# Overview The Somnia blockchain has many innovations that enable it to increase performance by several orders of magnitude compared to other EVM chains: * [MultiStream consensus](/concepts/somnia-blockchain/multistream-consensus.md) - a proof-of-stake, partially synchronous BFT protocol inspired by [Autobahn BFT](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2401.10369). * Independent Data Chains - Each validator operates its own blockchain, or “data chain,” which allows for independent block production. This unique approach eliminates the need for a consensus mechanism within individual data chains, streamlining the data processing workflow. * Consensus Chain - A separate blockchain aggregates the heads of all data chains, employing a modified PBFT algorithm for proof of stake consensus. This structure decouples data production from the consensus process, significantly enhancing overall efficiency. * [Compiled Bytecode](/concepts/somnia-blockchain/accelerated-sequential-execution.md) - By translating EVM bytecode to highly optimised native code, Somnia achieves execution speeds close to hand-written C++ contracts, facilitating the execution of millions of transactions per second on a single core. * [Faster and predictable database performance](/concepts/somnia-blockchain/somnias-icedb.md) - Somnia has a custom database called IceDB. It employs performance reports for predictable read and write performance as well as a custom database architecture that enables average read/write operations 15-100 nanoseconds with built in snapshotting. * [Advanced Compression Techniques](/concepts/somnia-blockchain/advanced-compression-techniques.md) - The Somnia data chain architecture is designed to enable streaming compression in order to maximise data throughput. Somnia combines this with [BLS signature](https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-irtf-cfrg-bls-signature-05.html) aggregation in order to achieve extremely high compression ratios, allowing for massive transaction data throughput. This allows theoretical performance above other preported [“limits due to bandwidth”](https://revelointel.com/lightspeed-how-monad-is-superscaling-the-evm-with-keone-and-kevin-g/). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.somnia.network/concepts/somnia-blockchain/overview.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.