Monad cofounder Keone Hon has explained how the network plans to tackle one of blockchain’s ongoing scaling challenges: moving large blocks across a decentralized network without losing speed or decentralization. As Layer 1 chains pursue higher throughput, Hon believes that merely increasing block size is not sufficient. It can actually hurt performance if block propagation is not handled at the protocol level. Monad Unveils RaptorCast as Core Solution to Blockchain Scaling
Hon states that larger blocks take more time to propagate across a global validator set. When the time to propagate matches the block time, any benefits from higher throughput vanish. This issue has limited many high-performance blockchains and has led to trade-offs between speed, decentralization, and bandwidth use.
Monad’s solution is RaptorCast, a custom block propagation protocol that efficiently distributes large blocks without overloading individual validators. Rather than using simple broadcast or traditional gossip methods, RaptorCast employs fountain-style erasure coding to break blocks into encoded fragments that can be reconstructed from any sufficient subset.
With this approach, a block leader does not need to send the entire block to every validator. Instead, encoded fragments are shared across the validator set using a stake-weighted method. Validators then forward their fragments to peers, allowing the full block to be put together even if some data is delayed or lost. This design distributes bandwidth usage across the network while keeping latency low.
RaptorCast is a key factor that allows Monad to aim for frequent 400 millisecond block times with blocks that hold around 4,000 transactions, while still ensuring global decentralization and reasonable bandwidth needs. The protocol also includes cryptographic verification and packet authentication to prevent misuse and maintain security during multi-hop transmission.
Hon stressed that scaling a blockchain involves more than just raw throughput. It requires consideration of physical network limits. Meanwhile, Alchemy Pay announced a strategic integration with Monad. The partnership allows users worldwide to purchase Monad’s native token, MON, using familiar fiat payment methods, significantly easing access to the Monad ecosystem.
