The Sei Network’s SEI token has experienced significant growth in recent weeks, thanks to the rise in popularity of EVM-compliant blockchains and the parallelization process. The Sei Network, which was launched in August 2023, is a trading-focused blockchain that offers speed, low fees, and other features designed to support trading applications.
On-chain metrics for the Sei Network have been heating up, with the growth of ecosystem plays like SEIYAN and SEILOR tokens, as well as an increase in SEI futures open interest. These indicators suggest a mounting interest in the network among investors and traders.
The parallelized EVM narrative seems to be favoring holders of Sei Network’s SEI tokens, as they have seen gains of over 75% in the past week. In fact, the SEI tokens were the best-performers on the first day of 2024. EVM, short for Ethereum Virtual Machine, is a virtual computer where all smart contracts and Ethereum applications are deployed. An EVM-compliant blockchain is another network that can run such applications. Parallelization, on the other hand, is a relatively new blockchain process that settles multiple transactions simultaneously on the network.
The Sei Network, backed by prominent investors Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital, was specifically designed for speed, low fees, and other features that cater to trading apps. Although the network’s SEI tokens reached a $400 million capitalization within the first 24 hours after issuance, they experienced little growth in the following months due to subdued on-chain trading behavior. However, the recent trading frenzy in blockchains like Solana and Avalanche has led speculators to explore alternative blockchains, including Sei.
Data shows that on-chain metrics are rapidly heating up for the Sei Network, indicating bullish bets on ecosystem plays in the short term. The meme coin SEIYAN, which appears to be a cult term for SEI holders, has gained a staggering 400% in the past week, serving as a proxy for the broader growth of the Sei ecosystem. Currently, SEIYAN tokens are the most valued Sei-based token.
Furthermore, there is over $5.5 million locked on Sei-based decentralized applications (dapps), with trading service Astroport holding more than 95% of that amount. Additionally, the liquid staking protocol Kryptonite’s SEILOR tokens have gained 80% in the past 24 hours, suggesting that users are becoming more interested in fundamental plays.
The increase in SEI futures open interest, which refers to the number of unsettled contracts, is another indicator of growing trading interest in the tokens. The open interest has jumped from $69 million at the start of December to $228 million on Tuesday.
The hype surrounding Sei could be attributed to an upcoming update that developers claim will make the network the fastest blockchain in the market. The update will also introduce features that allow project developers to deploy audited smart contracts from EVM-compatible networks and implement parallelization. The developers have stated that the major upgrade is nearly code complete and will be released in a public testnet in Q1 2024, with deployment to the mainnet expected in H1 2024.
Overall, the Sei Network and its SEI token have gained significant attention and popularity in recent weeks. The rise in popularity of EVM-compliant blockchains and the parallelization process have contributed to the growth of the network. With on-chain metrics heating up and the promise of a major upgrade, it will be interesting to see how the Sei Network continues to evolve in the crypto market.