Relay Chain Scales to $20B Volume with Product-Centric Architecture

Relay, a multichain payments network, has processed over 100 million transactions and $20 billion in volume across 85+ blockchains. To address scaling bottlenecks, the project introduced Relay Chain, a bespoke settlement layer tailored to its needs. Built on Celestia using the Sovereign SDK, Relay Chain eliminates inefficiencies tied to using general-purpose blockchains for settlement.

Relay’s core function allows users to transact with any digital asset across chains instantly. The intent-based model lets users specify their desired outcome—such as swapping ETH on Ethereum for USDC on Base—while relayers front capital and finalize transactions asynchronously on the cost-efficient Relay Chain. By focusing exclusively on settlement, the chain reduces costs to approximately $0.005 per order, a stark contrast to the variable gas fees on destination chains.

Why Build a Dedicated Settlement Chain?

Initially, Relay relied on the blockchains it serviced for settlement. However, as transaction volumes surged, this approach faced challenges: high gas fees eroded margins, batching transactions added latency, and solver liquidity fragmented across networks. Relay Chain addresses these issues by providing a single venue for settlement with optimized execution and concentrated liquidity.

The decision to build a proprietary chain was driven by necessity, not ambition. “The chain came after the product,” Relay’s team emphasizes. The dedicated layer minimizes overhead, avoids blockspace contention, and ensures predictable costs without the complexities of managing validator sets or dealing with third-party upgrade cycles.

Powered by Celestia and Sovereign SDK

Relay Chain leverages Celestia’s modular blockchain architecture for data availability. Its sequencer produces blocks at millisecond speeds, which are then posted to Celestia’s blockspace layer. This setup provides blockchain-grade verifiability while offloading the operational burden of maintaining a validator set.

The Sovereign SDK, used to build Relay Chain, offers a high-performance environment with ~1ms soft-confirmations and the capacity to process over 30,000 user operations per second. Developers write in Rust, enabling rapid iteration without sacrificing performance or security.

By outsourcing blockspace to Celestia, Relay’s infrastructure scales dynamically. Spikes in usage only increase the blockspace bill, avoiding the costly and time-consuming hardware upgrades typical of standalone blockchains. Celestia’s Fibre protocol, capable of delivering up to 1 Tb/s of blockspace, ensures Relay Chain can handle future growth seamlessly.

The Broader Implications

Relay Chain exemplifies a “product-first” approach to blockchain development: build a successful product, then design infrastructure to meet specific scaling demands. This philosophy reduces complexity, keeps costs predictable, and ensures the team can focus on user needs rather than infrastructure challenges.

As modular blockchain technology like Celestia continues to evolve, Relay Chain’s strategy highlights a viable path for other projects seeking to scale efficiently without reinventing the wheel.

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