From: thepipeline_xyz
The initial inspiration to build Monad arose from the founders’ extensive background in building high-performance systems and their later experiences within the blockchain space [00:00:03].
Background in High-Frequency Trading
James and the speaker met in 2014 while working together on a high-frequency trading team at Jump Trading [00:00:17]. Their primary role was to build a full trading system from scratch [00:00:25]. This involved processing vast amounts of data packets from exchanges, making rapid trading decisions, and sending orders back out to the exchange [00:00:31].
The high-frequency trading environment is intensely competitive, where the speed of decision-making and order execution directly determines success [00:00:39]. This competitive pressure necessitated continuous iterations of system improvement, focusing on shaving off latency and building exceptionally performant systems [00:01:04].
Transition to Crypto and Identifying a Need
Fast forward to 2021, James and the rest of their team transitioned to the crypto team at Jump, immediately engaging with DeFi projects [00:01:18]. James, in particular, spent about six months working on Solana DeFi [00:01:35].
During this period, they recognized a significant demand for more performant blockchains in general [00:01:41]. Crucially, they identified a particular need for a more performant Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) [00:01:46]. They observed that existing EVM implementations were inefficient and had not been optimized to the same rigorous level as the trading systems they previously built [00:01:51].
The Genesis of Monad
The founders realized their background in building highly performant systems from the ground up was perfectly suited to tackle the challenges of optimizing EVM performance [00:02:00]. They understood that achieving these optimizations would be a long-term endeavor [00:02:04].
The initial inspiration for Monad was thus a blend of their prior experience in creating performant systems for a different domain and their direct interaction with Solana and Ethereum [00:02:10]. Witnessing the performance differences and recognizing the substantial optimization potential within the EVM space ultimately led to the inception of Monad [00:02:27].