Revised Article: How Parallel EVM Breaks Through Blockchain Performance Bottlenecks?

Parallel EVM is a new narrative that emerges after the on-chain transaction volume reaches a certain level. It is mainly divided into monolithic blockchains and modular blockchains, with the former further divided into L1 and L2. Parallel L1 public chains have formed two major camps: EVM and non-EVM. Currently, the parallel EVM narrative is still in the early stages of development.

From a technical perspective, the implementation of parallel EVM mainly involves two aspects: the virtual machine and the parallel execution mechanism. In Blockchain, the virtual machine refers to the distributed state machine virtualization process used for executing contracts. Parallel execution means processing multiple transactions simultaneously while ensuring that the final state is consistent with serial execution.

The parallel execution mechanism can be divided into three main categories: message passing, shared memory, and strict state access lists. Among them, shared memory includes memory lock models and optimistic parallelization. Regardless of which mechanism is used, it will increase the complexity of the technology.

The parallel EVM narrative has both intrinsic drivers for industry growth and a need for heightened attention to potential security issues. Various related projects provide different approaches to parallel execution, sharing technical commonalities while also having unique contributions.

Currently, the overall circulating market value of L1 and L2 is $752.123 billion, of which parallel Blockchains account for $52.539 billion, about 7%. The circulating market value of parallel EVM-related projects is $2.339 billion, accounting for only 4% of parallel Blockchains. This indicates that the parallel EVM narrative and the associated parallel Blockchain sector still have significant market growth potential.

In parallel EVM projects, L1 mainly includes Sei, Monad, and Canto, which are designed to have parallel EVMs that are compatible with the Ethereum ecosystem and provide high throughput. L2 includes Neon, Eclipse, and Lumio, which offer cross-ecosystem scaling by integrating the capabilities of other L1 chains. In addition, Fuel has proposed a modular Blockchain approach that can flexibly serve as L2, L1, or even side chains or state channels.

From a technical implementation perspective, parallel EVM is primarily an optimization of the execution layer's performance. L1 solutions introduce a transaction parallel execution mechanism, allowing transactions to be executed as parallel as possible within the virtual machine. L2 solutions essentially leverage the already parallelized L1 virtual machine to achieve a certain degree of "off-chain execution + on-chain settlement."

A major challenge faced by parallel execution is to ensure the correctness of transaction results. For example, if two people transfer money to a third party at the same time, it may lead to incorrect account balances. To address such issues, the industry has proposed three mechanisms: message passing, shared memory, and strict state access lists.

Although parallel execution can significantly improve performance, it also increases technical complexity and security risks. Multithreaded programming can easily lead to issues such as race conditions and memory access errors. Therefore, when evaluating a project, in addition to focusing on performance, it is also necessary to consider safety factors such as team background, code maintainability, and programming language choice.

The mainstream parallel EVM projects currently include:

1. Sei: Claimed to be the fastest L1 blockchain, capable of executing 12,500 transactions per second. The upcoming v2 version will adopt an optimistic parallelization model and support EVM compatibility.

2. Monad: Known as a potential disruptor in the L1 track, it introduces superscalar pipelines and improved optimistic parallel mechanisms, with performance reaching 10000 TPS.

3. Canto: A highly decentralized L1 project that provides free public DeFi infrastructure. The latest upgrade plan introduces Cyclone EVM to achieve optimistic parallelization.

4. Fuel: Self-proclaimed "Ethereum rollup operating system", adopts the UTXO model and achieves transaction parallel execution through dependency analysis.

5. Neon: The first parallel EVM project in the Solana ecosystem, allowing Ethereum applications to seamlessly migrate to Solana.

6. Eclipse: Another fast L2 protocol compatible with EVM in the Solana ecosystem, using a modular architecture.

7. Lumio: Combining Aptos and Ethereum to build an optimistic rollup L2 protocol, executing Ethereum applications with Move VM.

Looking to the future, the parallel EVM narrative still has vast development space. The L1 track may form a comprehensive competition pattern between EVM and non-EVM camps, while L2 may develop towards virtual machine simulators or modular blockchains. For investors, in addition to focusing on technology, it is also necessary to comprehensively consider factors such as the project’s market capitalization, liquidity, team background, and economic model to uncover potential projects.