Metis Hyperion: Igniting New Hope for Ethereum AI Narratives?

1. Metis Hyperion Overview

Metis, as a member of the Ethereum L2 ecosystem, launched the Andromeda mainnet early based on Optimistic Rollup technology. Its biggest feature is the decentralized sequencer, which hands over transaction ordering rights to community participants. In March 2025, Metis announced a dual-chain strategy: launching a high-performance Hyperion chain on top of the existing general-purpose chain Andromeda. The former is positioned as a secure and reliable general L2, while the latter focuses on high-frequency, high-throughput, and AI-driven application scenarios. The Hyperion architecture is built on the Metis SDK, with the core being the brand new MetisVM virtual machine (, which is EVM compatible and supports AI-optimized instructions ), aiming to optimize scalability and decentralization while significantly improving transaction efficiency.

Hyperion is committed to creating a "high-performance, AI-native" L2 network, capable of achieving near millisecond transaction confirmations and ultra-high transaction throughput, making AI-native applications ( such as on-chain LLM inference and decentralized AI agents ) possible. Overall, Metis provides complementary support for different application scenarios through its dual-chain architecture, with Andromeda emphasizing security and decentralization, while Hyperion emphasizes high performance and AI applications.

The development roadmap of Metis can be summarized in two points: first, continuously improving the core L2 infrastructure, such as incorporating real-time data availability migration and fraud proof mechanisms in the Andromeda upgrade in May 2025, becoming the industry's first "truly decentralized" Layer 2; second, moving towards modularity and multi-chain interoperability, lowering the development threshold through the Metis SDK, and promoting the development of a multi-chain ecosystem. The launch of Hyperion has, to some extent, reshaped the value logic of the METIS token: it allows Metis to no longer be just an L2, but to transform into a platform for "multi-chain infrastructure + AI dedicated chain."

2. On-chain LLM? What is the logic behind Metis implementation?

2.1 AI ecosystem closed-loop three-piece set: SDK, Hyperion, LazAI

Hyperion, as an Optimistic Rollup, inherits the security models of Metis and Optimism, focusing on advancements in parallel computing, data availability, and decentralization. The main optimization direction is in AI and high-frequency application scenarios. Specifically, Metis promotes ecosystem development through the three major systems of Metis SDK + Hyperion + LazAI.

• Parallel Execution Engine: Hyperion introduces parallel execution technologies like Block-STM, allowing independent transactions within a block to run together. By using optimistic concurrency control and dynamic DAG scheduling algorithms, independent transactions within the same block can run simultaneously, greatly increasing throughput.

• Decentralized Sorter: The transaction sorting rights of Hyperion are shared by a multi-node network, rather than being controlled by a single node or a few operators. The specific mechanism includes rotating leaders and a cryptographic memory pool combined with proposer-builder separation to prevent front-running and centralized interference.

• Data Availability: The Hyperion project fully leverages Ethereum's new features and external DA services to ensure data availability. With the advancement of Ethereum EIP-4844, Hyperion( and Andromeda) will directly publish transaction data to L1 via blob transactions, inheriting Ethereum's security and reducing costs. Metis is also preparing to integrate EigenDA.

• Fraud Proof Mechanism: Hyperion continues to adopt the optimistic system model but has upgraded its fraud proof. Metis committed early on to introducing a complete fraud proof mechanism and data availability solution; its ReGenesis roadmap also proposed "executing the latest fault proof system from the OP Stack." Hyperion will adopt an interactive error correction mechanism: after the sorter publishes a new block, "observers" in the network have a window period to submit challenges to prove the block is invalid. Once this challenge is successful, the malicious block will be rolled back, and the responsible party will be penalized.

AI Native Infrastructure: The Metis SDK allows users to build their own L2 or L3 blockchain, with an upgraded version of EVM( called MetisVM) and parallel processing capabilities already integrated, along with a decentralized sorting mechanism. Hyperion is a high-performance AI-specific Layer2 built using this SDK, combining Optimistic Rollup, parallel execution, and distributed sorting, achieving nearly real-time transaction confirmation and on-chain AI inference. MetisVM has improved transaction efficiency by about 30% through dynamic optimization of opcodes and parallel execution mechanisms. Meanwhile, MetisDB utilizes memory-mapped Merkle trees and concurrency control, enabling state access at the nanosecond level, effectively eliminating storage bottlenecks. These technologies combined allow Hyperion to run AI inference tasks such as large language models(LLM) directly on-chain, laying a strong foundation for AI contracts.

AI Narrative Project Incubation: Metis is also actively incubating AI-related projects, such as the LazAI protocol. This is an open network focused on "trustworthy AI data assets" aimed at addressing issues of data opacity and inconsistency in AI usage. LazAI utilizes blockchain's verifiable computing and standardized mechanisms to create an open and transparent data market, ensuring that AI models use high-quality data and also support cross-chain usage. Based on this protocol, Metis has also launched the Alith framework, a development tool specifically designed for AI agents tailored for blockchain. Developers can quickly write AI Agents on Metis using the Alith SDK and deploy them. Users only need to issue commands in natural language through a Telegram chatbot to perform DeFi operations like lending, without needing to write smart contracts themselves. This design significantly lowers the threshold for ordinary people to use AI applications and makes developers' work much easier.

2.2 Compared to other L2s, what capabilities does Hyperion enhance for Metis?

Hyperion is still based on Optimistic Rollup. Metis has built differentiated competitiveness through forward-looking technology and strategic layout: Hyperion and other technologies meet the performance requirements of AI applications, the dual-chain and SDK model caters to both general and specialized needs, and decentralized sorting enhances ecological trust. The differentiated competition with other L2s mainly lies in the Hyperion architecture, dual-chain strategy, Metis SDK, and decentralized sorter.

High-Performance Execution Layer: Metis Hyperion is a high-performance Layer 2 designed for AI, achieving near real-time settlement and Web2-level response speed through Optimistic Rollup, parallel execution, and distributed sorting technology. Hyperion introduces MetisVM------a virtual machine customized for high-frequency trading and AI tasks, featuring dynamic opcode optimization, parallel execution, and caching mechanisms, significantly enhancing the execution efficiency of smart contracts. Additionally, Hyperion has designed on-chain inference support for AI reasoning, including specialized pre-compiled contracts and execution engine optimization.

Dual Chain Strategy ( Andromeda + Hyperion ): Metis retains the original Andromeda chain as a general-purpose L2, continuing to provide stable infrastructure for applications such as DeFi; at the same time, it launches Hyperion specifically for AI scenarios. This "dual network" architecture addresses the trade-off between versatility and specialization: it avoids stagnation in homogenized competition with other L2s and also finds dedicated space for AI applications.

Metis SDK and Developer Ecosystem: The Metis SDK is a modular toolkit for developers that integrates blueprints, building tools, and standard interfaces, enabling developers to quickly build custom execution layers or applications. The Metis SDK allows developers to rapidly deploy Layer2/Layer3 using mature modules, and it also facilitates smooth migration or interaction between Andromeda and Hyperion, significantly enhancing ecosystem construction efficiency and interoperability.

Decentralized Sorter: In 2024, Metis successfully launched the industry's first fully decentralized sorter, transferring transaction sorting rights to community nodes and a staking mechanism. This mechanism achieves fault tolerance and censorship resistance through rotating consensus nodes and incentive token governance, completely eliminating the risk of single points of failure.

3. If Ethereum focuses on L1, how will Metis respond?

3.1 If the main chain doesn't distribute rewards, Metis will build its own factory.

Assuming that Ethereum will focus on its own L1 development (, such as underlying consensus and sharding upgrades ), rather than continuing to directly expand L2, how can L2 platforms like Metis maintain and expand their influence? According to the All in AI strategic roadmap released by Metis, the current strategy seems to be adopting a modular and multi-chain approach.

First of all, Metis' dual-chain architecture and MetisSDK provide it with the capability to build multiple dedicated chains. At the same time, the launch of Hyperion marks Metis' transformation from a "single L2" to a "modular multi-chain infrastructure." With MetisSDK, any team can quickly create customized blockchains like building blocks—configuring components like parallel execution consensus, EVM-compatible layers, AI-optimized VMs, on-chain storage, etc. This means that Metis not only operates two chains but can also support more "industry-specific chains": such as AI computing chains, DePIN infrastructure chains, and gaming chains, each meeting different scenario needs.

Secondly, Metis emphasizes cross-chain interoperability and collaborative ecosystems. The official roadmap and community communications have repeatedly mentioned the introduction of cross-chain bridging and data/computation aggregation mechanisms. It is not difficult to see that Metis will integrate cross-chain communication protocols, allowing assets and smart contracts to flow freely between Metis and other public chains. The Hyperion architecture also emphasizes "shared bridge + cross-chain interconnection" and proposes "decentralized data and computation aggregation," connecting AI applications with various data networks and computing resources.

The community is not only users but also direct participants and beneficiaries of the network operation. By opening up the role of sorter, anyone can become a block proposer through staking and receive sorting rewards. At the same time, Metis plans to introduce an AI node operation incentive mechanism to encourage more developers to deploy inference services and provide on-chain AI capabilities.

3.2 Metis All in AI Strategy, How to Drive Ecological Development through AI

Currently, there are obvious centralization risks and performance bottlenecks when using AI services on-chain, such as obtaining results through oracles. To address these issues, Hyperion and LazAI have collaborated to introduce an AI agent framework called Alith. Developers can use the Alith SDK to write "AI agents" and deploy them as contract modules on Hyperion. These agents can handle functions such as model selection, inference logic, and fault response, and can be directly called by other contracts on-chain, such as for implementing chatbots, prediction tools, or DAO assistants. Through mechanisms like pre-compiled contracts, Hyperion integrates AI inference into the on-chain execution process, and inference results can be fixed on-chain through logs, reproducible operations, or trusted execution environments, thereby achieving verifiable trust. This retains the transparency of blockchain while meeting the computational needs of AI, truly advancing "AI on-chain."

Additionally, Hyperion's parallel processing and low latency are particularly suitable for AI tasks. As long as there are no conflicts between requests, they can run simultaneously, which is much more efficient than traditional L2 sequential execution. MetisVM has also specifically optimized for AI, for example, using Rust/WASM to improve performance and supporting various inputs such as text and images, allowing AI models to run directly on the chain. This entire design is aimed at achieving what Metis calls "the first Layer2 protocol capable of running large language models natively on-chain."

4. ETH Hyperion vs. Solana AI