Minter v1.1.0

Hi, everyone! It is Daniil Lashin here, the lead developer at Minter.

It has been over five months since the launch of the network. We are actively working on improving the Minter ecosystem, and today, we are ready to announce an upgrade to our blockchain.

Below is a list of planned major changes:

1. Limited coin supply

In a new version of the blockchain, one will be able to set the maximum supply of a coin to be created. Once it is reached, there will be no possibility to buy new units. Users will be able to sell coins, pay transaction fees with them, and send them as usual. If current owners decide to sell their coins, other users will have the ability to buy.

This change will make projects much more flexible in terms of tokenizing their services.

2. Multi-signature wallets

In this upgrade, we will enable multisig wallets. One wallet may be owned by up to 20 addresses with varying numbers of votes. One will also be able to set the number of votes necessary to send a transaction from the wallet.

Multi-signature wallets will bring us one step closer to the IOM sidechain, something we will discuss in more detail in upcoming articles.

3. Database restructuring

The node database has been rebuilt almost from scratch. We managed to smooth out all bottlenecks, which helped us substantially improve performance and reduce memory consumption.

We have also restructured the system responsible for saving the state of the node. This will greatly facilitate the development of applications that require blockchain’s historical data.

4. Resolving issues

In a new version, we fixed a lot of minor issues related to the operation of the node. Among them are:

• The issue with the redemption of certain types of checks
• The API issue that surfaced under high loads

5. Code refactoring

We are heavily refactoring the code of our blockchain to allow for external audits.

6. Optimizing default configuration

We gathered validators’ feedback on the operation of their nodes and came up with an optimal configuration that will now be bundled with the node itself.

7. Console-enabled node management tool

We developed a tool for managing nodes via Console at the request of validators. Its primary features are:

• Checking the state of the blockchain
• Retrieving the list of connected peers
• Connecting/disconnecting peers (including persistent ones)
• Removing information about old blocks to save disk space

8. Paying a check redemption fee with any coin

When issuing a check, one will be able to specify a coin for the receiving party to pay in order to redeem it. This will provide for much wider opportunities for using custom coin checks.

When will the upgrade go live?

We intend to launch a testnet with an upgraded version within a month. The date for the mainnet upgrade will be determined later by the vote of the validators.

In the future, we plan to roll out major blockchain upgrades once every six months.

How will the upgrade take place?

After successful trials, we will announce the start of the validators’ voting for the implementation of the upgrade. The voting will be considered successful if ⅔ of network capacities support the change.

Into the block designated for the upgrade, validators will upload the current state of the blockchain and from it, create a new genesis file with id minter-mainnet-2. After this file has been verified, a new network will be launched with all balances, stakes, coins, validators, and candidates from the old network.