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Sei is a blockchain that started as a Cosmos network and in April 2026 fully transitioned to EVM architecture. Today it is a pure EVM Layer 1 with parallel transaction processing, 400ms finality, and significantly lower fees than Ethereum.
Key Takeaways
- Sei v2 is the first parallelized EVM - the network runs transactions simultaneously without manually defining dependencies, delivering up to 12,500 TPS on the current mainnet.
- Sei Giga targets 200,000+ TPS with Autobahn consensus and sub-400ms finality - 500x faster than Ethereum.
What Is Sei EVM?
Sei EVM is a Layer 1 blockchain with full support for the Ethereum ecosystem and native parallel transaction processing. Originally the network ran on Cosmos and focused on digital asset exchange. In 2024, the v2 upgrade added EVM support - any Ethereum application could run on Sei without code changes. In April 2026, the SIP-3 upgrade made Sei a pure EVM Layer 1: the Cosmos stack was deprecated entirely.
The network currently holds $61M in Total Value Locked across DeFi protocols, with $238M in assets bridged onto the chain from Ethereum and other networks. The native token of the network is SEI, used for gas fees, staking, and protocol governance. For more about the Sei blockchain, its history and development - see our guide What Is the Sei Blockchain.
If you have ever used Ethereum, Arbitrum, or Polygon - you will feel right at home on Sei EVM. The same Solidity contracts, the same ERC20 and ERC721 token standards, the same familiar developer tooling. Only significantly faster and at a fraction of the cost.
What Is Parallelized EVM?
A standard EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) processes transactions sequentially - one after another. A parallelized EVM runs them simultaneously, automatically detecting which transactions do not overlap in state. If a conflict occurs, those transactions are processed in order - determinism is preserved while throughput scales dramatically.
How Sei EVM Works
Sei uses delegated Proof-of-Stake (dPoS) with Twin-Turbo consensus. Validators execute transactions in parallel optimistically - assuming no conflicts - then check for state collisions and re-run only the conflicting ones sequentially. Determinism is preserved; throughput scales. For EVM compatibility, Sei embeds Geth directly into its binary, ensuring full Solidity bytecode compatibility.
Key Advantages of Sei EVM
Parallel Processing Without Configuration: Sei handles up to 12,500 TPS - developers do not need to manually define state dependencies. Web2-like UX directly on L1.
400ms Finality: 30x faster than Ethereum. Essential for high-frequency trading, gaming, and real-time financial applications.
EVM Without L2 Trade-Offs: Any Ethereum contract deploys without code changes - no centralized sequencers, no rollup proof costs, no challenge periods.
Full EVM Tooling Out of the Box: Foundry, Hardhat, and Remix work without any modifications. Minimal barrier to entry for Ethereum developers.
Sei Giga on the Horizon: The Autobahn consensus upgrade with multi-proposer architecture targets 200,000+ TPS and 5 gigagas throughput - 50x above current network performance.
How Sei EVM Differs From the Original Sei Blockchain
Before 2024, Sei was a Cosmos blockchain with CosmWasm smart contracts in Rust. Here is what changed with the v2 upgrade and SIP-3:
| Feature | Sei (before v2) | Sei EVM (v2+) |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Cosmos SDK | EVM (Geth) |
| Smart Contracts | CosmWasm (Rust) | Solidity / EVM bytecode |
| Parallel Execution | Limited | Optimistic, automatic |
| Ethereum Compatibility | No | Full |
| EVM Tooling | No | Foundry, Hardhat, Remix |
| CosmWasm Status | Primary environment | Deprecated (SIP-3, 2026) |
Sei went from a closed Cosmos network to a full EVM blockchain. For regular users this means one thing: SEI is now stored in any standard EVM wallet, all familiar tokens and DeFi applications work natively, and there is no need to learn a new ecosystem from scratch.
Sei EVM vs. Other Parallel Blockchains
Parallel execution is not unique to Sei - but Sei EVM is the only parallelized blockchain that is also fully EVM-compatible at the L1 level. Solana achieves parallelism through Sealevel, its own runtime that requires developers to declare account dependencies upfront and is entirely incompatible with Solidity or EVM tooling. Aptos uses Block-STM (Software Transactional Memory) with Move as the smart contract language - again, a closed ecosystem for Ethereum developers. Sei EVM delivers the same class of parallel throughput while remaining 100% compatible with existing Ethereum contracts, wallets, and developer tools - no code changes, no new language, no new tooling required.
How to Get Started With Sei EVM Blockchain
Gem Wallet supports Sei EVM natively - users get full access to the network: storing SEI, transfers, staking, and token swaps in one self-custody app without registration or identity verification.
Download Sei EVM Wallet and create a wallet in one minute. Save your secret phrase securely - it gives full control over your assets without third parties.
Fund your wallet - transfer SEI from an exchange, receive it from another user via QR code, or buy SEI directly in the app with a credit card.
Manage your assets - send, receive, stake SEI to earn ~4.7-6% APY (at the time of writing), or swap to ETH and other assets through the built-in DEX aggregator at the best available rate.
