Sei (SEI) is a Layer 1 blockchain built for one thing above all: raw speed for trading. Its signature feature is a 'parallelized EVM' — it's compatible with Ethereum's tools (so developers can port their apps easily) but runs many transactions at the same time instead of one-by-one, aiming for very high throughput and sub-second finality. That makes it especially suited to on-chain exchanges, perpetual futures and other high-frequency trading apps where speed matters most. SEI is the token used for fees, staking (securing the network) and governance. Supply is capped at 10 billion, with roughly two-thirds circulating.
Where it stands today: Sei is making a big, aggressive bet. In 2026 it committed to going 'EVM-only' (dropping its original dual-runtime design) and is rolling out a major upgrade called 'Giga' that targets an eye-watering 200,000 transactions per second with sub-half-second finality. It has attracted tens of millions of wallets and processed billions of transactions, with multiple DEXs and trading protocols already live. But it's a young, mid-sized chain in a brutally crowded field, and SEI trades down more than 90% from its 2024 peak. So today it's a technically ambitious, trading-focused chain betting that being the fastest place to trade will win it lasting adoption.