As blockchain ecosystems evolve, the speed and efficiency of node infrastructure have transcended technical considerations to become strategic necessities. Leading this innovation is Austin Federa, former Head of Strategy at the Solana Foundation, who is preparing to unveil DoubleZero, a protocol aimed at transforming how blockchains communicate and scale.
In an expansive discussion with CoinDesk, Federa explored the motivations driving DoubleZero, the challenges it seeks to overcome, and the potential impacts of its vision for a high-performance networking layer as the cornerstone of next-generation decentralized systems.
DoubleZero was initially announced in December 2024 as a blockchain layer expected to outperform the internet in speed, making it essential for crypto transactions. Since then, approximately 12.57% of SOL staked has been operating on the DoubleZero testnet, with the mainnet launch anticipated for September.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
CoinDesk: Can you explain how DoubleZero operates for someone unfamiliar with crypto?
Austin Federa: One of the simplest ways to describe what we’re building is as crypto’s equivalent of Flash Boys.
This marked a transformative moment in realizing that the edge in execution on centralized trading venues stemmed not just from trade logic or computer speed, but from the rapid exchange of data between market event points. This was a significant shift in the industry, as transit time hadn’t previously been a major focus.
Historically, you can look back at Formula 1 races from the 80s, where pit stops were leisurely; then someone recognized that optimizing those stops could save substantial time. It’s quite similar in trading dynamics.
For crypto, the concept of utilizing something faster than the public internet—with tech capabilities unavailable in the public domain—isn’t entirely new. However, prior to DoubleZero, such networks would have been managed by a single centralized entity, inhibiting independent contributors.
The fundamental technology, philosophy, and economic breakthrough of the DoubleZero protocol is its capacity to enable multiple contributors with their own fiber networks to integrate portions or the entirety of their fiber networks into the DoubleZero network, forming a vast, high-performance fiber mesh network connecting individuals globally.
CoinDesk: Why develop for Solana?
Federa: We aren’t actually built on Solana. We do utilize a separate ledger system, but it operates merely as an accounting database without supporting smart contracts.
The reason we prioritize supporting Solana is its uniqueness. Among fast blockchains, when comparing transaction speeds with node counts, no one else comes close to Solana.
Networks with similar performance to Solana typically have a fraction—1/5th to 1/10th—of the node count, creating an exponential communication challenge. More nodes entail a greater need for data transmission, which can become a bottleneck hindering fast network performance.
Thus, as blockchain networks scale, communication challenges become increasingly pronounced. Our ultimate goal is to enable blockchains to operate faster than the public internet without compromising node count or introducing centralization.
We believe DoubleZero holds broader applications beyond Solana and blockchain technology. However, it currently addresses the most pressing needs within these domains, with other blockchains not yet facing similar issues.
CoinDesk: How does staking on Solana relate to DoubleZero?
Federa: We have a stake pool that connects to nodes on DoubleZero. As a percentage of total stake, it’s relatively small—about 3 million SOL, out of 500 million SOL—thus it’s not a significant volume. Initially, this was intended to help subsidize validator costs on our testnet, but it turned out to attract considerable interest from participants wanting to engage with the testnet.
With the mainnet data launch in September, we anticipate integrating over 50 fiber links, an increase from the current eight. Many will showcase capacities ten times greater than existing connections, transitioning from 10 gigabit to 200 gigabit speeds.
We envision a future where, with sufficient stake on the DoubleZero network, Solana’s protocol designers can significantly enhance limits beyond public internet capabilities, leveraging more available capacity and lower latency connections. Thus, data transmission will not only support higher volumes but also reach destinations more rapidly.
CoinDesk: In this context, there are two options: the public internet or DoubleZero. If you need expedited results or other advantages for your transactions, does this create a performance disparity among Solana validators?
Federa: We often receive variations of this question. The essential consideration is whether the internet serves as a centralizing force. Essentially, about 20 companies dominate connectivity, and should OECD countries abruptly ban crypto, virtually all assets aside from Bitcoin would be severely affected.
Realistically, the goal isn’t to eliminate the internet, but rather to ensure it remains available as a fallback, providing a censorship-resistant pathway. Hence, if DoubleZero encounters outages or bad actors attempting to censor blocks or data, two key mechanisms will facilitate resilience:
Firstly, with nine independent contributors on the network, data can route around any problematic participants, allowing us to remove contributors if necessary. Secondly, we always have the public internet as a backup. While this might reduce Solana’s capacity from 500,000 transactions per second to 10,000, it’s still a viable fallback.
It’s like navigating traffic congestion; you might choose a less direct route temporarily.
CoinDesk: With mainnet launch imminent, what’s happening in the interim?
Federa: We’re engaged in extensive testing to ensure we’re fully prepared. Additionally, since this is a token-based initiative, a token launch will coincide with this rollout, also slated for September.
Read more: DoubleZero’s ‘New Internet’ for Blockchains Nabs $400M Valuation from Top Crypto VCs
