Key Takeaways: Validating in the Fast Lane with DoubleZero

Last Thursday, SOL Strategies CTO Max Kaplan hosted DoubleZero co-founder Austin Federa for a discussion on the rise of high-performance networking for Solana and other high-performance blockchains, and what it means for the future of Internet Capital Markets. 

What DoubleZero Is Building

DoubleZero is becoming a critical part of Solana’s performance stack. By providing a dedicated global fiber network, improving reliability during peak activity, and preparing the ecosystem for multi-leader execution, DoubleZero helps position Solana for a future where global markets operate at unprecedented speed and fairness.

Austin described DoubleZero as a foundational redesign of internet infrastructure for high-performance blockchains. “The project is set out to try and rebuild the internet from the ground up, optimised for high-performance distributed systems like blockchain.”

Whilst the network uses similar technology to that seen in high-frequency trading environments, according to Federa, it is operated by multiple independent contributors, with the stated goal of allowing blockchains to move faster than public internet infrastructure while maintaining decentralization. 

Uniting Competitive Firms Through Crypto Incentives

Austin shared how crypto incentives bring together firms that normally compete aggressively: “Crypto is still in middle school in terms of how it approaches business development, but DoubleZero has been successful in bringing together organizations that are aggressive competitors to benefit from a network that’s faster than the public internet.”

This alignment is made possible by the $2Z token model: “That’s what the blockchain industry is about: weaponizing capitalism and greed for positive-sum outcomes for everyone.”

Why the 2Z Token Is Essential to the DoubleZero Protocol

Austin explained that without a token, a decentralized, self-healing fiber network would not be viable. The network depends on economic coordination, slashing, contributor incentives, and trustless dispute resolution.

A token provides a headstart to get set up and running without the need to go out and raise significant capital and provides long-term alignment. 

Why Validators Join DoubleZero

With around 40% of stake already routed through DoubleZero (https://doublezero.xyz/dashboard), validators see both immediate and long-term performance benefits.

Short term: Potential performance improvement and access to additional stake delegation.

Long term: The technical capability for Solana to surpass the limitations of the public internet and support execution at the scale of one million transactions per second and beyond.

Austin noted that Firedancer’s one million TPS demo at last year’s Breakpoint actually utilized DoubleZero’s infrastructure. 

The Future: Multiple Leaders and Global Market Structure

Austin emphasized that Solana’s future may depend on moving beyond a single-leader architecture. “For Solana to continue to grow, we need multiple leaders working concurrently. Without multiple, the network will face significant challenges over the long term.”

This architectural shift could transform how Solana operates as a market system. “When we think about global Solana markets, it’s not markets that serve the globe, but markets that have equal entry points across the world.”

Concurrent leader architecture would allow execution wherever information arrives first, similar to approaches in advanced traditional financial markets.

Leveling the Playing Field for Traders and Builders

Deterministic, low jitter connectivity is one of DoubleZero’s most important contributions. It reduces structural advantages held by large firms and gives smaller participants a fair chance to compete.

“DoubleZero levels the playing field for anyone who can afford a server in a data center and is connected to our platform, equalizing connectivity with the likes of Galaxy and other large trading firms.”

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