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Sei is a Layer 1 blockchain, built using the Cosmos SDK, focusing on facilitating transactions and other activities cheaply and quickly.
It's worth noting that the Sei team plans to launch the V2 upgrade of the network in the first half of 2024, which will implement the first fully parallelized Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for the crypto economy.
How does Sei operate?
At the core of Sei is the Twin Turbo consensus mechanism of the network. This system requires full nodes to propagate transactions using random gossip and then have validators validate and add them to the local memory pool. Block proposers then use these memory pools to propose new blocks, embedding only transaction identifiers to minimize data payload and reduce wait times.
It's important to note that Sei is set to undergo the V2 network upgrade, which, among other optimizations, will introduce parallel execution capabilities, processing transactions concurrently rather than sequentially.
Why is parallel execution important?
Parallelism is an innovation that allows many transactions to run simultaneously. It can be thought of as a team simultaneously working on different parts of a project rather than one person completing each task one by one. This approach can significantly speed up processing times, allowing Sei to handle up to 1,000 transactions in parallel.
Most blockchains in today's crypto economy, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, do not use parallel execution. However, Solana's resurgence since the third quarter of 2024 has brought a renewed interest in projects that do utilize parallelism, and Sei has capitalized on this trend to reach a new significant position in the months leading up to 2024.
Applications of Sei
According to DeFiLlama's data, Sei is currently the 64th largest chain in DeFi, with a total locked value of $18.53 million. As the network is relatively new, its use cases are still relatively limited. However, with the V2 network upgrade and more time, there is significant room for growth.
Some of the largest applications on Sei currently include:
Astroport – a decentralized exchange.
Kryptonite – a liquidity staking protocol for SEI.
Silo – another SEI liquidity staking protocol.
Pallet – an NFT marketplace.
SEI Token
$SEI is the native token of Sei, used for governance and paying transaction fees on the network. Additionally, $SEI holders can participate in securing the chain by delegating their tokens to validators or staking them to operate their own validator node. The total supply limit of SEI is 10 billion, with a large portion specifically allocated to Sei's community and developers.
At the time of the latest update to this article, the trading price of $SEI is approximately $0.83, with a market capitalization of $2.1 billion, making it the 49th largest cryptocurrency currently.
How to Stake SEI
By staking SEI to help secure the Sei network, you can earn SEI staking rewards, currently with an annual rate of 4.3%. This is the most basic and direct opportunity on-chain, so if you're interested, you'll first need to acquire some SEI on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase or Kraken, then create a Sei wallet where you can deposit.
Note that major Sei staking applications currently only support the Compass and Fin wallets. If you choose this route, simply connect your wallet on the website, then click "Stake" next to your chosen validator. Enter the amount of SEI you want to stake, approve the deposit transaction, and use the provided dashboard to track your rewards over time or unstake when ready.
Additionally, you can use wallets like Keplr wallet in conjunction with the aforementioned liquidity staking protocols Kryptonite and Silo. These projects allow you to maintain liquidity while earning staking rewards, provided you spend your tokens, such as stSEI and iSEI. |
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Post time 8-3-2024 08:27:02