Monad: The first layer public chain compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine of the new generation of attestation

Monad is a new attestation ( PoS ) Ethereum Virtual Machine ( EVM ) compatible Layer 1 blockchain, designed to improve the entire Ethereum ecosystem and decentralized computing platform.

Monad supports 10,000 smart contract transactions per second (tps) by improving the algorithms of the virtual machine design and the Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus mechanism, providing throughput several orders of magnitude higher than existing smart contract blockchains.

Technical Innovation

The Monad client focuses on performance, written from scratch in C++ and Rust.

The current performance bottleneck of Ethereum

The current execution limit of Ethereum (such as 1.25 million Gas per second) is conservatively set due to multiple factors.

• Inefficient storage access pattern
• Single-thread execution
• Limited execution budget
• The impact of state growth on future access costs

Optimization of Monad

Monad introduces optimizations in four main areas, achieving a blockchain throughput of 10,000 transactions per second (tps):

1. MonadBFT: A high-performance consensus mechanism, improved based on HotStuff, which reduces communication complexity in the case of leader timeout.

2. Delayed Execution: Decoupling execution and consensus allows validating nodes to execute transactions flexibly.

3. Parallel Execution: Using optimistic execution, subsequent transactions are executed concurrently while "merging" state updates in order.

4. MonadDb: A custom database designed for storing blockchain state, natively implementing the MPT data structure and utilizing the latest asynchronous I/O technology.

Monad provides a 1-second block time and 1-second finality, while maintaining compatibility for application developers and users.

Why choose L1 instead of Rollup?

1. Decentralization: Rollup lacks a decentralized block production mechanism.

2. Performance: As an independent Layer 1 blockchain, Monad can achieve deeper optimization and performance improvements.

3. Focus: The Monad team is deeply focused on building a high-performance EVM execution environment.

Project Team

Monad Labs was founded by a former team of the traditional financial giant Jump Trading.

• CEO Keone Hon: Former leader of the Jump Trading high-frequency trading team
• CTO James Hunsaker: Expert in system engineering and low-latency optimization
• COO Eunice Giarta: A product and technology leader with a background in traditional finance and fintech.

Project Financing

In December 2022, Monad raised $19 million, led by the crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital, with participation from over 70 investors.

Development Progress

Currently, the project has not announced a testnet, but it has announced collaborations with Layerzero and Wormhole. Community members can obtain corresponding DC roles by participating in community activities or creating content.

Project Ecology

The ecosystem is under construction and currently includes:

• DEX: TayaSwap (Testnet)
• Cross-chain Bridge: Layerzero, Wormhole

Summary

Monad, as a POS mechanism and the first layer public chain built by the former Jump trading team, has core advantages in trading and good resources. However, as an L1 public chain, it still faces challenges in standing out in fierce competition.

The innovative points proposed by the project, such as the improved consensus mechanism and the high performance brought by parallel transactions, still need to be verified in practice. Currently, the project's testnet has not yet launched, but it has already gained considerable attention and announced support from the layerzero ecosystem. As an early-stage project, it is worth continuously monitoring its development.