Acceleration

What even is the point of blockchain if we have to give up decentralization to make it scale? We've somehow ended up treating better performance as a reason to compromise what makes blockchain different in the first place. So what if there's another way? 🌏 That's the rabbit hole we're going down in our latest Onchain World episode.

The bigger the network gets, the harder speed becomes.♾ There’s an interesting idea behind what @get_optimum is building that goes beyond simply making Ethereum data propagate faster. In a small network, adding better hardware can solve a lot of latency problems. But what happens when the network keeps growing? You cant give every node the best hardware, the fastest connection, and a private fiber line. At some point, scaling through hardware alone becomes incredibly expensive. This is where the idea of ​​RLNC really comes into its own. Nodes don't have to be viewed as passive recipients: RLNC enables them to cooperate in transmitting information across the network. Think of it as turning more participants into part of the delivery system. And the fascinating part? The larger the network becomes, the more useful this approach can become. That changes the conversation from How do we make the fastest nodes even faster? to: How do we make the whole network faster? Thats a much bigger problem to solve. And potentially a much bigger opportunity for @get_optimum.

What if decentralization could actually help blockchains scale? ♾ We usually think about scaling in pretty straightforward terms: ◼️If you want more performance, you add more hardware. ◼️If you want lower latency, you upgrade the connection. It works,until the network gets big enough. At some point, you can't expect every node in a decentralized network to have the fastest hardware and best possible connectivity. But what if we're looking at the problem backwards? D2S-Decentralization to Scaling is @get_optimum idea that a decentralized network can actually use its participants as part of the scaling solution. That exactly where the work on RLNC and mump2p becomes interesting to me. More efficient data propagation means the existing network can be used more effectively, helping information reach validators faster without simply raising the hardware requirements for everyone. And that what I find so interesting about Optimum. Instead of asking how to make a handful of nodes faster, the question becomes: -How do we make thousands of nodes work together more efficiently? Because the future of Web3 shouldn't require choosing between speed and decentralization. The real breakthrough is making decentralization part of the path to scale.

i honestly don't know what to say 😭 seeing @MurielMedard like the card I made for her genuinely made me so happy. a little overwhelmed, a little emotional, and very grateful. this means a lot to me @get_optimum

<<<𝟯𝟴𝟳𝟬𝟬>>>

validators work hard to capture every bit of MEV but sometimes the best bid arrives just a few milliseconds after the block is already selected and that's it the opportunity to get the best bid is gone. @get_optimum ran research across 22,000+ Ethereum slots and found bids coming in right after selection that were 68x more valuable than what actually got accepted not bcz validators did anything wrong just bcz of the data didn't arrive in time and faster propagation fixes this, that's the whole point of mump2p btw this music is highly addictive, isn't it? ♾️

Speed is money. But for institutions, reliability is priceless.♾️ Crypto loves to talk about TPS. Institutions ask a different question: Will this network behave the same on its busiest day as it does on its quietest? Thats a much higher standard. Its not enough to be fast when the network is idle. Infrastructure has to remain predictable when demand spikes, because that's exactly when billions of dollars are moving. @get_optimum improves how information moves across existing blockchains. RLNC makes data propagation more efficient, allowing nodes to exchange critical information faster and more consistently its helping validators meet deadlines more reliably, builders capture higher-value blocks, and helping networks scale without compromising decentralization. Because in the end, speed is money. But consistent speed is what earns trust. And that's the kind of infrastructure institutions look for as more capital moves on-chain.

🥽 Optimum Pulse: July 6 - July 12, 2026 🔻🔻🔻 1⃣ @get_optimum CEO&Prof. @MurielMedard explains how RLNC optimize decentralized network latency through software. 🔗x.com/MurielMedard/status/20… ----- 2⃣ The Q2/2026 Optimum D2S Newsletter is officially here! 🔗optimum.beehiiv.com/p/the-op… 📩Subscribe via email to receive the latest version each quarter. ----- 3⃣Weekly Role Upgrade: Refined - Batch 18.

The value of the work we're doing at @get_optimum is encapsulated quite well by the phrase "speed is money". In modern markets there are real economic advantages to latency reduction. This is nothing new. Wall Street firms have long been optimizing on latency, primarily through colocation and top of the line hardware. However, when it comes to decentralized systems, expensive hardware and geographic concentration are antithetical to their purpose. Therefore we should optimize decentralized network latency through software, which I'm thrilled about because it's exactly what I've spent the better part of the past 2 decades working on with Random Linear Network Coding. Now let’s talk about networking economics, the relationship between speed and money. First, it's important to note that users will only pay for low latency if it can be consistently guaranteed. Second, you can only make that latency guarantee for a certain number of users. This is a universal law of networking. We can model this relationship on a delay curve, shown below. The delay curve is determined by the utilization rate of the network, meaning how much traffic is flowing through the network divided by the network's throughput. As you approach a level of traffic equal to the available throughput, latency trends infinitely higher. On this delay curve we can impose some utility thresholds. These thresholds are the levels of latency which are important to different groups of users because of how that latency guarantee improves their economic outcomes. Finding the point on the curve where each threshold intersects will tell us what level of traffic we can guarantee that level of latency for. Essentially, there exists a finite supply of speed on a network and the highest utility users of that speed are willing to pay more for it. I like to think of this similarly to expedited shipping options on Amazon. This is why we say speed is money, and why we can create a Latency Marketplace. The only way to increase the supply of speed is to fundamentally increase network throughput. This is what we work on at Optimum by using Random Linear Network Coding. The same relationship between traffic and throughput still applies, but now the delay curve is shifted out further to the right. Now more traffic can be processed at the same latency, or the same traffic can be processed at a lower latency. More speed available to the network. More value unlocked for the network’s users. Crucially, that value is no longer only reserved for those who can afford to sit closest to the machine. Expanding the supply of speed widens who can reach each latency threshold, keeping the network's advantage decentralized rather than concentrated in the hands of a few. When nodes join Optimum and participate, they reap the benefits, but they also add to the capacity. Rather than vying against each other in a zero-sum game, nodes help themselves and others.

With a decade of experience: 🟢The Merge on the Besu client team 🟢Built at Blocknative 🟢Co-founded HellHound @sajidazouarhi - @get_optimum Chief Product Officer - is joining @ETHSofiaBG on September 24 in Sofia 🇧🇬 ♾ Optimum is building the Universal Data Acceleration Network powered by Random Linear Network Coding. Set our calendar: blockchainweek.bg

Meet Lewej Whitelow: Senior Technical Program Manager at Optimum leading protocol development & releases for mump2p. A battle-tested Ethereum ecosystem veteran, he brings deep Web3 product influence from his past TPM roles at OP Labs (Optimism) and Blocknative. 🚀⛓️ @get_optimum