The blockchain ecosystem continues to evolve with innovative projects aiming to solve long-standing challenges like scalability, security, and decentralization. Among these, Aptos, Sui, and Linera stand out due to their shared origins: their founding teams consist of former members of Meta’s Diem and Novi projects. These next-generation layer-1 blockchains leverage advanced consensus mechanisms, novel programming languages, and unique tokenomics to push the boundaries of what’s possible in decentralized networks.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of these three "Meta-born" blockchains, their technological distinctions, and their potential impact on the wider crypto space.
Background: The Diem and Novi Connection
Diem, originally known as Libra, was Meta’s ambitious stablecoin project initiated in 2019. It aimed to create a global digital currency for payments but faced significant regulatory hurdles, leading to a pivot towards a stablecoin model and a rebrand to Diem. Despite these efforts, the project struggled to gain traction and was eventually sold by Meta for nearly $200 million in January of this year.
Novi was Meta’s complementary digital wallet project, designed as a pilot for Diem. It similarly failed to achieve widespread adoption. Meta announced that users would be unable to top up their Novi wallets after July 21st and would lose access entirely by September 1st.
The disbanding of these projects led a significant number of engineers and researchers to venture out and build new solutions. Aptos, Sui, and Linera were born from this exodus, earning them the collective nickname of "Meta-born" blockchains.
Aptos: The Front-Runner
Aptos is the most developed and well-known of the three projects. It has garnered significant market confidence, evidenced by its impressive fundraising: a total of $350 million across two rounds in a matter of months.
Its seed round of $150 million on March 15, 2022, and its Series A round of $200 million on July 25, 2022, were both led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Other investors included Multicoin Capital, FTX Ventures, and Binance Labs, showing a high degree of overlap with the investor base of networks like Solana.
Key Innovations of Aptos
The Move Programming Language
Aptos is built using the Move language, originally developed for the Diem project. Inspired by Rust, Move is not merely a smart contract language like Solidity; it is a programming language designed specifically for blockchain assets.
- Resource-Centric Model: Unlike Solidity, which treats tokens as numerical values (balances), Move treats them as
resources. This fundamental difference means resources are tightly encapsulated, must be tied to an account, and cannot be duplicated, created, or destroyed without explicit, verified instructions. This inherently prevents many common security vulnerabilities. - Enhanced Security: All Move code must pass strict bytecode verification before execution, eliminating runtime errors. It uses static typing, meaning most bugs are caught at compile time. Its contract system is also static, allowing developers to know which functions are called without runtime execution.
- Flexible Key Management: Aptos supports key rotation and new hybrid custody models. Users can delegate key rotation authority to one or multiple trusted entities, with policies definable directly within Move, significantly reducing the risk of private key compromise.
High Throughput with Block-STM
Aptos achieves high transactions per second (TPS) through its Block-STM parallel execution engine.
- Parallel Processing: This engine, developed during the Diem era, uses optimistic concurrency control to maximize parallel execution of ordered transactions, dramatically increasing throughput.
- Efficient State Synchronization: The network allows new (inactive) validator nodes to synchronize state efficiently. This design aims for high throughput, low latency, fast sync times, and robust resistance to faults and malicious behavior.
Aptos also offers flexibility in gas fee payments, allowing users to pay transaction fees in tokens other than the native Aptos coin.
Current Development Status:
Aptos began its incentivized testnet program in May, which consists of four phases. It is currently in its second phase with over 20,000 nodes participating. Its mainnet launch is planned for September.
Sui: The Parallel Processing Powerhouse
Sui is being developed by Mysten Labs, a company founded by other former senior members of Meta’s Diem and Novi teams. It has also secured substantial funding: a $36 million Series A round led by a16z in December 2021, and a $140 million Series B round led by FTX Ventures in July 2022, valuing the project at $2 billion.
Key Innovations of Sui
Sui also utilizes the Move language but has adapted it to suit its own architecture, often referred to as "Sui Move."
Advanced Consensus Mechanism: Narwhal & Tusk
Sui employs a dual-protocol system to minimize communication overhead between validators and maximize performance.
- Narwhal (Mempool Protocol): Acts as a memory pool, efficiently storing and managing unconfirmed transactions.
- Tusk (Asynchronous Consensus Protocol): Handles the ordering of transactions, minimizing extra communication between nodes through shared randomness.
- Parallel Transaction Processing: A key innovation is Sui’s ability to classify transactions into two types: simple independent transactions (e.g., a transfer between two parties with no dependencies) and complex interdependent transactions. Independent transactions can be processed in parallel without a global consensus order, drastically speeding up execution and reducing latency.
Novel Tokenomics Model
Sui’s token model is one of its most discussed features. The total supply is 10 billion tokens, with a portion circulating at mainnet launch and the rest released over several years as staking rewards, subsidies, and grants.
- Separate Fees for Computation and Storage: Users pay a gas fee for computation and a separate, upfront fee for on-chain storage. This storage fee is deposited into a storage fund, which is used to subsidize future storage costs for the network. If a user deletes data, they can receive a rebate, creating a sustainable economic model for state growth.
- Stable and Predictable Gas Fees: Sui is designed to keep gas fees low and stable, even during periods of high network demand. The network operates in 24-hour epochs. Validators propose a gas price they are willing to accept, and the system uses a voting mechanism that references previous epoch fees to keep prices stable and predictable. During demand spikes, validators can scale resources linearly, preventing the gas fee spikes common on other networks.
Current Development Status:
Sui is under active development, with a testnet launch and an incentivized testnet program planned for August.
Linera: The Emerging Contender
Linera is the youngest and least developed of the three projects. It has completed only a single seed funding round: $6 million led by a16z on June 29, 2022. Its team includes former Meta employees from Diem and Novi, as well as former Zcash contributors.
While publicly available information is scarcer, technical analyses suggest its architecture shares logical similarities with Aptos and Sui. Notably, Linera has not explicitly committed to using the Move language; its documentation states it will be developed using "Rust-based languages," leaving room for speculation on its final design.
As an early-stage project, Linera’s specific solutions to scalability and security are yet to be fully revealed and tested.
Comparative Analysis and Challenges
All three projects aim to address the blockchain trilemma—balancing scalability, security, and decentralization—often through improved versions of Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus mechanisms. The adoption of the Move language by Aptos and Sui represents a significant shift from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) paradigm.
However, this shift presents a major challenge: developer adoption. The Ethereum ecosystem is vast, with most dApps built in Solidity. Many new blockchains opt for EVM compatibility to tap into this existing developer base and value. Convincing developers to learn an entirely new language like Move is a significant hurdle that these networks must overcome.
Regarding traction, Aptos currently leads due to its head start and successful testnet incentives. Sui follows closely behind with its strong technological propositions. Linera, while promising, has a longer path ahead due to its later start. The high overlap in investors with Solana could be a double-edged sword, providing strong backing but also creating shared points of failure.
The market holds high expectations for these projects, particularly Aptos, but their long-term success will depend on delivering on their technological promises and achieving vibrant ecosystem growth.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Move programming language?
Move is a programming language originally developed for the Diem blockchain. Unlike Solidity, it is designed specifically for managing digital assets, treating them as "resources" that cannot be copied or accidentally destroyed. This resource-oriented model provides enhanced security and safety for blockchain applications.
How do Aptos and Sui achieve high transaction speeds?
Both networks use parallel execution. Aptos uses its Block-STM engine to process multiple transactions simultaneously through optimistic concurrency. Sui goes a step further by categorizing transactions; independent transactions require no consensus and can be processed instantly in parallel, while only complex transactions need to be ordered and agreed upon.
Why are Aptos, Sui, and Linera called "Meta-born" blockchains?
This term refers to their shared origins. The founding teams and key developers behind these three projects were previously involved in Meta’s (formerly Facebook) blockchain initiatives, namely the Diem stablecoin project and the Novi digital wallet.
What is the main advantage of Sui's gas fee model?
Sui's model is designed to keep gas fees stable and predictable, even during times of high network congestion. Validators can scale resources with demand, and a fee mechanism based on epoch-wide voting prevents the extreme volatility seen on other networks, making costs more reliable for users.
Is Linera using the Move language like Aptos and Sui?
Based on currently available public information, Linera has not explicitly stated it will use Move. The project has announced it will be built using "Rust-based languages," leaving its final technical implementation open for now.
How can developers start building on these networks?
Developers interested in Aptos can begin with the Move language and its developer documentation. Those looking at Sui can explore its adapted version of Move. As Linera is still in early development, resources for developers are not yet widely available. Engaging with their respective testnets is the best way to start.