Monad Overview: Unveiling its Depth and Potential
Monad emerges as a high-performance Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 solution, significantly advancing the balance between decentralization and scalability.
We’ll thoroughly explore Monad’s evolution, examining the motivations behind its decisions, the technical complexities involved, and the current state of dApps development.
At its core, Monad introduces optimizations across four key areas, driving blockchain throughput to an impressive 10,000 transactions per second. These optimizations, including MonadBFT, Deferred Execution, Parallel Execution, and MonadDb, seamlessly integrate with existing Ethereum infrastructure, providing users with a smooth and familiar experience.
Ethereum produces a block every 12 seconds, with execution time limited to about 100 ms, merely 1% of the block time. Consensus is more costly, and execution is a prerequisite for consensus. This scenario is akin to utilizing only 10% of your brain.
Monad offers the best of both worlds: portability and performance.
It delivers a user experience reminiscent of Ethereum, supporting popular wallets like MetaMask and block explorers like Etherscan. Applications built for Ethereum can seamlessly transition to Monad without requiring any code changes. With identical address spaces, users can reuse their existing keys. Operating on linear blocks and a proof-of-stake network, Monad ensures decentralization with minimal hardware requirements.
Developed with a focus on performance, the client is meticulously crafted from scratch, harnessing the capabilities of C++ and Rust.
How does Monad stand out?
Monad boosts performance with parallel execution and superscalar pipelining within the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
Parallel execution guarantees that transactions produce identical outcomes as if they were executed in a sequential manner. It handles transactions simultaneously, creating preliminary outcomes with inputs and outputs, which are subsequently finalized. Conflicting transactions are rescheduled for execution. Re-execution is efficient because transactions are cached until they are executed. MonadDB is specifically designed to enable parallel access to state on SSDs, which is essential for genuine parallel execution.
To simplify these technical concepts, let’s draw an analogy with traffic flow.
In traditional traffic systems, vehicles move one after the other in lanes, each vehicle must wait for the one in front to move before proceeding, leading to potential delays and congestion during peak hours.
With parallel execution, multiple lanes of traffic move simultaneously, allowing vehicles to progress independently of each other. Additionally, superscalar pipelining involves dividing the traffic flow into stages and processing them concurrently. As one group of vehicles accelerates, another might merge or exit the highway, ensuring continuous movement without bottlenecks.
This optimization enhances traffic flow, minimizing congestion and handling higher volumes efficiently. Similarly, Monad uses these techniques to accelerate transaction processing and enhance blockchain performance.
Uniswap transactions on the mainnet typically range from $5 to $50, while on L2s, they vary from $0.10 to a few dollars.
However, on Monad, transactions will cost only a fraction of a cent.
Unlike other platforms like Aptos, Sui, and Solana, which also feature parallel execution, Monad ensures full bytecode equivalence, allowing developers to seamlessly port their smart contracts from Ethereum without any modifications.
This compatibility is crucial as the vast majority of developers currently work on EVM-based applications, and approximately 97% of Total Value Locked (TVL) resides within the EVM ecosystem.
Why Isn’t Monad Implemented as a Rollup?
Decentralization stands as a pivotal concern. Unlike rollups, which lack decentralized block production, Monad places a strong emphasis on decentralized block production to uphold network integrity and security.
To achieve this, the platform minimizes barriers to node participation by aligning hardware requirements with Ethereum’s specifications, requiring only 32GB of RAM compared to Ethereum’s 16GB. Additionally, MonadDB optimizes SSD utilization, enhancing accessibility for running a full node. With plans to support 200–300 validators on the mainnet without geographic restrictions, Monad ensures decentralization remains core to its network architecture.
Performance is another crucial consideration. Adopting a rollup approach would introduce scalability limitations for Monad, hindering its ability to achieve optimal performance.
Focus also plays a significant role in Monad’s strategy. The primary objective is to establish a high-performance EVM execution environment that caters to all users’ needs. While integrating certain improvements with rollup mechanisms remains a possibility for the future, Monad’s current focus is firmly set on optimizing execution throughput.
Furthermore, if Monad were to operate as an Ethereum-based rollup, transactions processed by Monad would incur additional costs associated with pushing calldata and merkle roots back to Ethereum. While some rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism offer slightly cheaper transaction fees compared to Ethereum mainnet, Monad aspires for a much more significant reduction, aiming for a 1000x increase in throughput and a corresponding reduction in fees.
Where Does the Monad Ecosystem Stand Today?
Monad’s ecosystem is rapidly expanding ahead of its mainnet launch, with over 80 protocols and dApps committed to the platform as of February 2024. This number is expected to reach 150–200 as the launch approaches.
Major players like LayerZero and Pyth Network have already integrated with Monad, enabling seamless cross-platform messaging and reliable price feed data, respectively.
Additionally, Monad is attracting a diverse array of protocols to its ecosystem, including:
• Orderly Network — omnichain liquidity layer and DEX
• Monai — suite of uncensored generative AI tools
• Aori — high-performance orderbook protocol
• Pike Finance — cross-chain lending and borrowing
• Osiris Finance — liquid staking
• Switchboard Oracles— decentralized oracle network
• Notifi Network — infrastructure layer
• Swaap Finance — non-custodial interoperable market making infrastructure
• MagmaDAO — liquid staking
• Ambient Finance — DEX for two-sided AMMs
• Catalyst — interoperability protocol and cross-chain AMM
• Wombat Exchange — multichain cross-chain single-sided DEX
• TimeSwap Labs — oracleless lending and borrowing protocol
• DotMonad — domains / naming service
• Monadiansio — NFT PFP Collection
• AIT Protocol — AI data platform
Furthermore, Monad has established integration with Wormhole, solidifying its connection with various blockchains like Solana.
Adding to the excitement, OG Monad community members, affectionately called Nads, received significant rewards through a generous $W airdrop courtesy of the Wormhole Foundation.
Who is behind Monad?
Keone is a software developer and blockchain researcher. Prior to Monad, he spent eight years at Jump Trading, where he led an HFT team. In 2021, Keone joined Jump’s crypto division and led a team of engineers focused on blockchain research and dapp development.
James is an expert at systems engineering and low-latency optimizations. Prior to Monad, he spent eight years at Jump Trading where he built an ultra-low-latency trading system responsible for tens of billions of notional daily volume in major futures markets.
Eunice is a product and tech leader, with a background in traditional finance and fintech. With a CS degree from MIT, she was previously in trading at BofA Merrill Lynch, and led product teams building enterprise trading systems at Broadway Technology and payments and licensing infra team at Shutterstock.
Keone, James, and Eunice are the co-founders of Monad; however, their journey is shaped by a collective effort, with numerous engineers, business developers, researchers, and advisors all playing crucial roles in shaping the future of Monad. For a detailed list of the team members, please visit: https://www.monadlabs.xyz/team#
What are the next steps for the Monads?
The much-anticipated Monad devnet launch is imminent, with the testnet scheduled for the second half of 2024 and the mainnet expected in late 2024 or early 2025.
While the exact roadmap beyond the mainnet launch is yet to be defined, Monad aims to provide clarity on its direction by the end of 2024.
Reflecting on Monad
While Monad is relatively new to the scene, it shows great promise for the long haul. Its blend of decentralization, scalability, and compatibility with Ethereum is a game-changer.
Monad’s ability to handle 10,000 transactions per second sets a high standard compared to many existing chains. With this as a starting point, Monad could potentially scale up to hundreds of thousands of transactions per second in the coming years.
However, Monad faces challenges in gaining widespread adoption, especially when competing against well-established players in its early stages of development. Despite this hurdle, Monad boasts a vibrant cult community, easily memed and deeply engaged in the platform’s evolution. This dedicated community, driven by a shared sense of belonging and purpose, contributes to the platform’s appeal and fosters its growth despite initial adoption challenges.
With already formed strong partnerships with LayerZero, Pyth Network, Wormhole, and others, this suggests that its ecosystem will see significant growth over time, with an estimated 150 projects set to join at mainnet launch.
As it continues to evolve and expand its ecosystem, Monad is poised to revolutionize the industry, paving the way for decentralized exchange platforms, trading systems, and utilities that push the boundaries of what’s possible in blockchain technology.
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