An Overview of Sei — Layer 1 on Cosmos SDK

The main goal of the Sei Network is to provide access to financial services, including microcredits and fast payments. This makes the network convenient for deploying a DeFi ecosystem.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the Sei blockchain, its technology, and try to find out when the SEI token will be released and whether it's worth waiting for a drop.

The idea for the project emerged in 2018 when the founders of Sei noticed a need for a decentralized financial system that would provide high transaction speed and security, as well as give users access to new financial tools. According to information on GitHub and LinkedIn, Sei developers include Andreas Harvaldsen, Alexander Sandler, Tobias Widvik, Jayendra Jog, and Philip Su.

Another goal of Sei developers is to provide users with the ability to store, exchange, and invest in cryptocurrencies. The project uses its own protocol and offers various financial services, including lending, insurance, and investing.

According to information from the analytical resource Crunchbase, Sei Labs raised $35 million in two investment rounds. Cryptocurrency funds such as Jump Crypto, OKX Exchange, MH Ventures, Bixin Ventures, No Limit Holdings, and ten other major cryptocurrency companies invested in the project.

The latest funding round for the project was closed on April 11, 2023. Sei Labs was valued at $800 million.

Sei is built on the Cosmos SDK, which is an environment for developing custom cryptocurrency networks in the ATOM blockchain ecosystem. With its functional features, anyone can build their own blockchain, DeFi project, and application using open documentation and public code in libraries. 

Here are some technical features of the Sei blockchain:

● Proprietary Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which is based on proof of ownership and transaction confirmation through token staking;

● Three-tier architecture, which includes a client layer, a service layer, and a blockchain platform layer;

● High performance, allowing the network to process up to 20,000 transactions per second;

● Built-in support for smart contracts in Rust and Solidity programming languages.

The native SEI token will act as an internal asset, responsible for commissions, staking, and project management. So far, the project's Mainnet (main network) has not been launched, so actions are limited to the test network. Here is a list of activities on the Testnet to qualify for a potential airdrop:

● Download the Leap Wallet;

● Claim test tokens on the site and USDC on the corresponding resource. You can also request test SEI coins in the Leap Wallet;

● Complete the Blocked Protocol quests;

● Perform swaps through DEX Sparrow Swap.

With each passing day, more and more projects are being built on SEI, so it is necessary to keep up with the network and interact with it more often, which can lead to rewards for early activity.

Dozens of projects in various blockchain directions are actively developing in the Sei ecosystem: DeFi, cryptocurrency wallets, Gaming, NFT, Media, etc. This is also related to the ease of launching your dApp and using open-source code for programming.

You can find a full list of Sei applications on the website in the "Ecosystem" section. Most projects are still in the development stage.