Sei Labs Announces Transition to EVM-Only Blockchain

Sei Labs, the core development team behind the Sei blockchain, has announced a significant shift in the network’s architecture. The proposed change aims to eliminate support for Cosmos transactions and CosmWasm contracts, transitioning the network to an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible framework. This move is intended to simplify the blockchain and enhance the developer experience.

Sei Labs co-founder Jay Jog highlighted that the majority of the network’s current activity is centered around EVM usage. The proposal, known as SIP-3, is a strategic effort to align Sei with the direction of its ecosystem. Jog described the transition as a necessary step toward building Sei Giga, a scalable blockchain focused on performance and usability. He noted that narrowing Sei’s focus to a single virtual machine will improve throughput and eliminate unnecessary architectural complexity.

SIP-3 will transform Sei into an EVM-only blockchain, phasing out all support for Cosmos-based features. This change is designed to streamline the transaction system and consolidate smart contract development under a single standard. Sei Labs believes this move will reduce operational overhead and create a more cohesive development environment. The team expects that this shift will allow Sei to better integrate into the broader Ethereum ecosystem and attract more developers seeking performance and simplicity.

However, this architectural change will require significant adjustments from infrastructure providers and developers. The blockchain network’s existing wallets, decentralized applications (dApps), and services must shift to EVM-compatible formats. Applications built on CosmWasm will need to be redeployed, and asset holders using Cosmos-native tools may need to migrate or off-ramp their holdings. Sei Labs assured that Sei addresses will still be used internally by the protocol, and core functionalities such as staking and governance will remain available through precompiles.