Sei v2 to include EVM compatibility

Sei Labs introduced version 2 upgrades for its Sei L1 network which includes support for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) by adding Geth, a popular Ethereum programming language.

Layer-1 blockchain Sei plans to provide support for EVM which would allow developers to migrate existing Ethereum-powered smart contacts to the platform and build decentralized applications (dapps) compatible with the Ethereum standard on Sei. 

The network, said to be designed for swift and cheap crypto trading, will add EVM compatibility by onboarding Geth, a popular Ethereum software widely used by developers for building dapps and web3 solutions that run atop crypto’s second-largest blockchain by market cap. 

Sei Labs said the upgrade code has been audited and will be released in Q1 2024.

Some examples of applications that would benefit from this approach are scalable high-performance dexes of any kind, massive multiplayer games, global payment and settlement applications, and NFT projects looking to service mass global audiences. In short: applications that aspire to achieve mass adoption.

Sei v2 announcement.

Sei Labs said the upgrade code has been audited and will be released in Q1 2024, however claims of being “the first parallelized EVM blockchain” were contested by Austin Federa, head of strategy at the Solana Foundation.

Sei’s v1 beta mainnet engineered using Cosmos SDK launched in August 2023 after California-based Sei Labs raised $30 million from investors like Jump Trading and Multicoin capital over two fundraising rounds.

V2 upgrades would push Sei into a competitive EVM market against custom-built networks targeting traders such as Kava and Kujira. DefiLlama data recorded Sei’s total value locked (TVL) at just over $3 million. Kava and Kujirva both boasted TVL’s above $50 million in comparison at press time. 

Sei’s native token SEI traded 10% down on Nov. 29 amid a broad market dip following Bitcoin’s play for $40,000 and beyond.