MegaETH pursues ultimate performance, while Monad is committed to maintaining decentralization and reducing user barriers.
Author: Howe, Eureka Partner
Preface
Recently, the discussion between Lei Yang and Keone Hon in the podcast of Blankless about MegaETH vs Monad has sparked widespread discussion, especially the definition of a full node, which has attracted numerous media discussions.
This article will sort out the ins and outs of MegaETH vs Monad for everyone, and provide an analysis and opinions on them respectively.
MegaETH vs Monad
The podcast mainly revolves around the similarities and differences between MegaETH and Monad, how to achieve decentralization and censorship resistance, and the definition of a full node.
Similarities and Differences between MegaETH and Monad
When it comes to the similarities between MegaETH and Monad, the first thing is that both share the same original intention - high-performance public chains. They both believe that the current Ethereum Layer1, which processes 10-15 transactions per second, is no longer able to meet the performance requirements of the current industry. However, the EVM has been validated by the market for a long time and has become an important industry standard. Although the current EVM may have some shortcomings in terms of performance bottlenecks, there are no fundamental flaws. Over time, continuous improvements to the EVM will make it better, which is why both choose to build on the EVM.
The differences between MegaETH and Monad mainly lie in the following two aspects:
Different Goals: MegaETH pursues ultimate high performance; Monad aims to maximize performance from minimal hardware requirements while maintaining decentralization.
Different Architectures: Based on the above goals, MegaETH has researched all existing Layer1 and Layer2 solutions and found that it is not feasible to achieve a balance between extreme high performance and decentralization on Layer1. Therefore, it chooses to build MegaETH on ETH Layer2 and optimize it. On the other hand, Monad chooses to ensure decentralization to the maximum extent by creating its own Layer1 and optimizing it at different structural levels such as database, efficiency, execution, and algorithms.
Implementation of Decentralization and Censorship Resistance
Before implementing high-performance public chains, MegaETH and Monad both considered how to achieve this while maintaining decentralization.
In terms of specific implementation, Monad achieves minimal hardware requirements by optimizing hardware and network settings, making it easy for everyone to run nodes and achieve decentralization. This is mainly because Monad believes that the original Ethereum network had high running requirements, and it wants to lower the barrier for participation by directly optimizing various structures in the network, allowing lower-end consumer-grade hardware to run and thus achieving Vitalik's ideal of "everyone can run a node."
MegaETH optimizes performance and reduces hardware costs by splitting the responsibilities of a full node into different roles. Traditional full nodes in a blockchain network need to perform multiple tasks such as state synchronization, transaction sorting, and execution, leading to high hardware requirements that many ordinary users cannot afford. However, MegaETH splits these tasks into sorter, prover, and full node roles, with each role responsible for specific tasks. This division reduces the burden on individual nodes, lowers hardware requirements, and allows everyone to run nodes, thereby increasing decentralization. Additionally, MegaETH has optimized computation and state read/write, further enhancing performance. Meanwhile, MegaETH's decentralization mainly relies on Ethereum Layer1's existing decentralized foundation, as Ethereum itself has tens of thousands of full nodes, possessing a high degree of decentralization.
In comparison, Monad has a stronger belief in pursuing decentralization, where all improvements and optimizations need to ensure sufficient decentralization; MegaETH, on the other hand, considers decentralization as just one of its features, choosing to rely on Ethereum Layer1's security, which has been validated by the market, while focusing more on improving performance.
In summary, Monad optimizes the underlying structure of the blockchain network, while MegaETH reasonably allocates hardware requirements for node operation and optimizes existing execution, communication, and other aspects of the network.
In this discussion, Lei repeatedly mentioned the term "censorship resistance," which refers to the inability of any party to easily inspect, manipulate, or suppress transactions and data on a blockchain. In this regard, MegaETH and Monad also have significant differences. For MegaETH, although it uses a single active sorter to verify all transactions in the entire network, it relies on the tens of thousands of verification nodes on Ethereum Layer1 to ensure the network's censorship resistance. On the other hand, Monad achieves censorship resistance by lowering the barrier for running nodes and increasing the number of network nodes.
Definition of Full Node
In the discussion of "whose decentralization level is higher," Lei and Keone have different opinions on the definition of a full node. The main reason for the disagreement is that everyone's starting point is different.
Lei's definition of a full node for MegaETH refers to the decoupling and splitting of the full node role within the system, with its main responsibility being to synchronize the latest state copy, but not to execute all transactions in the system. Keone's definition of a full node for Monad refers to the broad definition of a full node, which is a node that can access all states and execute all transactions. Because everyone did not know in advance about MegaETH's improvement of node splitting, this ambiguity arose.
Introduction and Analysis of MegaETH and Monad
As emerging representatives of high-performance public chains, this section will introduce and analyze the technical characteristics, community culture, and strengths and weaknesses of MegaETH and Monad to help readers better understand the positioning and development direction of these two major projects.
MegaETH: Enhancing Performance through Node Specialization
In terms of technical characteristics, one of MegaETH's core innovations is the specialization and splitting of the traditional full node's responsibilities, known as node specialization. Typically, a full node performs multiple tasks, including state synchronization, transaction sorting, and execution, leading to high hardware requirements that hinder the participation of ordinary users. MegaETH divides nodes into three categories: sorter, prover, and full node, each with its own responsibilities, thereby significantly reducing hardware requirements and improving overall performance. In addition, MegaETH has introduced a series of optimization technologies to further enhance computation and state processing efficiency:
Real-time EVM Engine: MegaETH has introduced the first real-time EVM execution engine, capable of processing a large number of transactions upon arrival and reliably publishing state changes (state diff) within a minimum interval of 10 milliseconds.
Smart Contract Just-In-Time Compilation: Using just-in-time compilation (JIT) technology, smart contracts are dynamically converted into native machine code, eliminating the inefficient process of interpreting EVM bytecode. This technology can improve the performance of compute-intensive applications by up to 100 times, suitable for building complex DApps with high real-time performance requirements.
State Tree Improvement: MegaETH has replaced the traditional Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) with a brand-new state tree, greatly reducing disk I/O operations and addressing performance bottlenecks in state tree maintenance. This new design not only maintains EVM compatibility but also efficiently scales to TB-level state data.
State Synchronization Protocol: MegaETH uses an efficient peer-to-peer protocol to propagate state updates from the sorter to the full node with low latency and high throughput, enabling even nodes with poor network connections to maintain the latest state synchronization at a rate of 100,000 TPS.
In terms of community culture, MegaETH emphasizes community building. The rabbit, as its mascot, frequently appears in various community activities, and related cultural products such as T-shirts and hats have created a sense of belonging for community members. Additionally, MegaETH incubated a brand called MegaMafia, aimed at providing support for developers and ecosystem builders to help them build projects or design ecosystem peripherals on MegaETH. To incentivize developers, MegaETH has launched the 10x Builders program to promote the construction of high-performance projects on its platform.
Therefore, MegaETH has the following three advantages:
- Node Specialization: Effectively allocating hardware resources has reduced the pressure on individual nodes and lowered the hardware access threshold.
- Reliance on Ethereum Layer1's Security and Censorship Resistance: MegaETH maintains Ethereum's decentralization and censorship resistance while focusing on performance optimization on Layer2, achieving a balance between performance and security.
- Focus on Developer Experience: Encouraging developers to participate in ecosystem development through various tools and ecosystem plans, lowering the barrier for user participation.
However, it is important to note that MegaETH has a potential security risk, as its network relies on a single active sorter to verify transactions. Although optimistic rollup and economic models provide some security guarantees, it is fundamentally a trust assumption that may affect the decentralization and security of the system in extreme cases.
Monad: Overcoming Ethereum Architecture Limitations
Monad's core technical highlights lie in its deep optimization of blockchain architecture. By introducing the following four major technological innovations, Monad has significantly improved transaction processing efficiency, allowing consumer-grade hardware to participate in network nodes and significantly lowering the participation threshold, making Monad's ecosystem more open and accessible:
- Parallel Execution: Traditionally, transaction execution occurs sequentially, with one complete transaction executed before the next. Monad achieves parallel processing by dividing tasks into a series of smaller tasks that can be processed in parallel, addressing issues related to state storage, transaction processing, and distributed consensus during transaction processing. As shown in the figure below, when washing four pieces of clothing, the simplest strategy is to wash, dry, fold, and store the first piece of clothing before starting the second. However, Monad's parallel mechanism starts washing the second piece of clothing when the first piece enters the dryer.
Source: https://docs.monad.xyz/technical-discussion/concepts/pipelined
MonadBFT: A consensus mechanism for the aforementioned parallel execution, which is more efficient than traditional Byzantine fault tolerance mechanisms.
Delayed Execution: The traditional on-chain transaction process involves 1) nodes executing transactions first and 2) verification nodes reaching consensus on the transactions before they are added to the chain. The performance bottleneck in this process mainly lies in the execution part. Delayed execution allows verification before execution within a certain time range, significantly improving transaction on-chain efficiency.
MonadDB: Innovative database for most Ethereum clients, improving state access efficiency to better support parallel transaction execution.
Equally important is the Monad community, with three mascots, a unique community slogan, and meme culture forming a distinct brand image. Unlike other projects, Monad does not rely on task platforms or testnet nodes for marketing, but instead interacts with users through a variety of community activities, creative competitions, and mini-games.
Therefore, Monad has the following three advantages:
- Overcoming Ethereum Architecture Bottlenecks: Monad is not limited by Ethereum's original design and can participate in network operations while maintaining EVM compatibility and conducting low-level optimizations, allowing consumer-grade hardware to participate in the network.
- EVM Compatibility: Monad can directly utilize the existing EVM ecosystem, making it easier for developers to migrate and build DApps.
- High Community Activity: Monad has accumulated a loyal community of users, and its strong community culture provides a solid foundation for ecosystem development.
However, the current number of validation nodes for Monad is still relatively small, approximately 200-300, compared to Ethereum's node count. As time goes on, large-scale expansion may pose new challenges to its parallel processing capabilities and network consistency. As the number of nodes increases, whether Monad can continue to maintain its high performance and the effectiveness of its performance improvements remain to be verified.
Conclusion
MegaETH and Monad are driving the optimization and development of blockchain networks through different paths. MegaETH maintains Ethereum's decentralization foundation and has significantly improved performance through node specialization and optimization of the existing architecture. Monad, on the other hand, optimizes the underlying architecture while ensuring decentralization, lowering hardware barriers, and providing an efficient development experience for the community.
Therefore, Eureka Partners believes that it is currently premature to determine which is stronger between MegaETH and Monad. Firstly, their perspectives are different, with MegaETH pursuing ultimate performance and Monad focusing on maintaining decentralization and lowering user barriers. Secondly, their paths are completely different, with MegaETH being Layer2 and Monad being Layer1.
However, one thing that can be confirmed is that the pursuit of high-performance public chains by MegaETH and Monad will be one of the industry's future development trends. The current inefficiency and high cost of infrastructure have long been criticized and have restricted many DApps with high-frequency interaction needs. The arrival and improvement of high-performance public chains in the future will gradually make up for this shortcoming, allowing the entire industry ecosystem to thrive.
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