Supernova Upgrade Decouples Consensus from Execution on MultiversX Blockchain

A new protocol upgrade called Supernova is set to revolutionize the way blockchains scale. Developed by MultiversX, this innovation decouples consensus from execution, allowing validators to agree on blocks before processing transactions.

Currently, most high-performance blockchains run into a bottleneck where validators must execute transactions in real-time to confirm their validity. This shared constraint can hinder network speed and limit the complexity of transactions that can be processed.

The Supernova upgrade changes this paradigm by separating consensus from execution. Validators verify blocks without re-executing transactions, while execution continues asynchronously in the background.

This decoupling creates a new challenge: ensuring the validity of proposed transactions before execution catches up. MultiversX addresses this issue with a virtual mempool state that tracks pending nonces and expected balance consumption.