Radium Update #39 — Core Protocol
Upgrade SmartChain Vote Proposal
In this update, we would like to lay out the first SmartChain vote which will
decide the future of the Radium blockchain. The vote on the proposals
discussed below will be conducted between Monday 13th of November and
Monday 27th of November. We will be posting a how-to for people that are
unfamiliar with the SmartChain software.
Proposal #1: A New CodebaseOur first suggestion is to fork the Radium blockchain away from a Bitcoin-based codebase,
and towards a more ideal codebase: Stratis.
We feel that rebasing Radium to the Stratis protocol will transform development from supporting
an old Bitcoin codebase, to supporting and flourishing under a new paradigm of smart contracts
and an easily maintainable C# core protocol. Once a fork to the Stratis protocol is complete,
development will move at a much more rapid pace. The core Radium protocol will be easily
maintainable at parity with Stratis/Breeze, as well as easily extensible and auditable by the
expanding community of C# .NET developers. New features which do not require integration
into the core network can be developed using smart contracts.
The fork would take place in three stages: testnet, parity, and replacement.
During the testnet phase, we will work to fork the Stratis protocol to the point of functioning
and actively participating on the Radium testnet.
During the parity phase, we will work to further modify the new Stratis-based Radium client
to being capable of functioning and actively participating on the Radium main network.
Additionally, we will work to strengthen the stability and user interfaces within the new client
to ensure as smooth of a transition as possible.
During the replacement phase, usage of the new Radium client should overtake that of the
old Radium client. From that point, we will seek to implement features such as the SmartChain
and other passed SmartChain proposals directly into the new Radium client as either hard forks
(where needed) or smart contracts. At the conclusion of this stage, rapid core and community
development can begin.
What does proposal #1 mean for you?As a business: Hard forks implementing new features and solidifying the dominance of the new
Radium core client will not take place until we are 100% confident in the stability and performance
of the new client. It would be recommended to continue using the existing Radium client until
the conclusion of the replacement phase.
As a standard user: It would be recommended to continue using the existing Radium client until
the conclusion of the replacement phase. When the replacement phase does conclude, upgrading
should be a simple process that will be outlined at that time.
As a power user/developer: We would love for you to contribute to the testing and development of
the new Radium client! We welcome developers of all walks of life and all blockchain loyalties to contribute.
Proposal #2: A Funding MethodFrom the beginning of the project, we have not explored meaningful methods to fund the unorganized
entity that is Radium Core. Funding has been, until now, restricted to personal contributions from the
developers and the community.
We would like to continue to go down a path that does not involve an ICO. For that reason, we would
like to propose a block reward subsidy to fund an official Radium Core non-profit foundation. This subsidy
would be implemented as a hard fork at the conclusion of the replacement phase, in which the community
could elect what size of a block reward subsidy goes towards the foundation. At that time, we will lay out
transparent management and bylaws of the foundation to ensure actions are taken in the best interest of
the community. Major proposals requiring funding will require the active participation of the Radium
community through a SmartChain vote.
What does proposal #2 mean for you?For all users: If this hard fork progresses at the conclusion of the replacement phase, it will be your
responsibility to voice your participation status. You will be responsible for updating accordingly, as well as
voting on topics such as management, bylaws, and block reward subsidies.
Proposal #3: Increasing Stake Maturity RequirementsSince the beginning of the Radium blockchain, the requirements for a transaction to be mature for staking
have been 6 hours. Having such a low maturity requirement has resulted in an unintended consequence: users
trading Radium tokens on third party exchanges are able to transfer staking holdings into and out of exchanges
quickly with minimal impact on staking downtime. By increasing the maturity requirement to something such as
24 hours or 36 hours, market fluctuations will need to be much more extreme for staking users to forfeit staking
rewards to participate in the market. This decreases downside pressure, resulting in a more stable exchange rate.
Demonstration of these dynamics are visible in the markets of coins with masternodes, such as Dash and PIVX.
Market volatility is greatly reduced due to the high maturity requirements of operating a masternode, incentivising
users to keep their coins staking for longer.
— The Radium Team
