Optimum Protocol Aims to Revolutionize Blockchain Data Transmission

MIT Professor Muriel Médard has been studying network coding and communication for over two decades. She recently discussed how efficiently data is coded and transmitted in a decentralized market, saying 'In a decentralized market, how efficiently you code and move information is more competitive than where you are physically.'

The professor applied Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) to speed up data propagation, creating the 'Optimum' protocol. Optimum is not a new blockchain or Layer 2 solution but rather a high-speed communication network for blockchains.

Valley Data, which accounts for around 14% of Ethereum's total staking, uses Optim and has over $30 billion in assets. The professor explained that RLNC can restore original data even if parts are missing during transmission, making it more efficient than the traditional gossip method used by blockchains.

Optimum was tested on Ethereum and showed a 2.4 times faster block propagation speed and an 8 times improvement in data delivery time consistency compared to Ethereum's existing networking method. The professor aims to expand Optimum to other blockchains, such as BNB Chain and Solana, where data propagation is a bottleneck.

The goal of Optimum is to break the trade-off between speed, stability, and decentralization that current blockchain networks face.