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Welcome to our highly anticipated update. There has been a lot going on recently as you can see by this long in-depth article. This article covers a lot of subjects but please take time to read it. We are excited by the progress we have made and are looking forward to the next phase in Solar’s development.
Closure of the Swap Portal
We’re thrilled to share that the SXP Swap Portal has officially closed. We want to extend our deepest appreciation to every member of our community that took part in the swap and assisted in spreading the word.
Your continuous support and active involvement has been instrumental in the smooth execution of this process.
From the 5,000,000th block on the Solar Network mainnet, the previous restrictions on the Swap Wallet have been removed, rendering it fully spendable.
Several transactions have been initiated since this change, as keenly noted by our diligent community members and block producers.
The transactions included:
- 31.2 million SXP from the Treasury Contract
- 975,000 SXP returned from the initial project funding
- 17,036,708 SXP for the initial blockchain development services
- 1,899 SXP returned to a user who inadvertently deposited into the Swap Wallet back in October
- KuCoin was given a total of 1,884,754 SXP as a result of blacklisted wallets on Ethereum from the known KuCoin hack
Remaining funds have been moved to the Solar Blockchain Foundation cold wallet.
So, what’s next for the funds transferred to the Solar Blockchain Foundation cold wallet?
As it turned out, the initial team was unable to fulfill their commitment to establishing the Solar Growth Fund, so the remaining Swap Wallet funds shall be used for the development of Solar products, marketing initiatives, operational expenses, as well as grants and donations for new projects on the Solar Blockchain that are seeking funding.
Our aim is to strategically allocate these resources over a minimum period of 5 years. With the inclusion of donations from Dokdo obtained through the Solar Card program, this time-frame may even extend beyond 5 years.
There is no time-lock or other restriction on these funds as, at times, an extra financial injection may be required and the expenditure cannot be expected to be uniform each month. For instance, we foresee a higher marketing spend following the Core 5.0 release, whereas the preceding months may require less funding. This approach also applies to the Solar Card program among other initiatives.
On that note, we are pleased to announce that a proposal to abolish the transitional protocol-level funding for development and the foundation has been approved by the block producers as it is no longer required. These changes will come into effect with the next testnet release. Eliminating the developer fund and foundation fund will result in a 10% decrease in the inflation of SXP.
This change will not affect the reward that each block producer keeps per block. The key difference lies in the absence of protocol-level funding donations from the block producers. This strategic decision was made in line with our long-term commitment to sustaining a healthy economic environment within the Solar ecosystem.
Whitepaper
With secured funding to fuel Solar’s future growth, we are both delighted and proud to release a new whitepaper. The unveiling of this whitepaper represents a significant stride forward in Solar’s development journey. It details our project objectives for the current year, 2023. As time progresses, we will consistently revise and update this whitepaper in alignment with the developments and enhancements within the Solar ecosystem. This living document will reflect our commitment to innovation, transparency, and our community’s ever-evolving needs. We eagerly anticipate the strides we will make together in the upcoming year.
Visit the link below to read the new Whitepaper.
https://docs.solar.org/project/whitepaper/
Technical Update
During the last quarter, the developers have been working on Solar Core 5.0 which is slated to be released later this year. Progress has been made on several important features, including the implementation of an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), username registration and permissioned keys.
Solar Virtual Machine
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is what allows smart contracts to function on Ethereum and many of its forks and competitors. Without going into too many technicalities, this virtual machine captures the state of every contract on the network as each new block is generated and added to the blockchain. It functions separately from the distributed ledger that many would view as the actual blockchain.
Rather than just forking an existing Ethereum execution client like Geth and relying on Ethereum for updates, Solar is working on an implementation created specifically for Solar Core. This ensures our Solar Virtual Machine (SVM) will function without fault while running alongside the Solar blockchain and that it incorporates every feature required for the support of tokens, NFTs, smart contracts, MetaMask compatibility and any tools developed for the Ethereum ecosystem.
While creating a custom implementation is considerably more difficult and strenuous than just relying on Ethereum to progress, it is the only way to guarantee that Solar Core 5.0 brings all the features you are excited for in a safe, secure and easy-to-use way. The Solar Core nodes will process batches of transactions for both the blockchain itself as well as for the virtual machine powering smart contracts and more.
Current progress we’ve made includes being able to deploy and call smart contracts, contract accounts and persisting contract data. More work is required, but we are making great progress and will be able to supply you with both a sovereign blockchain and a virtual machine allowing us to take the fight to top ranked projects, rather than being dependent on other projects.
Solar Core 5.0 nodes, terminology updates and more
Using these nodes as development tools, our developers have an instrumental way of making sure all upcoming changes will integrate seamlessly as the network upgrades.
Terminology has been updated to better reflect industry standards, including changes from delegate to block producer, productivity to reliability and missed blocks to failures. They are visible on Solarscan and have already been introduced into our community platforms on Telegram and Discord. The change of delegate to block producer will be expanded in Solar Core 5.0 by allowing usernames to be registered by anyone, without them becoming block producers by default. This allows for a broader use of the usernames on the network (more on this in the next section!) and a lower cost to register usernames, while anyone will still be able to upgrade their username to a block producer via a separate upgrade transaction.
The Public API will now start before blockchain synchronisation to have a faster response and both burn amounts and balance rank have been incorporated (the latter two being available on Solarscan already, too!). Blockchain search has been improved by improving the speed to search public keys and blocks by height before identifier.
A full list of public commits to the Solar Core 5.0 development can be found on GitHub: https://github.com/Solar-network/core/commits/5.0
Username registration
Currently, a username on the Solar blockchain is linked to registering as a block producer. With Solar Core 5.0, a separation will be made which allows usernames to be registered without immediately registering as a block producer. One can still choose to upgrade their username to become a block producer in a separate upgrade transaction, but this is not required.
Having usernames registered on-chain allows for a number of improvements and use cases to be introduced. For example, a username can function as a human-readable account name so you only need to know a username rather than a full blockchain address to transfer funds to someone else. This simplifies the process of sending transactions and makes it more user-friendly while minimising the possibility of errors when inputting a recipient, which in turn improves the user experience.
The combination of on-chain usernames and (smart) contracts or applications means that usernames can be used with a wide variety of use cases. This includes domain names leading to personal or corporate websites, (encrypted) messaging apps and cross-chain support. One could imagine a contract which allows for transferring SXP and receiving a different currency to a specified address, or implementing a digital ID connected to a username. There are numerous possibilities and usernames can play a vital part in making Solar Core a powerful tool for your blockchain applications while enhancing accessibility.
Permissioned keys
Besides having a public repository, most work on Solar Core 5.0 is being done in private repositories. This allows the developers to freely work on any feature that sets Solar Core apart from the competition, without allowing the competitors to copy their work or newfound implementations. We do want to give you a sneak peak into these private commits, and for this update we have selected a feature we are very excited about: permissioned keys. Please note as this feature is still under development, specifics may be subject to change without notice.
In the current (Solar Core 4.x) implementation, all end-user interactions with the blockchain core are based on their single mnemonic and (derived from the mnemonic) their public key and address. This mnemonic is used to transfer, vote and register or resign as a block producer. Solar Core 5.0 will introduce permissioned keys, with which you can access only prespecified functionalities. This means you can use the balance in your wallet without ever using the mnemonic that generated it — enhancing your security even further.
The original “master” mnemonic will still retain all functionality, however users will be able to register additional permissioned keys that use a separate mnemonic for specific predetermined functionalities. The original mnemonic can be used to register any number of permissioned keys and a user can therefore create any number of additional mnemonics that can only transfer (an unlimited or predetermined amount of) SXP or that can only be used to update the vote of the wallet, for example.
As an example, this allows users to register a permissioned key for their address with a spending limit, which they can share with a relative or friend and give them access to a specific amount of funds. It allows them to share their address and/or funds with a preset amount.
To end the technical update on another sneak peek: for block production, BLS signatures will be used rather than permissioned keys.
Travel Update
The second week in June was a busy time for Solar as we traveled to 3 countries networking and making connections. Here is a summary.
Izmir Turkey
Solar visited the beautiful city of Izmir in Turkey to attend the Respect Trade Blockchain Summit on June 10th. Respect Trade is a well-established organisation that brings together crypto influencers, traders and blockchain projects and solutions. Solar was proud to be one of the event sponsors along with Bitget Turkey, ByTrade, Aurora, YachtingVerse and Iuppiter.
Nayiem Willems, Solar’s project leader, gave a presentation on the imminent release of the Solar Debit Card, Solar Core 5.0 and District 53. The speech was well received, and the rest of the day was spent networking and making business connections.
We look forward to revisiting Turkey again soon, and we would like to say a special thank you to Respect Trade for their generous hospitality.
Tokyo, Japan
The next stop for Solar was Tokyo, Japan. There was a meeting with a Japanese exchange to discuss the whitelisting of SXP. Whitelisting SXP would open up all major Japanese exchanges to us. This is a massive opportunity for Solar as the Japanese market is notoriously difficult to break into.
Other items discussed were:
- Custom branding Solar to match local interests
- Solar Debit Card marketing
- Custom voting integration on exchanges
- Product research
This was a short visit, but it has paved the way for further meetings in Japan. It was a valuable insight into Japanese crypto culture too.
Seoul, Republic of Korea
The next stop after Japan was Seoul, Republic of Korea. The Korean community was eager to hear news about Solar’s visit. They were particularly interested to learn about Nayiem’s reaction to buldak (Korean fiery chicken noodles) and spicy Korean food in general. Apparently, he handled it well!
The meeting in the Republic of Korea proved to be extremely beneficial and a wide range of important topics were discussed, including:
- Korean exchanges and specialised support and integration
- Block Producer Voting for Koreans
- Travel rule solutions
- Supporting and introducing the Solar Debit Card in the Republic of Korea
- Market making
- Korean Blockchain Week and hosting side events
- Marketing for all Solar related products
- Future 3rd party collaborations
The travel rule has been a significant barrier for the Korean Solar community who are not able to use all their SXP for voting. Solar has been looking into various solutions to this issue.
The meetings in the Republic of Korea proved to be very valuable and we would like to send a special thank you to Lysithea Ventures for their wonderful hospitality. We look forward to revisiting the Republic of Korea again very soon for the Korean Blockchain Week in Seoul.
We will bring you more travel updates as and when they happen. Please keep checking our blog and Social Media platforms and stay in touch!
Lysithea Ventures
Lysithea Ventures is a renowned business service entity that helps projects to break into the Korean market. Their expertise and comprehensive understanding of international and local market dynamics have allowed them to develop and execute successful strategies for numerous projects.
Collaborating with Lysithea brings invaluable benefits to Solar. Lysithea Ventures will help expand our reach in the Republic of Korea and help us gain an insight into the Korean market. Lysithea Ventures will also provide us with opportunities to reach potential users and projects in the Republic of Korea.
ICO Pantera
ICO Pantera, another crucial part of Solar’s strategic alliance, is acknowledged as the leading Korean community in the crypto and blockchain arena. As a direct creation of Lysithea Ventures, ICO Pantera is a platform for crypto enthusiasts and influencers.
This community not only shares insights and information but also spurs the growth of projects in the blockchain domain. Solar’s association with ICO Pantera brings Solar closer to the Korean audience, fostering a more profound engagement and opening doors for collaboration and growth.
Solar Card
With the start of the third quarter, anticipation is mounting for an update from Dokdo regarding the imminent launch of the Solar Card.
The rollout of the Solar Card program will be phased, providing early access to users around the globe. The initial release will concentrate on Europe, followed sequentially by the USA, Asia, and eventually the rest of the world. We’re excited to confirm that the first batch of invitations will be dispatched next week, with the intention to finalise all invitations by the end of this month. Following this, the Solar Card app will be made publicly available for all users to download.
Stay in the loop with all the latest updates by following Dokdo on their social media platforms and Telegram channel. Expect exciting announcements coming your way soon!
Thank you for reading!
Elaine Egan — Solar Brand Ambassador
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