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IOTA Foundation Releases Testnet of Fully Decentralized Network Pollen

The IOTA Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on blockchain and open-source development has announced the launch of its testnet of a fully decentralized network, Pollen.

The release of the testnet marks the first time where it enables developers and other parties to test the capabilities of a fully decentralized IOTA network.

IOTA 2.0, starts with its first phase, Pollen, and the next two phases, called Nectar, its second testnet, and Honey, its mainnet.

IOTA’s team of researchers, developers, and academic institutions have spent the last year researching a solution that will replace its current network by H1 2021. The new network has developed a distributed ledger network that can scale to meet the demands of the industry without leaving out the considerations of speed, security, and decentralization.

The IOTA network has developed a new architecture made up of three layers, including the application layer, communication layer, and the network layer. These three layers will enable support for features such as tokenization, scalable smart contracts, feeless Dapps, and sharding in the future.

Phase two, Nectar involves releasing the remaining components on the IOTA 2.0 test network, where rewards will be distributed to node operators or attackers to test the resilience of the protocol. Phase three, Honey will be the official release of IOTA 2.0 and will be the production-ready version of the protocol.

In a press release shared with Blockchain.News, Jakub Cech, Director of Engineering at the IOTA Foundation said:

“The community has always been an important part of IOTA’s development. With this release, we look forward to allowing our research and developer community, along with others to test out and validate the Coordicide components. We look forward to continuing to build the future of the IOTA protocol together with the community and our academic partners towards its production-readiness.”

IOTA increases its speed by 20x following its relaunch

The IOTA community has conducted a stress test that illustrated a stable network of over 150 nodes with over 650 confirmed transactions per second (TPS). This shows an increase in transaction throughput by a factor of 20, while Hornet is able to consume 10 times less memory under normal operations compared to its previous node software.

The IOTA Network has seen a massive hack in February, on the platform’s Trinity Wallet software. The network was shut down on the same day to prevent any further security breaches, however, 8.55 million MIOTA, approximately $2 million was stolen from 50 digital wallet users.

Image source: IOTA Foundation

Bitcoin Cash Network Upgrade Will Continue as Planned Despite Tensions Within the BCH Community

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network’s planned upgrade has been scheduled for November 15, 2020, which includes improvements to the Bitcoin ABC node software.

According to Amaury Séchet, the lead developer of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the upgrade in November will involve two primary improvements to the Bitcoin ABC full node software implementation.

The Bitcoin ABC network will be implementing the aserti3-2d (ASERT) algorithm proposed by Jonathan Toomin and Mark Lundeberg, which is also supported by a number of Bitcoin Cash full node implementations.

The second improvement mentioned by Séchet is the inclusion of the new Coinbase Rule. The Coinbase Rule improvement means that newly mined blocks will definitely contain an output assigning 8 percent of the newly mined coins to a specific address.

The November upgrade will witness Bitcoin ABC’s addition of a Coinbase Rule, which “fully aligns the incentives of Bitcoin ABC with the sustainability and security of the network.” according to the lead developer.

“The addition of this new rule represents a significant step. This step is not being taken lightly. Less significant alternatives have been attempted for years,” wrote Séchet. “Node implementations, as a result of those alternatives, have developed a financial reliance on powerful interests such as mining corporations, venture capital funds, and angel investors.”

Séchet concluded that although some users in the crypto community may not prefer this new Bitcoin ABC implementation. However, Séchet added that the decision has been made and the November upgrade will continue as planned.

Bitcoin Cash recent tensions—another split?

Chris Pacia, the lead developer of the peer-to-peer marketplace OpenBazaar and BCH developer tweeted on Aug. 4 that a meeting consensus was not reached over whether to make adjustments to the network’s difficulty algorithm.

A difficulty algorithm adjustment (DAA) is an algorithm that adjusts the mining difficult parameter. Bitcoin (BTC) has the adjustment of the mining difficulty parameter every 2016 blocks.

Vitalik Buterin responded to the tweet saying that Bitcoin Cash people “care so much” and that its algorithm is fine as is.

The Bitcoin Cash community plans for an upgrade every six months, and users are concerned about another chain split.

The crypto community has reported that there have been growing tensions over the difficulty algorithm—which may lead to another Bitcoin Cash split.

Binance Supports Optimism (OP) Network Upgrade and Hard Fork

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has announced its support for the upcoming network upgrade and hard fork of the Optimism (OP) network. This strategic move by Binance is aimed at providing its users with an enhanced experience and maintaining its position as a leader in the crypto exchange domain.

The Significance of the Upgrade and Hard Fork

Optimism, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, is designed to enhance transaction speeds and reduce costs, thereby improving the overall usability of the Ethereum blockchain. The network upgrade, known as the “Bedrock” upgrade, is expected to bring significant improvements to the Optimism network. The hard fork will enable new functionalities and optimizations that are crucial for maintaining the network’s competitiveness in the rapidly evolving blockchain ecosystem.

Binance’s Role in the Upgrade

Binance plans to suspend token recharge and withdrawal services for the Optimism network at 00:00 on January 12, 2024 (GMT+8), in preparation for the network upgrade and hard fork scheduled for 01:00 on the same day. This action demonstrates Binance’s commitment to ensuring a smooth transition during the upgrade process and its continuous support for emerging technologies in the blockchain space.

Impact on Users and Trading

It’s important to note that while deposits and withdrawals of OP will be temporarily suspended, the trading of OP tokens will not be affected during the network upgrade and hard fork. Binance has also assured its users that it will handle all technical requirements for those holding OP in their Binance accounts.

Broader Implications for the Crypto Market

The support from a major exchange like Binance for Optimism’s network upgrade and hard fork is a testament to the growing importance of Layer 2 solutions in the blockchain industry. It reflects the continuous efforts being made towards scalability and efficiency in blockchain networks, which are critical for mainstream adoption.

Conclusion

The upcoming Optimism network upgrade and hard fork is a significant milestone for the Ethereum ecosystem, and Binance’s support plays a crucial role in its successful implementation. This development not only benefits Optimism and its users but also signifies the broader commitment of the crypto industry towards innovation and progress.