MultiversX: the evolution of the Elrond project

MultiversX (a rebranding of Elrond) is a blockchain whose native cryptocurrency is eGOLD (EGLD). MultiversX is a project focused on developing smart contract-based technologies to create a comprehensive DeFi offering. Its main strength is scalability and, consequently, transaction speed.

The origin of MultiversX

Initially launched as Elrond, this innovative blockchain was released in June 2019 through an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) held on Binance. Since then, the project has built and developed an incredibly complete ecosystem in record time.

The project’s conception, which began at the end of 2017, is credited to two brothers from Transylvania, Beniamin and Lucian Mincu. They are also known for having co-founded MetaChain Capital and ICO Market Data.

Before delving into the architecture, it is worth noting the symbolism of the original name. Elrond, inspired by the character from The Lord of the Rings, was chosen to represent a great power used for good, as explained by founder Beniamin Mincu. This philosophy is the legacy that MultiversX carries forward: a project that aims to use its technological innovation for a positive impact on the world, not just from a financial perspective.

Technical characteristics of MultiversX

MultiversX is a blockchain based on the Secure Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, a variation on the theme that we will explore below, and therefore adopts all the features of PoS blockchains. These include the possibility of staking, lower energy consumption compared to Proof-of-Work, and Governance via the main cryptocurrency.

MultiversX owes its speed and scalability to its shard structure, which is a “fragment” of the blockchain that operates in parallel. It is precisely the fragmentation of the blockchain into different networks, on parallel layers, that enables transaction scalability. This mechanism is the same as the one subsequently adopted by Ethereum after the release of the historic “The Merge” update.

How sharding works

Let’s compare how a classic blockchain operates with a sharded blockchain:

This architecture has allowed MultiversX to achieve exceptional results: data reported by the foundation itself indicates that, during stress tests, the network managed up to 263,000 transactions per second (TPS). This figure is an exhilarating result and demonstrates a potential capacity more than ten times greater than global circuits like Visa, which processes around 25,000 TPS.

This type of structure is undoubtedly faster, but it is essential not to lose sight of the security and communication between the shards.

EGLD

MultiversX’s cryptocurrency was initially launched as an ERC20 token called ERD, which was later migrated to the MultiversX blockchain and renamed eGOLD (EGLD).

The utility of the EGLD coin on MultiversX is manifold. It is used as part of the platform’s governance mechanism, as collateral and reward for validators, and as payment for transactions and smart contracts.

EGLD is designed to be used on the Maiar app, MultiversX’s proprietary Wallet, which allows users to send near-instant transactions on the MultiversX network. Maiar offers EGLD lending, transfer, and staking functionalities.

As of October 2025, the circulating supply of EGLD coins was 28.7 million, with 49% of these locked in the network’s reward protocol. New EGLD coins will be released slowly over the next few years until the final supply of 31.4 million EGLD is reached.

The relatively low supply of EGLD, the release program, and the high percentage of locked coins are considered positive indicators regarding the long-term profitability of MultiversX.

Use Cases and DeFi functionalities

Smart contracts are the underlying technology for all DeFi functionalities. In this respect, MultiversX also presents a significant advantage. Thanks to Arwen, the MultiversX Virtual Machine, smart contracts can be executed in record time.

Furthermore, smart contracts can be developed in the most common programming languages, thus eliminating the need to learn a language specific to the project or the sector. This allows many more developers to contribute to the project, with fewer barriers to entry.

MultiversX uses its proprietary standard, the EGLD Standard Digital Tokens (ESDT), as the foundation for all digital assets on the network, including fungible tokens, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and SFTs (Semi-Fungible Tokens). This standard is designed to optimise the creation and management of assets, including the tokenisation of non-native cryptocurrencies (wrapped tokens) and the support of all other asset types.

The most significant technical advantage of ESDT is its built-in architecture, which allows the implementation of basic token functionalities without the need to write and deploy an entire Smart Contract for every new asset. This mechanism offers two crucial benefits:

The advantage of ESDT is that it does not require the use of smart contracts to be used, again lowering costs.

Maiar Wallet

Perhaps the most successful and accessible use case is the Maiar app, which is a wallet with a staking service that is incredibly simple and pleasant to use, even though it comes from a complex DeFi project.

Similarly to the Dash wallet, it provides the possibility of writing the username of the contact you want to send EGLD to, instead of entering the wallet address in numbers and letters.

To sum up, the scalability of Elrond’s basic structure and the usability of its services – both by the developers and by any trader – are an asset for the future of this project in its infancy.

In-depth: MultiversX architecture

There are 3 building blocks of the Elrond blockchain: the shards, the metachain and the nodes.

We know that a node is a device that is connected to the network and somehow participates in it, we know that the shards are fragments of the network/blockchain that run in parallel. The only thing missing is the Metachain, which reminds us of the investment fund created by the Mincu brothers.

The Metachain is the blockchain operating in a special shard, where the main responsibilities are not transaction processing, but the “notarisation” and finalisation of already processed blocks, facilitating communication between shards, storing and maintaining a log of validators, processing and managing the activity of nodes.

A node may assume different roles, namely validator, observer or fisherman.

Elrond Validators have the same role as most PoS network validators.

They are nodes in the Elrond network that process transactions and protect the network by participating in the consensus mechanism, while earning rewards from the protocol and transaction fees. To join the Elrond network, a validator must provide a collateral by staking EGLD tokens. Validators risk losing their share if they collude against the network.

Observers are passive members of the network who do not have to give collateral or receive compensation, but simply store the blockchain’s history.

A Fisherman is a node that checks the validity of blocks after they have been proposed. They challenge invalid blocks proposed by malicious parties and are rewarded for their service. The Fisherman role can be played by validators who have not been selected for the current validation round or by observers.

SPoS: the consensus mechanism

In very simplistic terms, this rather technical PoS system, Secure Proof Of Stake, is ‘Secure‘ because of the way validators are selected. This step is in fact particularly fast, being deterministic and requiring no communication.

The speed and level of randomness of this process guarantee greater security, since time is of the essence for a malicious node wishing to influence or hinder the validator selection in order to have validation power.