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About Optimum
Optimum is a data propagation network for blockchains that replaces gossip relaying with random linear network coding. It targets the broadcast bottleneck for blocks and transactions: hop-by-hop relaying of identical data wastes bandwidth and adds tail latency, and the spread in block arrival times directly affects missed votes and MEV capture. Optimum slices transactions, blocks and blobs, encodes them into random linear combinations and distributes them, so a receiver decodes once enough fragments arrive; mump2p attaches to existing nodes over pub-sub, and Flexnodes are run by anyone contributing bandwidth.
It works by slicing data into fragments and mixing them linearly: a sender encodes transactions, blocks or blobs into pieces and distributes them, and a receiver decodes once enough arrive, without waiting on a particular hop in order. mump2p attaches to existing nodes over pub-sub, so validators and sequencers subscribe to the topics they need; Flexnodes are run by parties contributing bandwidth and paid per volume forwarded. On chains with tight block windows, broadcast turns from hop-by-hop relay into parallel distribution.
Optimum, a high-performance memory infrastructure for any blockchain, was co-founded by MIT professor Muriel Médard, inventor of Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC), along with Dr. Kishori Konwar and Kent Lin. In February 2025, the project emerged from stealth and secured an angel round, backed by prominent Web3 figures, to launch its full-chain expansion solution. In April 2025, Optimum completed an $11 million seed round led by 1kx, with participation from Robot Ventures, Finality Capital, Spartan, and others. The funding supports its private testnet, which went live in March 2025 for L1/L2s and validators, and the development of its first product, mump2p, an RLNC-based data propagation protocol for Ethereum that reduces bandwidth usage and improves block delivery speed.
On 20 October 2026 Optimum's mump2p block propagation protocol went live on Ethereum mainnet with 16 node operators and about 22,000 validator keys, covering more than 1.4 million ETH in stake, roughly 3.4 billion dollars of what the team calls total value boosted, or over 3 percent of all staked ETH. Partners include Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish and Bitcoin Suisse.
mump2p runs as a sidecar gateway above libp2p without replacing GossipSub or touching consensus and execution clients, using random linear network coding to fragment and reconstruct data. Optimum reports block delivery 2.42 times faster than baseline and arrival variance about 7.88 times lower, with blocks seen first in nine of ten measurements, and ether.fi now mandates it across all 12 of its node operators.
Future strategy and roadmap: Optimum will extend mump2p, its block-propagation protocol already live on Ethereum mainnet, to more high-throughput chains and onboard more validators beyond current operators Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish and Bitcoin Suisse. The team plans to refine deRAM decentralized memory and its billing mechanism, extending the RLNC-based acceleration from staking to trading and AI workloads. With ether.fi already mandating adoption across its operators, the next step is to lift mump2p coverage beyond today 3%-plus of staked ETH through node incentives.
Co-founder and CEO Muriel Médard holds the NEC chair at MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, did her undergraduate and doctoral work at MIT, co-invented RLNC and ranks first worldwide in network coding citations; she was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2020.
Co-founder Kishori Konwar completed a postdoc in network coding at MIT, then worked as a senior engineer and scientist at Meta, with earlier experience as a quant at Goldman Sachs. Co-founder Kent Lin was a partner at GSR Ventures, presided over the Harvard Blockchain Club while doing an MBA and founded the McKinsey Crypto DAO. Advisers include Nancy Lynch, who produced the first mathematical proof of Byzantine fault tolerance in 1985.