Parallel EVM Technology Competition: Technological Innovations and Challenges of Three Major Projects

Recently, three heavyweight parallel EVM projects have launched their testnets, namely Monad, MegaETH, and Pharos. This marks a return of the focus on the popular topic of parallel EVM in the development of Web3 technology.

EVM, as a core component of Ethereum, is responsible for executing smart contracts and processing transactions. However, the traditional sequential execution method of EVM is prone to network congestion and delays under high load conditions. Parallel EVM technology significantly enhances network throughput by allowing multiple operations to be executed simultaneously, thereby improving the overall performance and scalability of the blockchain.

In fact, parallel EVM not only introduces parallel execution but also includes comprehensive upgrades from consensus mechanisms, transaction processing, pipeline optimization, storage systems to hardware acceleration. Its goal is to enable blockchain networks to process more transactions in a shorter time, effectively addressing the network congestion and latency issues faced by traditional blockchains.

Monad: Pursuing a Balance Between High Performance and Decentralization

Monad is a high-performance EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain developed by Monad Labs. The project aims to improve system scalability while maintaining decentralization, addressing the low throughput issues of existing EVM-compatible blockchains.

The main technical advantages of Monad include:

1. MonadBFT: A high-performance consensus mechanism based on an improved HotStuff, utilizing a two-phase BFT algorithm and a hybrid signature scheme to enhance the scalability and efficiency of the network.

2. Asynchronous execution: By separating consensus from execution, Monad significantly improves execution throughput, allowing a single shard blockchain to scale to support millions of users.

3. Parallel execution: Using an optimistic execution approach, combined with static code analysis to predict transaction dependencies, improves network efficiency while reducing the transaction failure rate.

4. MonadDB: A custom KV database designed specifically for storing verified blockchain data, optimized through multiple technologies to enhance data access speed and transaction processing efficiency.

MegaETH: A Layer 2 Solution Focused on Real-time Performance

MegaETH is a high-performance Layer2 blockchain developed by MegaLabs, characterized by providing ultra-low latency and high scalability for applications that require instant responsiveness.

The core technological features of MegaETH include:

1. Node Specialization: Assign different functions to the sequencer, prover, and full nodes to optimize network performance and resource utilization.

2. Targeted Optimization: Specific improvements are made to address various bottlenecks of traditional EVM blockchains, including state data retrieval, parallel execution, JIT compilation, and efficient state synchronization.

3. Mini Blocks: Pre-confirmation occurs every 10 milliseconds, significantly reducing transaction propagation time and providing a more efficient transaction confirmation mechanism for light clients.

Pharos: A Full-Stack Parallelized EVM-Compatible Layer 1

Pharos is positioned as a high-performance EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, with a particular focus on the needs of the RWA and payment ecosystems.

Pharos proposed the "Degree of Parallelization ( DP )" framework, dividing the blockchain parallelization capability into six levels. Pharos adopts a DP5 full-stack parallel architecture, with main features including:

1. Scalable consensus protocol: high throughput, low latency BFT consensus protocol.

2. Dual Virtual Machine Parallel Execution: Parallel EVM and WASM Execution Layers.

3. Full Lifecycle Asynchronous Pipeline: Achieve parallel processing of the entire transaction lifecycle and between blocks.

4. High-performance storage system: Utilizing certified data structure (ADS) to provide high throughput and low-latency I/O operations.

5. Modular Special Processing Network (SPN): Supports seamless integration of new technologies and hardware to adapt to various use case requirements.

Conclusion

The three projects Monad, MegaETH, and Pharos each have their own characteristics in parallel EVM technology. Monad focuses on balancing scalability and decentralization, MegaETH highlights ultra-low latency and high throughput, while Pharos offers a comprehensive parallelization solution.

Developers need to weigh performance, degree of decentralization, and the requirements of specific application scenarios when making choices. As these projects continue to evolve and improve, parallel EVM technology is expected to bring significant performance enhancements and new application possibilities to the blockchain ecosystem.