After years of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) is set to revolutionize the Web3 industry, according to Muriel Médard, an MIT professor and founder of blockchain infrastructure developer Optimum.
Optimum recently emerged from stealth mode as a decentralized memory infrastructure designed to enhance scalability in Web3. The platform leverages RLNC technology, which was initially developed by Professor Médard. RLNC is already being utilized in the 5G, satellite telecommunications, and Internet of Things (IoT) sectors.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Professor Médard explained that RLNC involves breaking a puzzle into smaller pieces, mixing them together into equations, and sending them to recipients. Even if some pieces are lost, the recipients can still reconstruct the entire puzzle from the pieces they receive. This approach eliminates the need to search for specific pieces and instead focuses on acquiring enough pieces for reconstruction.
RLNC technology has the potential to address critical scalability bottlenecks in blockchains. By encoding data into mathematical equations, RLNC enables faster transmission, reduced bandwidth usage, lower barriers to entry for flexnodes, and more reliable delivery. Médard believes that these advancements are crucial as blockchain adoption continues to grow for purposes such as payments, financial instruments, and national government strategies.
Optimum was founded by Médard and Nancy Lynch, an advisor and co-inventor of the Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus. Their vision is to bring the efficiency of traditional computer memory (RAM) to decentralized networks, laying the foundation for a breakthrough in Web3 infrastructure.
The potential use case of RLNC in Web3 has attracted notable backers, including Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Wormhole co-founder Robinson Burkey, Polychain chief technology officer Abhijeet Mahagaonkar, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, and Arthur Cheong, the founder and CEO of DeFiance Capital.
Scalability remains a significant challenge in the blockchain industry. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have faced scalability issues throughout their history. While competing networks have pledged to address these challenges, their track record has been far from perfect.
In recent years, the crypto payments landscape has evolved, shifting from tokens to stablecoins that offer faster and cheaper transactions. Stablecoins have become one of the most popular use cases for blockchain technology, particularly in the realm of payments and cross-border remittances.
Solana, a leading network for stablecoin adoption, has also struggled to scale with the increasing demand for payments and remittances. Despite piloting stablecoin payments with Visa and Shopify, Solana requires a significant boost in capacity to facilitate mainstream adoption.
RLNC technology holds immense promise for the Web3 industry, offering a solution to scalability challenges. As blockchain adoption continues to rise, the need for scalable solutions becomes even more critical. With Optimum’s decentralized memory infrastructure and RLNC technology, Web3 may finally achieve the scalability it needs to thrive.
