Some key points from Optimum co-founder and MIT professor @MurielMedard's conversation with @Genzio at TOKEN2049 Singapore! 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: → Why data transmission could be one of blockchain's biggest performance bottlenecks → Why improving existing blockchains is becoming an important part of the conversation around scaling → How faster, more consistent data delivery can benefit Ethereum validators → Optimum's progress from testnet trials to Mainnet, including the scale of ETH associated with its boosted validator infrastructure → The potential for FlexNodes to let more people contribute to blockchain data distribution without running validator hardware → What Muriel has noticed about growing institutional interest in blockchain infrastructure. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑶𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎'𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚, 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒖𝒎'𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. Definitely worth checking out the full interview below👇

One week on Mainnet, and @get_optimum has added another 1.09M ETH to its TVB. That brings the total to 2.49M ETH, worth approximately $5.78B That's a significant jump in just seven days. The next thing I'll be watching is how these numbers develop as more validators and operators come on board. Week one is done, Let's see what comes next ∞

𝗦𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗺𝗽𝟮𝗽? ∞ Developed by @get_optimum , mump2p is a P2P protocol that helps Ethereum block data reach other computers across the network faster Rather than relying on GossipSub alone, it uses Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) to make block data propagation more efficient. It's now live on Ethereum mainnet, delivering block data 2.5–3.5× faster on average.

Pantera Capital is talking about tokenized assets and AI agents taking on more commercial activity. But if agents are going to carry out transactions, we need to talk about the limits of what they can do... An agent having the ability to transact doesn't mean it should have unlimited access 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻. It lets us define what AI agents are allowed to do, set boundaries on their permissions, and track the transactions they carry out. At @RialoHQ’s Oct 7 Builder Hub, we saw a project tackling one of the key questions around AI agents: how to define their permissions and track their transactions. 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 👇 youtu.be/MFx-15p-7P0?si=z0-K…

𝗢𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗨𝗠 𝗫 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 Optimum has officially entered Ethereum mainnet after 12–15 months of testing with validator partners. Founded in spring/summer 2024, the project aims to make blockchain networking more efficient. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦. 👇 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 - ~$3.4B in TVB, covering ~22,000 validators and 1.42M ETH - TVB is doubling about every two weeks - Blocks propagate ~3x faster on average - Most of Ethereum's top 20 validators have registered, adopted, or are onboarding 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘 Ethereum's bottleneck isn't just computation. Hundreds of thousands of validators must synchronize within 12 seconds, while libp2p's repeated data transmissions contribute to congestion. The Ethereum Foundation took over its maintenance after other maintainers were no longer available 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗠𝗨𝗠𝗣𝟮𝗣 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣𝗦 Optimum encodes data into mathematical equations to reduce duplication and improve transmission efficiency. Muriel Médard describes the method as mathematically optimal. It also leverages existing internet infrastructure instead of requiring expensive, dedicated systems 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦 - Setup takes around 20 minutes - Compatible with all consensus and execution clients - Runs alongside libp2p, so either system can continue if the other fails - Delivers benefits roughly 90% of the time - Free for validators The team's message: "Speed is money." THE TEAM Muriel Médard is an MIT professor and member of scientific and engineering academies in the US, UK, and Germany. Kent Lin has been in crypto since 2017, with experience at McKinsey, GSR Ventures, and the Harvard Blockchain Club. He also founded McKinsey Crypto DAO. 𝗠𝗘𝗩 & 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧'𝗦 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 Faster networking can create advantages in block value, MEV, and arbitrage. Optimum sees potential beyond ~$100B in staked ETH, extending into trillion-dollar trading markets. The roadmap includes deeper Ethereum adoption and expansion to other chains, with the next network announcement coming soon. 🃏 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗕𝗢 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 A collection of 999 soulbound NFTs distributed gradually through partner events and AMAs, with some reserved for the Blocmates community. gMum @get_optimum