Dubbed as the first parallelized EVM blockchain, the v1 of Sei launched in August 2023. Sei is a layer 1 blockchain built using the Cosmos SDK to enable faster transactions for lower costs. Sei also implements parallel execution but unlike other blockchains in this category, Sei doesn’t develop its own virtual machine, instead, it brings parallel execution to the EVM through the launch of its v2 which took place on 27th May. It is this parallelism that enables Sei capable of processing multiple transactions at once. Sei has proven itself as a developer-friendly blockchain for developers to high-performing dApps.

Optimistic Execution

The second version of Sei blockchain implements an optimistic mode of parallel execution which enables all transactions to be assumed independent (and as such free of conflicts) and thus, processed. Transactions that are found to have dependencies are then re-executed sequentially and verified. However, Sei v1 implemented a deterministic approach. In theory, Sei boasts of being able to process thousands of transactions, however, in practice, the blockchain handles hundreds of transactions which is higher than Ethereum but not as much as Solana or Sui.

Backwards Compatibility

Sei V2 prioritizes backwards compatibility, allowing developers to seamlessly redeploy their smart contracts from Ethereum without the need for extensive rewriting. This ensures that major contracts already existing on Ethereum can be transferred to Sei without any necessary code modifications.

Sei Database (SeiDB)

SeiDB is Sei’s on-chain database layer. The objective of SeiDB is to enhance data access performance and mitigate state bloat concerns.

Consensus Mechanism - Twin Turbo

The Twin-Turbo Consensus enhances block finality to approximately 380 milliseconds by leveraging Tendermint. With Tendermint, a block proposer generates a block and sends it to validators. However, validators must wait to receive all necessary data to achieve consensus and finalize the block. Twin-Turbo incorporates advanced block propagation techniques and optimistic block processing to expedite the ‘time to finality.’