liquidity hub in the Sei ecosystem. Currently in the testnet phase, it has attracted over 15,000 users to participate in the testing.

4. PalletExchange

PalletExchange is the NFT trading platform of the Sei ecosystem, with a daily trading volume reaching up to approximately $1 million. Currently, the NFT series that attracts attention in the Sei ecosystem includes WeBump, The Colony, Seiyans, and Seinsei.

Summary

Sei, as a high-performance Layer 1 focused on trading, enhances performance by optimizing the block generation and processing processes. With the rapid development of the ecosystem, various decentralized applications will continue to amplify Sei's high-performance advantages. The upcoming Sei V2 upgrade is expected to address current bottlenecks, attracting more market attention and developer participation. However, as the Sei ecosystem is still in its early development stage, users and developers need to pay close attention to potential security and liquidity risks.