The Problem

Most current blockchains, even those supporting EVM and smart contracts, face significant limitations in performance, scalability, and transaction costs, making them unsuitable for applications with large user bases.

Projects in GameFi, Metaverse, and SocialFi often resort to Web2 infrastructure instead of being fully on-chain due to slow transaction speeds, long finality times, and high fees. This prevents large-scale Web3 applications from becoming a reality.

Even major blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Avalanche can only handle hundreds to a few thousand transactions per second (TPS) under optimal conditions. These numbers are insufficient for real-time applications, especially during high-demand events like NFT minting or large-scale DEX trading.

The key challenge is: How do we build an EVM-compatible blockchain that maintains Ethereum ecosystem compatibility while achieving performance levels comparable to centralized Web2 systems?

What is Somnia?

Somnia is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain designed to process real-time applications at a massive scale. It achieves over 1,000,000 TPS with a finality time of under 1 second, thanks to innovations in consensus mechanisms, transaction processing, and data management.

With this architecture, Somnia aims to be the ideal infrastructure for on-chain GameFi, SocialFi, Metaverse, and DeFi applications, enabling millions of users to interact simultaneously while maintaining low costs and decentralization.

To solve the performance bottleneck, Somnia integrates multiple cutting-edge technologies, including:

- MultiStream Consensus

- IceDB Database

- Compiled Bytecode Execution

- Streaming Compression Techniques

These innovations help Somnia accelerate transaction processing, optimize bandwidth, ensure data consistency, and minimize network latency—creating a powerful, decentralized, and highly compatible EVM blockchain.

Key Features of Somnia

Unparalleled Performance

Over 1,000,000 TPS

Finality under 1 second

Full EVM Compatibility

Deploy Ethereum smart contracts without modifications

MultiStream Consensus

A hybrid Proof of Stake (PoS) model, combining independent data chains with a centralized consensus chain

IceDB: Ultra-Fast Database

Custom database with read/write speeds as low as 15-100 nanoseconds

Single-Core Optimization

Instead of parallel processing, Somnia optimizes execution on a single CPU core for peak efficiency

Streaming Compression

Reduces node-to-node bandwidth usage by compressing transaction data streams

BLS Signature Aggregation

Combines multiple signatures into one, reducing data size and improving validation speed

Decentralized Data Model

Each validator maintains its own independent data chain, enabling efficient parallel processing

Optimized for Real-Time Applications

Built specifically for Games, Metaverse, and SocialFi applications requiring instant responsiveness

How Somnia Works

Somnia's Operational Mechanism

Transaction Initiation

Users submit transactions to any validator, which records them in its Data Chain.

Transaction Execution

Validators process transactions using an EVM Compiler, converting Ethereum bytecode into x86 machine code for ultra-fast execution.

Data Compression & Transmission

New transactions are compressed via Streaming Compression, leveraging historical data to reduce size.

Consensus & State Updates

The Consensus Chain collects the latest state from all Data Chains.

Finalization & Snapshot Creation

Once consensus is reached, the updated state is recorded across all nodes via IceDB, ensuring data consistency.

Rewards & Penalties

The system distributes staking rewards to high-performing validators and slashes malicious validators for bad behavior.

Conclusion

Somnia is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain built for massive real-time applications, offering unparalleled performance with over 1 million TPS, sub-1-second finality, and low fees.

With its MultiStream Consensus and IceDB database, Somnia achieves the perfect balance of decentralization, security, and scalability—matching the speed of centralized Web2 systems while maintaining on-chain integrity.

Most importantly, Somnia is fully EVM-compatible, allowing Ethereum projects to migrate effortlessly without modifying smart contracts. This makes it an ideal choice for GameFi, Metaverse, SocialFi, and DeFi projects looking for a high-performance, low-cost blockchain solution.