From: thepipeline_xyz
Asynchronous execution is one of Monad’s four core innovations, contributing to a system so performant it can process 10,000 transactions per second at sub-cent gas fees [00:00:08], [00:00:14], [00:00:20].
On a fundamental level, asynchronous execution allows for significantly larger block sizes compared to traditional blockchain architectures [00:00:29], [00:00:32].
Traditional Blockchain Transaction Flow
Typically, when a user interacts with a blockchain (e.g., via a wallet), a transaction is sent through an RPC server to a set of validators that maintain a mempool [00:01:15], [00:01:21], [00:01:28], [00:01:30]. One validator is chosen as the leader at a given time, building a block from these mempool transactions and ordering them [00:01:38], [00:01:43].
In most traditional blockchains, the block time (the interval from t0 to t1) is shared between transaction execution and consensus [00:01:52], [00:01:59], [00:02:08]. The time allocated for execution is often much smaller than the time required for consensus, as network messages involved in achieving consensus consume the majority of the block time budget [00:02:38], [00:02:45], [00:02:48].
Asynchronous Execution with Parallelism
Asynchronous execution is effective when combined with parallelism [00:02:58], [00:03:06]. Monad employs multiple threads to separate execution and consensus along the same timeline [00:03:10], [00:03:20].
For instance, while Block 0’s consensus is being finalized on one thread, the execution of Block 0 can occur on a separate thread during the subsequent block time [00:03:32], [00:03:40], [00:03:43]. This means the entire block time is dedicated to execution, rather than a small segment [00:03:51].
Impact on Block Sizes and Gas Limits
The direct consequence of this architectural shift is a massive expansion of the gas limit for a block [00:03:59], [00:04:17]. By dedicating the full block time to execution, the block’s capacity for transactions, measured by gas, significantly increases [00:04:19].
Benefits for Developers and Users
The expansion of block sizes through asynchronous execution offers several advantages:
- For App Developers: It allows them to write more secure code without the constraint of increasing gas costs for end-users [00:00:37], [00:00:38], [00:00:41]. With expanded gas limits, Monad opens up new design spaces, enabling developers to leverage cutting-edge primitives like proof verification and signature aggregation [00:00:52], [00:00:55].
- For End Users: Transactions become much cheaper and faster [00:00:46], [00:00:49].
Monad’s Innovations
Monad’s performance stems from a combination of innovations:
- Parallelism: Execution occurs across multiple threads [00:03:32], [00:04:37].
- Pipelining: Steps like consensus and execution are pipelined across threads; for example, Block 0’s consensus is followed by its execution on a separate thread [00:04:44], [00:04:50].
- Asynchronous Execution: The separation of consensus on one thread and execution on another [00:05:05], [00:05:08], [00:05:21].
This blend of Asynchronous and Parallel Execution is what makes Monad a high-performance system, setting the stage for the future of high-performance blockchains and their applications and potential to deliver high throughput [00:05:29].