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"We do not want to reinvent the wheel during construction [ethereum] 2.0 ".
Speaking to the complementary efforts of developers working on two separate updates to the etheum blockchain – one named ethereum 2.0 and the other called ethereum 1x – Raul Jordan insists that updates to be included in ethereum 1x on a shorter time frame would benefit from the continued search for ethereum 2.0.
Jordan is the co-lead for one of eight different teams of developers who are currently creating client software for ethereum 2.0.
(As a background, clients are software implementations usually written in different programming languages that users implement to connect and participate in the ethereum network.)
Keeping the "incremental improvements" proposed in ethereum 1x do not affect the long-term blockchain roadmap, Jordan told CoinDesk:
"I think both groups are fairly orthogonal, but we must at least be aware of what each one is implementing."
Currently, technical guidelines also called specifications for both updates are still very much in progress.
Having been discussed seriously among ethereum developers only in the last couple of weeks, ethereum 1x is intended as an intermediate update that focuses on improvements in the current ethereum network.
Ethereum 2.0, on the other hand, presents a more ambitious program that dates back to 2014 and consists of fundamental changes to the blockchain platform.
Known in its early days under the name of the "Serenity" project, the current specifications for ethereum 2.0 can be summarized as a combination of three main components:
- A shift to PoS from the current energy-intensive consensus protocol known as proof-of-work (PoW)
- Implementation of a scaling solution on the whole network called sharding
- A revamping of the virtual machine ethereum (EVM) – the engine responsible for distributing decentralized applications (dapps) on the blockchain – to execute a new programming code known as WebAssembly (WASM).
And while one of these components – namely the WASM implementation of ethereum – has the potential to be tested in the previous roadmap for ethereum 1x, most of the work to build ethereum 2.0 is still underway as a project separate.
And this work is done by eight different teams all over the world.
1. ChainSafe systems
Headquartered in Toronto, ChainSafe Systems is a blockchain research and development startup that provides consulting services to numerous ethereum projects including Shyft, Bunz, Aion and Polymath.
Motivated by the desire to "contribute to something bigger", ChainSafe's project lead Mikerah Quintyne-Collins told CoinDesk:
"For me, developing ethereum 2.0 was my way of making a mark in the future of the Internet."
Called Lodestar, Collins and his team are currently building a client ethereum 2.0 written in Javascript – the main programming language for web development.
Privately funded and seeking further support through the Ethereum Foundation grants program, Lodestar according to Collins is expected to "bring a range of web developers to the [ethereum] ecosystem."
"All of these programming languages have their communities." The whole community may not want to contribute, but it's big enough that some parts of it will want to contribute and build on the basis of ethereum, "Collins said.
Even suspecting development work to help the other blockchain platforms to progress, Collins stressed that according to her ethereum 2.0 does not mean securing the future of ethereum as the "main blockchain", saying:
"It's not about who's going to be the next big thing." "It's about trying to make these systems work." Just by doing so, we can reach another alleged killer ethereum who defeats the purpose of working on this. "
2. PegaSys
"Our goal is to bring companies to the mainnet, and we want to do that by creating software that is simpler for businesses."
Here is Faisal Khan, head of strategy and business development for the blockchain protocol engineering group, PegaSys.
Fully supported by Consensys – the self-proclaimed "venture production studio" of ethereum led by ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin – PegaSys is developing the ethereum 2.0 specification for an existing Java ethereum client called the Pantheon.
Presented recently at an ethereum developers meeting in Prague, Pantheon uses an open source software license called Apache 2.0 to allow companies to create products on the ethereum platform to monetize their intellectual property.
Speaking with CoinDesk, Khan emphasized that extending support for the ethereum 2.0 specification meant close collaboration with researchers at the Ethereum Foundation and other customer development teams.
"There are many points of contact." "It's a weekly call." "It's a research forum," ETH Research. "" It's a Gitter channel. "Communication is quite common, of course," crypto Twitter. " The conversation between none of the gods is rather rich [ethereum] 2.0 teams and the foundation, "said Khan.
Adding that, ethereum 2.0 would kick off a new "cycle of network effects, development and user growth" on the platform, Khan reiterated that the greatest need at the time of the project was "more people involved".
3. Harmony
Launched last October, Harmony is the original ethereum Java client previously managed by a group of independent developers called Ether Camp.
Now called simply the Harmony team, these groups of developers have recently received $ 90,000 through the Ethereum Foundation grants program to build specifications for ethereum 2.0.
Subsidized by the Ethereum Foundation, Harmony should continue to function as an alternative Java client to the Pantheon focused on the business.
Separated from the Apache 2.0 software license at the Pantheon base, Harmony operates under a General Public License (GPL) designed to ensure that any implementations of the code remain "free software and free software", as described in the official guide to the GPL.
Comparing the project to "building a new internet", developer Harmony Mikhail Kalinin told CoinDesk:
"The biggest challenges are keeping up with all the changes in the research area and tracking the progress of every part of the job." The purpose is enormous. "
4. Equality technologies
Co-founded by the former security director of the Ethereum Foundation, Jutta Steiner, Parity Technologies is a blockchain infrastructure company responsible for maintaining the second most popular client ethereum on the platform today.
The name of the customer called Parity Ethereum is self-proclaimed "the fastest and most advanced client ethereum".
As detailed in the official Wiki page, Parity Ethereum is programmed in Rust and built for "mission-critical use", which means fast sync speed and maximum uptime.
Speaking of renewed efforts to build an ethereum 2.0 client within the organization, the head of public affairs for equality Peter Mauric explained that ethereum 2.0 was indeed the "production-ready" version of the blockchain ethereum.
He told CoinDesk:
"In principle, I think that ethereum as it is today is very much in beta … Ethereum 2.0 is starting from this experimental project that Vitalik launched only a few years ago on a more productive blockchain protocol".
5. Prysmatic Labs
Building the first implementation of ethereum 2.0 in the Go programming language, Prysmatic Labs was launched in January with the goal of helping the blockchain ethereum reach scalability.
Speaking of commitment, Prysmatic Labs' team leader, Raul Jordan, told CoinDesk:
"Ethereum 2.0 is a scalable system based on the needs of a global computer … This means it will be able to handle the load of the real world needs … anything from something simple to a completely immense financial system built on it ".
Named Prysm, client ethereum 2.0 will act as the counterpart of the current most popular client implementation of blockchain, also written in Go, called Geth.
Not seeing customer development as a competitive process, Jordan highlighted that multiple different client implementations are a big necessity for the blockchain ethereum.
"The reason is that when you work on a blockchain like this, you want full decentralization of implementations, for example, if the blockchain ethereum is running on Prysm and there is a bug in Prysm, everyone can simply switch to [another client]. You have options, "Jordan said.
However, comparing the attempt to build "a public good", Jordan stressed that support for development work is largely due to the donation of the Ethereum Foundation and other private donors.
To date, receiving approximately $ 1 million of support, Jordan told CoinDesk that one of the biggest challenges in creating a client ethereum 2.0 was to make sure that the work matched "closely with the research".
He explained:
"There are new ideas that come out every week, every day, and basically we are building on an ever-changing specification … So I think one of the biggest challenges was just multitasking between the development and also making the research be good and we will evaluate the options going forward ".
6. Sigma Prime
Founded in 2016, Sigma Prime is a consulting firm in information security technology and blockchain.
Recently awarded with a grant of $ 150,000 from the Ethereum Foundation, the company is building a client ethereum 2.0 called Lighthouse written in the Rust programming language.
Being the second client implementation in Rust alongside Parity, Co-founder of Sigma Prime Paul Hauner told CoinDesk that he did not expect there to be "fundamental differences" between the two products.
Emphasizing that a duplication of work was actually "really desired in a blockchain", Hauner explained:
"The software has bugs, so if everyone runs the same client and there is a bug, everyone goes down in. If there is this diversity of customers, they are likely to have several bugs. All right, the rest of the network is always active. "
And speaking of the importance of updating ethereum 2.0 in general, Hauner added that not only users would notice "a huge increase in transactions per second", but also significant environmental gains thanks to a proof-of-consent protocol. pole.
"Personally, I feel that people will use it and it will work." In terms of current technology, I have no concern about it being feasible and bulletproof right now – absolutely not – it was not built, "he said Hauner.
7. State
A messaging platform and a mobile browser specially designed to engage users on the blockchain ethereum, Status presented this August an active development for a client ethereum 2.0 called Nimbus written in the Nim programming language.
Funded in part by a grant of $ 500,000 from the Ethereum Foundation, the project's goal, as highlighted on the official website, is "to promote the mass adoption of ethereum" by optimizing Nimbus for performance on "devices" limited resources ".
As such, taking advantage of the lightweight Nim code execution capabilities, Nimbus should be the first ethereum mobile client connecting smartphone devices and other portable electronic devices to the blockchain platform.
With eight major contributors to the project, Status highlighted in a blog post a few months ago that he is looking for further support for developers.
"We are completely open source and we encourage the contribution of those who want to be involved," wrote the head of research development at Status Jacek Sieka.
In addition, talking to CoinDesk, Sieka added that it included the development work for the creation of ethereum 2.0 in several phases, with a suspected network of tests for one of the first components called the chain of beacon that will arrive a bit. time in the next year.
"That said, the research is underway and all the deadlines are usually evolving, but from the end user's point of view, one year, two years is a reasonable deadline to be expected for [ethereum 2.0] to become generally useful, "said Sieka.
8. Trinity
Last but not least, Trinity is a current ethereum client written in Python programming language.
Promoted as the new standard Python implementation for ethereum, Trinity presents an updated code to the now inactive PyEthApp originally created by the ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.
Having launched this year at an early stage of alpha, Trinity includes six developers including Merriam all but one of whom was hired to work at the Ethereum Foundation.
He also expected to build support for the specifications of ethereum 2.0, the main architect of Trinity Piper Merriam highlighted the development "on the border between research and implementation" was what he did best.
"I like the application of theory rather than theory, research on the protocol is clear, but the implementation of the protocols is more in line with what I'm good at," Merriam said.
Adding that the work was really "only at the beginning", Merriam compared the development process of the client ethereum 2.0 as a set of "a puzzle".
A puzzle that requires a lot of hands, it is expected that the collective work of all eight teams will mutually reinforce each other and guarantee the future of the blockchain ethereum.
Merriam told CoinDesk:
"Having many implementations of any protocol … we can derive the security that the written definition of the protocol is accurate [and] that individual customers are correct. "
Metalworking image through Shutterstock
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