11.02.2025
Somnia 101
Somnia Is Living Up to Its Promises: Breaking Records and Exceeding Expectations
Somnia DevNet Performance Report
The above graph represents GigaGas per second in Somnia network, measuring gas consumption over the testing period.
Abstract
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the performance capabilities of the Somnia blockchain network. Rigorous testing was conducted across key functionalities such as ERC-20 transfers, Uniswap v3 swaps, NFT minting, and native token transfers. The results illustrate Somnia’s groundbreaking throughput, scalability, and efficiency, supported by detailed latency metrics and advanced engineering methodologies.
Somnia has set new benchmarks in blockchain performance, achieving the following:
- 1.05 Million TPS for ERC-20 transfers with sub-second latencies (mean: 860ms).
- Industry-leading performance for NFT minting and Uniswap v3 swaps.
- Advanced technologies like Accelerated Sequential Execution, IceDB, and MultiStream Consensus drive scalability and efficiency. Somnia outperforms leading Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks in throughput, latency, and scalability, positioning itself as a premier blockchain solution for mass consumer real-time applications.
Introduction
Blockchain technology continues to demand higher performance to support complex applications at scale. Somnia addresses these challenges with innovative architecture and execution mechanisms. Somnia blockchain has achieved unprecedented transaction speeds, demonstrating the incredible potential of this technology to support high-performance applications. This report presents exhaustive details of performance metrics obtained through targeted tests and explains the underlying importance of each parameter in achieving an optimal blockchain environment.
Test Environment and Methodology
To achieve and validate the exceptional performance metrics outlined in this report, the Somnia blockchain utilized a robust, distributed test environment comprising high-performance machines in geographically diverse regions.
Specifications:
Europe-west1:
- 50 c3d-standard-30 machines
- 30 vCPUs per machine
- 120GB RAM per machine
- 4th generation AMD EPYC processors
US-central1:
- 50 c4-standard-32 machines
- 32 vCPUs per machine
- 120GB RAM per machine
- 5th generation Intel Xeon processors
This setup ensured sufficient computational capacity to handle millions of transactions per second while simulating real-world conditions across multiple data centers.
Performance testing was conducted using:
- 100k accounts generating random transactions.
- Transactions submitted via Somnia’s BLS submission flow.
- End to end latency measured through the the JSON RPC WebSocket API.
- Metrics include throughput (TPS) and latency, measured end-to-end from client submission to network confirmation.
Advanced Technologies Leveraged
1. Accelerated Sequential Execution: This feature centers on an EVM bytecode-to-machine code compiler. By translating the bytecode into highly optimized native code, Somnia ensures unparalleled single-core performance without the overhead of runtime interpretation or parallelisation. This mechanism allows for predictable execution speeds and high throughput while avoiding the concurrency pitfalls of parallel execution. This ensures consistent speed even during high-load scenarios.
2. IceDB (Deterministic Database): Somnia’s custom-built database offers deterministic performance by eliminating the variability seen in traditional databases, providing consistent read/write times essential for accurate gas fee estimation, and completing reads and writes within 15-100 nanoseconds.
3. Advanced Compression Techniques: These methods drastically reduce bandwidth requirements by leveraging streaming compression algorithms to encode redundant transaction data efficiently, enabling scalability for millions of transactions per second.
4. MultiStream Consensus: A novel consensus mechanism that decouples data production from validation, ensuring high data throughput while maintaining security and decentralization.
Performance Analysis
Understanding Latency Metrics
Latency is a critical measure of blockchain performance, reflecting the delay experienced from transaction submission to confirmation. Somnia’s performance metrics surpass industry standards.
1. ERC-20 Token Transfers
- Throughput: 1.05 Million transactions per second (TPS).
- Setup: Random token transfers between accounts using 100k accounts.
- Execution: Applied by separate nodes.
Latency Metrics:
| Metric | Value |
| Mean | 860ms |
| P50 | 850ms |
| P95 | 1800ms |
| P99 | 1960ms |
Significance: ERC-20 transfers represent the foundation of a blockchain’s functionality. High throughput and low latency in these operations enable seamless token-based applications, including payments, staking, and DeFi protocols. Somnia’s mean latency of 860ms significantly outperforms Ethereum’s 12-20 seconds and other Layer 1 networks averaging over 1-2 seconds under similar conditions. Tail latencies (P95 and P99) demonstrate resilience even during peak loads, providing a seamless user experience
2. Uniswap v3 Swaps
The Uniswap-v3 Smart Contracts were deployed completely unmodified using the standard Uniswap deploy-v3 tool.
- Throughput: 50,000 DEX swaps per second (TPS).
- Setup: Random swaps between two ERC-20 tokens across 100k accounts.
- Execution: Managed via JSON RPC WebSocket API.
Latency Metrics:
| Metric | Value |
| Mean | 747ms |
| P50 | 743ms |
| P95 | 1580ms |
| P99 | 1900ms |
Significance: Uniswap v3 swaps highlight the complexity of decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Achieving 50k TPS with low latency supports high-volume trading and improved liquidity management. Layer 1 chains typically struggle with high-latency DEX operations. Somnia’s mean latency of 747ms makes it a standout performer, facilitating faster swaps and improved liquidity management compared to other chains such as Polygon or Avalanche.
Key Insight: This test highlights Somnia’s capability to handle high transaction volumes even within a single pool, where multiple transactions hit the same storage slots. Parallel execution approaches in other networks often struggle with this scenario unless specific optimizations are introduced in the code to avoid contention. Somnia’s architecture ensures seamless performance without requiring such modifications.
3. NFT Minting
- Throughput: 300,000 mints per second.
- Setup: Using OpenZeppelin ERC-721 contracts, each mint transaction assigned an incrementing token ID to the sender.
- Execution: Applied across 100k accounts.
Latency Metrics:
| Metric | Value |
| Mean | 1004ms |
| P50 | 1008ms |
| P95 | 1920ms |
| P99 | 1990ms |
Significance: NFT minting capabilities are critical for the scalability of NFT marketplaces and gaming ecosystems. Somnia’s high throughput ensures frictionless user experiences even during peak demand. NFT marketplaces often face congestion issues during high-demand periods. Somnia’s ability to mint 300,000 NFTs per second with a mean latency of 1004ms ensures scalability and frictionless experiences.
Key Insight: NFT minting execution approaches in other networks often struggle with this scenario unless specific optimizations are introduced in their EVM-compatible code to avoid contention. Somnia’s architecture ensures seamless performance without requiring such modifications.
Technical Insights
Explanation of Key Terms
- TPS (Transactions Per Second): Measures the network’s capacity to handle transactions. High TPS is crucial for the scalability and smooth operation of decentralized applications.
- Latency Metrics: Indicates the delay between a transaction’s submission and confirmation. Lower latency enhances user experience, particularly for real-time applications.
- Mean Latency: Average time across all transactions.
- P50: Median latency, representing typical user experience.
- P95/P99: Tail latencies, showing worst-case delays under high load.
- Gigagas: A metric representing computational power. High Gigagas capacity supports complex smart contracts and bulk transactions.
Comparative Analysis
Performance Comparison
| Somnia | Ethereum | Polygon | Avalanche | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERC-20 Transfers TPS | 1.05 Million | ~15 | ~10,000 | ~4,500 |
| NFT Minting TPS | 300,000 | ~10 | ~5000 | ~2,000 |
| Mean Latency | 860ms (ERC-20) | 12-20s | ~2s | ~1.5s |
| P99 Latency | 1960ms (ERC-20) | ~60s | ~4s | ~3s |
Key Takeaways
- Throughput Leader: Somnia leads in transaction throughput across all tested scenarios, with up to 1.05 million TPS for ERC20 transfers.
- Latency Advantage: Sub-second mean latency, in most cases, ensures superior responsiveness compared to leading Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions.
- Scalability: Advanced compression techniques and the MultiStream Consensus enable Somnia to maintain performance at scale, surpassing industry benchmarks.
Conclusion
The Somnia blockchain delivers unparalleled performance across critical operations, including ERC-20 transfers, DEX swaps, NFT minting, and native transfers. Its high throughput, robust architecture, and low latency position it as a leader in blockchain scalability and efficiency.
Future Work
Somnia will continue to:
- Enhance latency and throughput through optimized protocols.
- Support emerging use cases requiring high scalability.
- Expand its ecosystem to serve diverse industries.
Stay updated with Somnia
Twitter – Discord – Telegram – Reddit – Lightpaper
