Psy Protocol (formerly QED Protocol) officially launched its public testnet today, introducing a new blockchain architecture designed to achieve internet-scale throughput and Bitcoin-level security. Leveraging client-side zero-knowledge proofs and a horizontally scalable state architecture, the protocol has demonstrated impressive processing capabilities exceeding millions of transactions per second (TPS) in internal testing. This unique architecture not only supports virtually unlimited transaction processing capacity, but also ensures that block processing time for all transactions scales logarithmically with user size, ensuring the system remains efficient even at scale.

The project has received support from many top investment institutions and partners, including Blockchain Capital, Arrington Capital, UTXO, Anagram, Draper Dragon, CoinSummer, Amber Group, Paper Ventures, Protagonist, LBank Labs, Valhalla Capital, StarkWare, Edessa Capital, as well as strategic cooperation mining pools F2Pool and ViaBTC Capital.

“Psy’s architecture addresses the core bottleneck that has hindered the development of mainstream Web 3 applications, breaking the long-standing trade-off between scalability and security for decentralized applications,” said Aleks Larsen, General Partner at Blockchain Capital. “For the first time, it enables the high-concurrency models recognized in the Web 2 ecosystem—from e-commerce to artificial intelligence—to run on a fully decentralized basis with Bitcoin-level security.”

How does Psy achieve internet-scale high throughput?

Psy's performance overcomes a core bottleneck that has long plagued blockchains: their inability to support the high-concurrency applications that shape the modern internet. Because existing blockchains struggle to handle the massive transaction volumes required by these applications, fully on-chain DeFi, agent payments, and decentralized versions of Amazon, eBay, or social networks remain theoretical.

Traditional blockchains have long faced an unavoidable bottleneck: every full node must verify every transaction. While this design ensures strong security, it significantly limits the network's throughput. Ethereum can only process approximately 60 transactions per second, and even the more performant Proof-of-Stake network Solana averages only around 1,000 TPS. Psy's state model (PARTH) completely overcomes this bottleneck.

Psy significantly reduces the network's computational burden by introducing client-side computation. Its core mechanism involves users generating zero-knowledge proofs on their local devices, replacing the traditional node-by-node verification of each transaction. These proofs are verified orders of magnitude faster than the original transactions. The network then aggregates them in parallel using recursive zero-knowledge proofs, ultimately forming a concise block proof that can verify millions of transactions in seconds.

Crucially, the PARTH architecture achieves a block processing time for all transactions that scales logarithmically with the number of users. In a benchmark test, when one million users each submitted ten transactions, Psy processed 10 million transactions in just about 10 seconds—demonstrating a robust throughput of over one million transactions per second.

Helping Web 3 move to the next stage

Psy's technology stack makes Web 3 business models highly competitive in demanding scenarios like on-chain DeFi and agent payments. The testnet, with its faster transaction speeds, scalable architecture, and built-in data privacy, demonstrates how Psy can achieve massive scalability without sacrificing the security and decentralization inherent in Bitcoin.

Its breakthrough performance enables blockchain applications to compete head-on with centralized platforms and truly return the ownership and control of data to users, rather than keeping it in the hands of technology giants.

The public testnet has officially launched today, allowing developers and users to experience Psy’s exceptional performance firsthand. The mainnet is expected to launch later this year.

Why Psy Chose Proof-of-Useful-Work

Unlike most high-throughput blockchains that rely on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus, Psy is built on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) principle, a consensus mechanism first introduced by Bitcoin.

PoS systems often concentrate power in the hands of validators with large coin holdings, enabling them to extract profits through methods such as MEV (Miner Extractable Value). At the same time, their security is entirely dependent on the tokens they issue, creating a circular dependency that can harbor systemic risks.

Psy transforms mining into "useful work"—generating and aggregating zero-knowledge proofs that directly secure transactions—fundamentally eliminating the energy waste associated with traditional proof-of-work. This innovative mechanism is transforming mining from a meaningless competition for computing power to a collaborative value creation model: Psy no longer determines blockchain advancement based on raw hash power, but instead drives network growth by maximizing the "useful work" miners perform for users.

“The root cause of the slowdown in Web 3 commerce and the agent economy is that users are forced to choose between convenience and decentralization,” said Carter Feldman, Founder and CEO of Psy Protocol. “Psy breaks this false dichotomy by giving developers the tools to build fast, secure, and scalable platforms that deliver a seamless user experience even when running entirely on-chain.”

About Psy Protocol

Psy Protocol is a smart contract platform based on Proof-of-Useful-Work (PoW), combining the neutrality and security of Proof-of-Work with the scalability and high-speed performance of a next-generation architecture. By offloading transaction proof generation to users and aggregating zero-knowledge proofs on-chain, Psy achieves internet-scale throughput, low fees, and open participation without sacrificing the exceptional security of PoW. The Psy platform empowers developers to build hyperscale Web 3 applications and strives to become the core infrastructure that will power the next generation of the decentralized internet ecosystem.

Official website: https://psy.xyz

Official Twitter: https://x.com/PsyProtocol

Psychonaut Incubation Program: https://psy.xyz/psychonaut