Optimum announced accelerated Ethereum block transmission using mump2p

Optimum, a company developing data transmission technologies for blockchains, announced the acceleration of Ethereum block propagation following the launch of the mump2p protocol on the mainnet on October 20, 2026. According to the developer, the technology allows blocks to be delivered 2–4 times faster than the standard GossipSub mechanism. By November 3, operators using mump2p represented 7.8% of all ETH staked.

According to Optimum co-founder and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Muriel Médard, approximately 90% of blocks reach participating validators about twice as fast. The protocol works alongside existing Ethereum clients and does not require changes to consensus rules.

How mump2p speeds up Ethereum block transmission

mump2p uses random linear network coding (RLNC) technology. It allows the transmission of encoded combinations of data fragments, from which receiving nodes reconstruct the original information.

In the standard GossipSub system, nodes forward messages to each other and may repeatedly receive the same data. The new mechanism is designed to reduce redundant transmissions and delays in block and acknowledgment message propagation.

To connect mump2p, an operator installs an additional software gateway alongside the existing Ethereum client. Prysm, Lighthouse, Teku, Nimbus, and Lodestar are supported. Standard network connections continue to operate.

According to Optimum's initial measurements, the variance in block delivery times decreased by 7.88 times. In 9 out of 10 observations, blocks arrived via mump2p earlier than through the standard network route.

Independent tests showed mixed results

The research group StereumLabs tested mump2p on 36 nodes of the Ethereum mainnet. Earlier block arrivals were observed with Lighthouse, Prysm, and Grandine clients, while Teku showed no significant changes, and Nimbus did not demonstrate a confirmed advantage.

Researchers did not establish a statistically significant overall acceleration. However, the tests were conducted on an early version of the protocol and nodes without connected validators, limiting the ability to assess its impact on block confirmation tasks.

Optimum explained the discrepancies by noting that during the research, some nodes in the control group might also have benefited from its global acceleration system.

Separate tests within the Lido program were conducted from September 17 to October 15 in the Hoodi test network. In a sample of 180,327 slots, block delivery times for the 95th percentile decreased by 407 ms, from 1,614 to 1,207 ms. The study authors emphasized that these results cannot be directly applied to the Ethereum mainnet.

Operators with millions of ETH connected to the protocol

At the time of mump2p's launch, 16 operators using approximately 22,000 validator keys and over 1.4 million ETH in staking were connected. Optimum estimated the value of the connected assets at approximately $3.4 billion.

Participants included Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish, and other infrastructure providers for validators. The company ether.fi also required its 12 node operators to connect mump2p.

By November 3, the share of ETH in staking serviced by connected operators grew to 7.8% from over 3% at launch. The basic accelerated block delivery service remains free.

The development of network coding is also discussed in the context of Ethereum's long-term upgrades. Network co-founder Vitalik Buterin considers such technologies among potential ways to speed up the transmission of large data volumes and improve consensus.

However, these proposals, including research into post-quantum cryptography and reducing final block confirmation times, remain separate development directions. The launch of mump2p does not imply their implementation in Ethereum.

Further independent tests should show how consistently the acceleration is maintained across different clients and mainnet operators.