rewrite this title Reactive Network Makes Smart Contracts Truly Reactive

by
Victoria d’Este

Published: July 11, 2025 at 11:00 am Updated: July 11, 2025 at 11:00 am

by Ana

Edited and fact-checked:
July 11, 2025 at 11:00 am

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Smart contracts that run themselves, no bots, no manual triggers. That’s the idea at the heart of Reactive Network. In this interview, Emilijus, Head of Ecosystem, explains how Reactive is building infrastructure where contracts can automatically respond to on-chain events across multiple blockchains. 

From parallel execution to cross-chain automation, he shares why this shift matters, what it unlocks for developers, and why Reactive isn’t trying to replace Layer 1s but make them smarter.What exactly makes Reactive Network “reactive”? How is it different from a regular smart contract platform?

What makes Reactive Network truly “reactive” is the concept of Reactive Smart Contracts (RSCs). Unlike traditional smart contracts that sit idle until a user sends a transaction, RSCs are designed to automatically respond to events or data changes across multiple blockchains. 

They operate on the principle of inversion of control, meaning the control flow is driven by predefined conditions rather than external calls. This enables contracts to act autonomously—they’re constantly monitoring and ready to trigger on-chain actions without anyone needing to press a button.

Why was it important for you to build a system where contracts respond to data, not just user-triggered transactions?

In most blockchain applications today, developers rely on off-chain services—centralized bots or oracles—to monitor for specific events and then trigger contract execution. This introduces trust assumptions, potential single points of failure, and infrastructure complexity. 

With Reactive Network, our goal was to eliminate that dependency by moving the logic on-chain. By making contracts inherently aware of the events they respond to, we reduce friction, enhance decentralization, and strengthen the trustless nature of smart contract automation. No cron jobs. No admin keys. Just self-reacting contracts.

What’s the main benefit of parallel execution on Reactive?

Reactive’s architecture is built around a parallelized EVM, allowing multiple contracts to execute simultaneously—as long as they operate on independent parts of the state. This unlocks massive gains in scalability: faster throughput, significantly lower latency, and reduced gas costs. Instead of sequential bottlenecks where everything must happen one after another, Reactive allows for safe concurrency—this is critical for enabling real-world, high-frequency applications.

What were the main technical challenges in building your parallelized EVM?

Parallel execution in a blockchain environment is non-trivial. One of the hardest parts was building a system that could detect state conflicts between parallel transactions efficiently. 

We also needed a robust rollback mechanism to ensure deterministic execution even when conflicts arise, and we had to optimize storage access and async task scheduling so that the added complexity of parallelism didn’t negate its performance benefits. Getting these pieces to work together in harmony required deep rethinking of core EVM internals.

Do you see Reactive as a Layer 1 competitor, or as a specialized execution layer for specific types of applications?

Reactive is not trying to be a general-purpose L1. Instead, we position it as a specialized execution layer that complements existing blockchains. It connects to other EVM chains via relayers, and focuses on one specific superpower: cross-chain automation. Rather than competing for base consensus, we’re building a network that makes existing dApps more powerful, responsive, and autonomous across ecosystems.

How easy is it for a regular Solidity developer to start building on Reactive?

We’ve made the onboarding experience as seamless as possible. Developers write RSCs in standard Solidity—no need to learn a new language or framework. You use the same ABIs and familiar tooling. 

The only additional step is declaring the events your contract wants to subscribe to, and defining the logic for what should happen when those events occur. With comprehensive docs, an educational course, and prebuilt boilerplate, getting started feels just like building any other smart contract.

How do you make sure developers don’t accidentally build apps with security risks in your system?

We take a layered approach to safety. First, RSCs execute inside a sandboxed ReactVM, isolated from externally owned accounts. Second, we require all contract code to be verified and auditable through Sourcify, which enhances transparency. 

And third, RSCs are restricted to act only on explicitly declared events—this limits the surface area for unexpected behaviors or exploits and makes contract behavior far easier to reason about.

What’s the long-term vision for cross-chain automation—do you see Reactive as a kind of “on-chain router” for logic?

Absolutely. Our goal is to become the on-chain logic layer that intelligently routes actions and data across chains. Whether it’s for cross-chain DeFi strategies, NFT triggers, or reactive oracles, Reactive becomes the connective tissue that makes it possible for applications to behave dynamically and contextually—without human intervention. Think of it as the automation layer Web3 has been missing.

What kinds of applications are a “perfect fit” for Reactive Network?

Reactive really shines in use cases that demand responsiveness and automation. For example, cross-chain buy/sell orders and arbitrage are natural fits. So is anything involving automatic collateral or liquidity management, especially in DeFi. 

On the NFT/gaming side, things like conditional minting or dynamic upgrades work beautifully. DAO treasury automation is another big area. And of course, oracles that respond and act based on multi-chain inputs—it’s all about being able to coordinate multiple on-chain events seamlessly.

How can DeFi protocols benefit from reactive contracts compared to traditional on-chain setups?

DeFi protocols on Reactive can go way beyond static interactions. They can implement decentralized cross-chain lending, protect users from liquidations by auto-deleveraging, execute stop-loss or rebalance actions instantly, and track yield across networks to optimize deposits. 

Perhaps most importantly, the entire protocol logic can be executed automatically, without relying on external bots or relayers. It’s native, trustless automation that dramatically reduces complexity.

What’s the one thing you believe about blockchain design that most other projects are missing?

We strongly believe automation should live on-chain. Many systems today still rely heavily on off-chain components to function—timers, triggers, schedulers, bots. That introduces fragility and trust assumptions. We’re flipping that model and showing that with the right primitives, smart contracts can drive themselves. It’s not just about decentralization of consensus—it’s about decentralization of execution logic.

In 2 years, how would you like developers and users to describe what makes Reactive Network unique?

We hope that in two years, when people talk about Reactive, they say:

“Reactive is where contracts run themselves. They listen, respond, and operate across chains—fast, secure, and fully on-chain.” That’s the vision: a smart contract world that doesn’t just wait, but reacts.

About The Author

Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.

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Victoria d’Este