Sei to add EVM support in forthcoming update

Developers of Sei Network announced the second version of the network, which will become “the first parallelized blockchain” with support for EVM.

Sei v2: Parallelizing the Ethereum Execution Environment

Sei v2 is poised to become the first parallelized EVM blockchain. This major proposed update from Sei Labs aims to deploy a backward compatible Ethereum execution environment integrated into Sei’s core binary, inheriting… pic.twitter.com/6bfYeVsBLX

— Sei ? (@SeiNetwork) November 29, 2023

The update will allow migrating Ethereum smart contracts to Sei and using them within the network together with protocols on Cosmwasm.

To implement EVM compatibility, the project team is applying Geth — the most widely used client of the second-largest blockchain by market capitalization for processing transactions.

“This approach provides full bytecode compatibility, allowing the network to easily handle anything that can run with Geth. Moreover, since Sei’s remote procedure call interface will be identical to the EVM, existing Ethereum tools can be reused easily,” the developers explained.

In terms of performance, Sei V2 will deliver throughput of 28,300 transactions per second, and block time will be 390 ms.

The new version of the blockchain will also modify the execution layer’s operating methods to support “optimistic parallelization and optimized state storage”.

In Sei V2, a data structure SeiDB will appear, intended to improve data storage mechanisms on the platform. According to the developers, the technology will prevent “state bloat” when the network becomes overly congested with data, and will simplify synchronization with nodes.

Development of the second version of the network is nearing completion. The team estimates Sei V2 will launch in the first quarter of 2024.

On the backdrop of the update announcement, the SEI token price jumped 42% — from $0.21 to $0.30. However, over time the asset retraced to its initial levels.

In April, Sei attracted financing of $30 million at a valuation of $800 million.

In August, developers conducted an airdrop of native tokens, but the community was disappointed with the low rewards.