Sei Network: High-Performance Layer 1 and Parallel EVM Dual Narrative

Sei Network has started to explode after months of silence, with its token price continuously rising sharply and reaching an all-time high. Currently, Sei's liquid staking has exceeded 3.5 million USD, and the total value locked in the network is (TVL) over 11 million USD. Previously, Sei successfully held a hackathon that attracted numerous developers to participate.

Sei is about to undergo an important V2 upgrade, enhancing parallel processing capabilities and introducing EVM. This article will analyze the code, technical features, and ecosystem projects of the Sei Network, helping readers understand the potential opportunities of Sei and its ecosystem.

Sei Design Features

Sei, as a Layer 1 focused on trading, provides a built-in central limit order book ( CLOB ) module. Developers can leverage Sei's built-in order module to quickly launch and customize various order book trading applications, while Sei's parallel design offers a fast and high-throughput network for its ecosystem applications.

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

1. Local build hash

Sei allows validators to send blocks to the network that only contain transaction hashes. When other validators receive these blocks, they will first construct the blocks based on the records in their local memory pool. If the memory pool does not contain corresponding transaction information, the validators will wait for subsequent blocks that include detailed transaction content to arrive for verification.

2. Parallel Transaction Processing

The Sei Network processes blocks during the pre-vote and pre-commit stages through validators in parallel. Parallel processing reduces latency and increases throughput.

In the code implementation, Sei processes transactions either in parallel or sequentially. For multiple related transactions, Sei will process them sequentially; for unrelated transactions, it will process them in parallel.

Currently, this design cannot handle too many transactions in parallel, so Sei V2 needs to continue upgrading in parallel processing.

Parallel EVM

What is a parallel EVM?

EVM is the virtual machine that processes smart contract-related transactions on Ethereum. To ensure network security, transactions in the EVM must be executed in sequence. This design, while avoiding the complexities and conflicts of parallel execution, also limits network performance.

The concept of parallel EVM has emerged, allowing different transactions in the EVM to be processed simultaneously, significantly increasing processing speed and network throughput. The current solution is to use a high-performance new public chain compatible with EVM that supports parallel transactions, among which Sei's parallel EVM has attracted the most market attention.

SeiV2 upgrade

Sei will implement parallel EVM in the upcoming V2 version launching in 2024, supporting the operation and interaction of Cosmwasm smart contracts and EVM smart contracts. The main upgrade points include:

1. Optimistic concurrency: Allows concurrent transaction processing, improving throughput and efficiency.
2. EVM Compatible: Supports deploying existing EVM smart contracts on Sei.
3. Geth Compatibility: Sei nodes will integrate Geth to handle EVM smart contract transactions.
4. SeiDB: Improved storage layer to enhance read and write performance and scalability.
5. Enhanced performance: 390 milliseconds block time, high throughput of 28,300 batch transactions per second.

Sei v2 integrates the advantages of Ethereum, aiming to provide a super-optimized execution layer that is fully compatible with the existing EVM ecosystem, attracting more users and developers.

Sei Contract Safety Recommendations

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

1. Prepare for attacks, build scalable smart contracts, and develop risk response plans.
2. Pay attention to the deserialization of the addr type. Specify the type and perform validation after deserializing the addr.
3. Pay attention to operations and overflow, use CosmWasm's Uint256 and Uint512 types, and use mathematical functions that do not overflow.
4. Avoid infinite loops, especially when passing data packets between two CosmWasm contracts.

Sei Ecosystem

1. Wallet

Currently, there are multiple wallets that support the Sei network, including Compass Wallet, Fin Wallet, OKX Wallet, Keplr, and Leap Wallet.

Security Recommendations:

• Avoid using wallet projects that are unaudited and have not been running for long.
• Safeguard your mnemonic phrases and private keys.
• Carefully check the transaction information before signing the transaction.

2. Kryptonite

Kryptonite is the largest liquid staking protocol in the Sei ecosystem. Users can stake Sei tokens to receive stSei and earn an annualized yield of 5.54%. The project has completed contract auditing to enhance the security of the staking operations.

In the future, Kryptonite will launch the kUSD stablecoin, allowing users to mint it by collateralizing various assets, providing more liquidity for the Sei ecosystem.

3. YakaFinance

Yaka Finance is committed to building a multifunctional DEX, providing various DeFi services such as trading, liquidity mining, and Launchpad. The project won first place in the DeFi track at the hackathon held by Sei.

Currently, Yaka Finance is in the testnet phase and has launched an airdrop incentive program, attracting over 15,000 users to participate in testing.

4. PalletExchange

Pallet Exchange is the NFT trading platform of the Sei ecosystem, with a daily trading volume reaching up to 1.23 million Sei (approximately 1 million USD). The platform charges a 2% fee on NFT trades.

Currently, the NFT series in the Sei ecosystem that is attracting attention includes WeBump, The Colony, Seiyans, and Seinsei. As the Sei ecosystem is in its early stages of development, users should be aware of the liquidity risks associated with these NFTs.

Summary

Sei, as a high-performance Layer 1 focused on trading, has optimized the block generation and processing processes. Currently, the Sei ecosystem is growing rapidly, and various decentralized applications will continue to amplify Sei's high-performance advantages. With the continuation of the parallel EVM narrative, the Sei V2 upgrade will address the current bottlenecks, attracting more market attention and developers into the ecosystem.