Q1 Tech Summary

Great news -- IoTeX is once again in the Top 25 most active crypto projects by Flipside Crypto, which shows just how hard the IoTeX Core Team (core-dev) has been working. We will be posting more regular technical updates to explain all of the things going on as we push towards Mainnet GA in a couple months!

In the past few weeks, the core-dev has been focusing primarily on two initiatives:

• Enable probation for unresponsive Delegates

• Implementation of Native Staking version 2 (nsv2)

The probation of unresponsive delegates is a critical feature for the protocol’s reliability and scalability. As recently voted by the community proposal, core-dev has quickly moved to implementation and testing and will be deployed to testnet very soon. We will bake it on testnet for a week before pushing to all delegates on the mainnet. Based on this implementation, if a delegate is unresponsive and not producing blocks, it will be put on probation for the next 6 epochs. This is just step one to ensure a fair and reliable ecosystem -- we will have further measures to make sure the network is impenetrable to attacks.

Internally, many interesting ideas about slashing are floating around. We are seeing this initiative from two dimensions. Dimension A is the slashing behavior. For example, equivocation (a delegate signs two blocks at the same time or endorses two blocks at the same height) is a malicious behavior that should be slashed. Dimension B is the slashing policy. For example, if a deposit of tokens will be taken (“slashed”) from delegates that purposefully attack the network. We will open up discussions with the community on this topic soon!

The second initiative that keeps core-dev very busy is the implementation of a new transaction-based native staking mechanism. One major part of Mainnet GA is establishing independence from Ethereum by migrating all stakes/votes on Ethereum to IoTeX. In parallel, we are designing a new transaction-based native staking mechanism that will be much more scalable than the current smart contract-based mechanism. A faster, more secure, and finally independent IoTeX network is coming soon!

As for now, we have multiple staking contracts deployed on Ethereum (eth-staking-version0, “esv0”) and IoTeX (native-staking-version1, “nsv1”), which has allowed users to stake with both IOTX-E (ERC20) and Native IOTX. Recent research and simulations by the core-dev team indicated that nsv1 may not be sufficiently scalable, as it is possible to hit the block gas limit if too many buckets exist on the native blockchain. Therefore, we refined the design and are building a new transaction-based mechanism (native-staking-version2, “nsv2”). Ultimately, states of esv0 and nsv1 will be merged to create nsv2 -- unit and integration testing is ongoing to ensure the migration process is error-free and nsv2 is prod-ready!

Along with our blockchain efforts, our product team is iterating on Ucam firmware, backend, and the iOS/Android apps. We are making great technical progress on Ucam, which will enable data ownership, privacy, and peace of mind for users around the world. For now, the firmware and major backed functions are complete and optimization is ongoing. The Ucam app is being beta tested by the entire IoTeX team and select pre-order participants -- we can’t wait for you to see how sleek and usable it is! We are actively working on the future crypto-economics of the IoTeX Network, which will introduce the economic models blending devices like Ucam with the IOTX token.

During these trying times, the entire world is being tested -- the IoTeX team is working safely and happily from home. This global pandemic has shown there is a huge need for trust and coordination in today’s world, and IoTeX is more motivated than ever to deliver our vision.

About IoTeX

Founded as an open-source platform in 2017, IoTeX is building the Internet of Trusted Things, where all physical and virtual “things” — humans, machines, businesses, and DApps — can exchange information and value at a global scale. Backed by a global team of 30+ top research scientists and engineers, IoTeX combines blockchain, secure hardware, and decentralized identity to empower intelligent IoT networks and machine economies. By serving as a decentralized trust fabric for IoT, IoTeX will empower the future decentralized world by “connecting the physical world, block by block”.

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