Podcast Notes | Beginner's Guide to Monad's Parallelized EVM
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Podcast Notes | Beginner's Guide to Monad's Parallelized EVM
Monad's mainnet is expected to launch in 2024, with the public testnet rolling out in the second half of this year.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsCompiled by: Revelo Intel
Translated by: TechFlow
Introduction
In an episode of the Edge Podcast aired on February 14, 2024, DeFi Dad, Nomatic, and Keone Hon discussed Monad, its features, and topics such as parallel EVM execution. As a Layer 1 protocol enabling parallel execution for the EVM, Monad aims to significantly enhance EVM performance and throughput.
From Monad's background and founding, to why we need Monad, its mechanism for parallel execution, and benefits for users, this podcast offers a comprehensive and in-depth understanding.
Background
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DeFi Dad (Host): Investor at 4RC Capital
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Nomatic (Host): Investor at 4RC Capital
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Keone Hon (Guest): Co-founder of Monad
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Monad: A Layer 1 protocol providing parallel execution capabilities for the EVM
Monad’s Background and Founding
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Keone shared that he has worked in the crypto industry for many years, including roles at Jump Trading and on Solana DeFi projects. He joined Jump Trading in 2021, focusing on futures trading and helping scale the team. Recognizing the need for high-performance EVM solutions, he left Jump Trading in early 2022 to co-found Monad Labs with two others.
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He added that he left Jump Trading to make the EVM more efficient. High transaction fees have created massive demand for scalable EVM solutions.
Why We Need Monad
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Keone explained that Monad aims to make the EVM extremely efficient. Ethereum currently processes about one million transactions per day, while Monad targets a throughput of one billion daily transactions. Focusing on daily transaction volume rather than transactions per second helps envision successful applications and achieve mass user adoption. Applications with millions of daily active users require far higher throughput than what is currently available.
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He added that unlike other Layer 2 solutions, Monad takes a different approach. It rebuilds the execution stack from scratch using C++, introducing architectural improvements for better performance. Unlike fractal scaling methods like rollups—which rely on inheriting Ethereum's security within isolated environments—Monad reconstructs the execution stack at a deeper level.
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Keone stated that Monad implements optimistic parallel execution, allowing multiple transactions to run independently in parallel. This process generates pending results that track each transaction’s inputs and outputs (state changes). These pending results are then committed sequentially according to the original transaction order, ensuring consistency with serial execution.
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He added that parallel execution allows more work to be done in the same amount of time, increasing computational density. By boosting computational density, a single blockchain unit can serve many more users efficiently.
Monad’s Parallel Execution
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Keone said it's crucial to compare against successful Web2 applications when preparing for success, assessing whether current infrastructure stacks can meet similar demands. If not—as in Monad’s case—new solutions must be built to fulfill those needs.
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He added that Monad’s key goals are parallel execution and increased computational density. Early parallel execution runs transactions independently and produces pending results. Since individual transactions involve relatively small computational loads, rescheduling conflicts is not a major concern.
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Keone noted that in Monad, optimistic parallel execution enables multiple transactions to run independently and in parallel. This generates pending results tracking each transaction’s inputs and outputs (state changes). Committing these pending results ensures consistency with serial execution.
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He added that since typical transactions require minimal computation (e.g., addition or multiplication), rescheduling costs are low. Concerns around frequent rescheduling are mitigated through effective conflict handling due to transaction interdependencies.
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Keone explained that CPU time required to compute hashes is relatively small. In contrast, reading values from state (like reading from SSDs) consumes significant time. Re-execution cost is low because state dependencies typically reside in memory (cache). Parallel execution allows multiple transactions to run simultaneously, generate pending results, and commit them in original order. In cases of conflict, work can be rescheduled and re-executed.
Benefits of Parallel Execution for Users
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Keone stated that the parallel EVM is a brand-new Layer 1, fully compatible with existing Ethereum smart contracts. Monad delivers over 10,000 transactions per second, 1-second block times, and single-slot finality. It provides a fast, high-throughput blockchain while maintaining backward compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts and tools such as Etherscan or MetaMask.
Pipelining
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Keone explained that pipelining refers to more efficient use of system resources by creating stages of work that can be completed in parallel. A real-life example is washing multiple loads of laundry simultaneously instead of sequentially. In computer systems, pipelining involves dividing tasks into multiple stages to improve efficiency. In Monad, pipelining separates consensus (nodes agreeing on transaction ordering) from execution (processing transactions), enabling parallel processing for better performance.
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He added that in most blockchains, execution and consensus are tightly coupled, with consensus consuming most of the time. For example, Ethereum allocates only about 100 milliseconds of its block time to execution. Monad removes execution from the critical path of consensus into a separate pipeline, allowing nodes to first agree on transaction order and then execute them afterward. By decoupling consensus and execution, Monad improves performance by allocating more time to actual transaction processing.
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Keone said that in Monad, nodes first reach agreement on the official transaction order (consensus). Once consensus is achieved, two things can happen simultaneously: beginning consensus on the next block and executing the agreed-upon set of transactions. Separating these processes enables efficient pipelining and better utilization of system resources.
Selling Monad to EVM Developers
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Keone said developers generally respond positively and enthusiastically to Monad’s vision. The value proposition of lower fees and higher throughput is easy to sell. When Monad launches, people will be eager to join.
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He added that everyone wants low fees and high throughput. A 2000s ad featured turtles complaining that internet speeds were too fast—an amusing parallel to people wanting cheaper internet. Building on Monad opens up broader design possibilities without excessive focus on gas optimization.
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Keone said building on Monad significantly reduces costs and increases transaction volume, improving user experience. Better UX makes attracting users easier. Building on Monad allows developers to focus on broader designs without being constrained by gas optimization concerns.
Decentralization vs. High Performance
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Keone said the number of nodes participating in consensus, hardware requirements, and the composition of the validator set are key considerations for decentralization. Monad aims to strike a balance between professional validator companies and community-driven validators. High-throughput chains must carefully consider trade-offs regarding decentralization.
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He added that performance-enhancing measures that centralize the network contradict the goal of decentralization. To build a high-performance, highly decentralized Layer 1 blockchain, hundreds or thousands of globally distributed nodes are needed. Keeping nodes physically close together can be seen as network centralization.
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Keone emphasized that Monad’s hardware requirements are similar to Ethereum’s—32GB RAM is sufficient. Compared to other blockchains like Solana, which require 256GB RAM, Monad achieves performance gains through algorithmic improvements rather than expensive hardware.
MonadBFT Consensus
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Keone said MonadBFT is a high-performance consensus mechanism built from scratch in Rust. Blockchains consist of two main components: execution and consensus. MonadBFT focuses on the consensus component. The execution system is designed for parallel execution and a high-performance underlying state database.
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He added that consensus ensures globally distributed nodes agree on official work (such as a list of transactions). Derived from the HotStuff consensus mechanism, MonadBFT emphasizes linear communication. Compared to another popular consensus mechanism, Tendermint, MonadBFT has lower communication complexity, enabling larger network scales.
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Keone explained that HotStuff’s linear communication protocol reduces the number of messages sent across the network. A leader is elected through a leader election process for a specific period and creates a block proposal. Other nodes evaluate the validity of the proposed block and send back votes in a fan-in manner to the next leader.
Fees and the $MONAD Token on Monad
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Keone said transaction execution time and cost on Monad depend on complexity. On Ethereum mainnet, a Uniswap V2 transaction using 150,000 gas costs roughly $5–$50. On Monad, the same transaction costs less than one cent, thanks to higher throughput and greater block space availability.
New Possibilities for Building on Monad
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Keone said high-throughput chains like Monad open new possibilities compared to Web2 or low-throughput chains. Fully on-chain limit order books are one such possibility enabled by high throughput. They allow self-custody of assets and full composability, enabling other applications to build on top.
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He added that fully on-chain limit order books have been limited in the EVM space due to high update costs. Market makers need to pay substantial fees for frequent updates on existing chains. With Monad’s much lower update cost (less than one cent), fully on-chain limit order books become far more feasible.
Building the Monad Community
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Keone said community is a vital part of the success of projects like Monad and the broader crypto ecosystem. Projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum gained massive community support through shared ideals. Building a strong community is essential for widespread adoption and achieving decentralization goals.
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He added that open-source technology ensures the best technologies are adopted over time. Individuals who care about decentralization play a key role in using crypto services and spreading awareness among friends. Community engagement is crucial to fulfilling crypto’s mission.
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Keone said building a supportive community in the crypto industry is critically important. Over time, people may focus more on technical details and overlook the importance of community. However, they eventually realize that community building is essential due to the difficulty of adopting open-source tech and forming new communities.
Monad Mainnet Launch Timeline
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Keone said the Monad mainnet is expected to launch in 2024, with a public testnet rolling out in the second half of this year.
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