A NEW STAGE FOR TENEROTenero v0.3.0-gamma.1 is now available.
This is a major milestone for the project. Gamma introduces a
new blockchain network with FCMP++ and Carrot-based wallet functionality from genesis.
Rather than continuing the beta chain, gamma starts with a fresh genesis block and a new chain ID. The beta network is closing, and the existing seed servers and test pool are being switched over to gamma.
The goal is to begin testing the new privacy architecture, wallet functionality, consensus rules, and mining software together on a fresh network.
This is still an experimental testnet, not a permanent mainnet launch.
IMPORTANT — READ BEFORE UPGRADINGGamma is a
new and separate blockchain, not a fork of beta.
- The new network starts from a fresh genesis block.
- There is no premine; the genesis block creates no coins.
- Nothing transfers from alpha or beta to gamma.
- The new software runs gamma, dev, and test networks, not alpha or beta.
- All node, miner, wallet, GUI, explorer, and pool software must use version 0.3.0.
Your existing 24-word beta wallet seed can be used to restore a wallet on gamma, but the restored wallet will start with an empty balance on the new chain.
Do not expect beta testnet coins to carry over.The new gamma addresses begin with:
The beta network is closing as the gamma network comes online.
1. FCMP++ — FULL-CHAIN MEMBERSHIP PROOFSOne of the biggest changes in gamma is the introduction of
FCMP++.
Traditional ring-signature systems hide a spent output among a limited set of possible outputs. Tenero's previous design used a ring size of 16.
FCMP++ takes a different approach.
Instead of proving that a spend belongs to a small ring of possible outputs, the spender proves membership against the set of outputs on the chain.
The intended privacy architecture includes:
- Full-chain membership proofs
- Hidden transaction amounts using Pedersen commitments
- Bulletproofs+ range proofs
- Private spending through the FCMP++ construction
The FCMP++ implementation uses Monero's Rust code from
monero-oxide, pinned to the commit used by Monero's own FCMP++ test network.
However, this must be understood in context.
Monero has not deployed FCMP++ on its own main network, and the relevant code is only partly audited. Tenero's use of it has not received an independent audit.
The presence of FCMP++ does not mean gamma is proven private or secure.There are also practical privacy limitations during the early life of a chain. When there are few outputs, the anonymity set is small. The timing of transactions can still reveal information, particularly during the initial mining period.
2. CARROT ADDRESSES AND WALLET SUPPORTGamma also introduces the planned
Carrot-based wallet architecture.
Carrot is designed to improve wallet functionality and privacy while supporting features such as subaddresses and view-only wallets.
The gamma implementation includes:
- Carrot addresses
- Subaddresses
- Integrated addresses with payment IDs
- View-only wallets
- Multiple accounts derived from the same 24-word seed
- Improved wallet history
The Rust implementation was written from the Carrot specification because a Rust implementation was not available for this project to use.
The implementation is tested against Monero's C++ implementation for bit-for-bit agreement on keys, addresses, outputs, scanning, and key images.
These tests are useful, but they are not a substitute for independent review.
The Carrot implementation, the surrounding curve-tree bookkeeping, and the integration with the wallet and consensus rules remain unaudited.
3. VIEW-ONLY WALLETSGamma introduces view-only wallets.
These allow someone to inspect wallet activity without giving the wallet the ability to spend funds.
Two viewing modes are supported:
- View-all: sees incoming and outgoing payments and the true wallet balance.
- View-received: sees incoming payments only.
A view-only wallet does not possess the spend key and cannot perform operations requiring it.
The GUI can display a view key after the wallet has been unlocked. A view-only wallet can then be created from the welcome screen or restored through the CLI:
tenero-wallet restore-view
View keys are secrets and should only be shared with people you intend to authorize to inspect the corresponding wallet activity.
4. MESSAGE SIGNATURES AND PAYMENT PROOFSGamma includes message-signing and payment-proof functionality.
These are custom constructions for Tenero because the Carrot specification and Monero's implementation do not yet define equivalent Carrot message signatures and payment proofs for this project to use directly.
The wallet includes:
- Message signatures using the `TENsig1...` format
- Payment proofs using the `TENpay1...` format
- Verification tools for checking the proofs
An independent Python reference implementation is used to check the Rust implementation byte-for-byte.
However, these signature and payment-proof constructions are
our own and have not been independently reviewed.
Payment proofs can reveal the relevant payment information to whoever receives the proof. They should not be treated as a way to preserve privacy from the recipient or verifier.
Documentation:
WALLET_PROOFS.md
5. NEW CHAIN PARAMETERSThe gamma network starts with its own genesis block and chain identity.
Network: gamma
Premine: none
Proof-of-work: gathered-memory matmulhash design, active from block 0
Starting target: 2^237
Starting address prefix: TENg
Control port: 38352
P2P port: 38353
The starting target is intended to correspond to approximately 524,000 attempts per block at the initial difficulty. Actual block timing will depend on the available mining power.
The gathered proof-of-work introduced in beta.2 is used from the beginning of gamma, rather than activating after a fork height.
The gamma network is separate from beta and has its own block history.
6. PRUNING AND BLOCK STORAGENodes now prune old proof data by default.
The default configuration retains the proofs for the most recent 5,500 blocks, reducing long-term disk growth.
For operators who want to retain the complete chain data, archive mode can be enabled with:
An archive node is recommended for seed infrastructure and for the node used by the block explorer.
Pruning behavior is intended to make running a node more manageable without requiring every operator to retain every historical proof indefinitely.
7. BLOCK WEIGHT AND TRANSACTION CAPACITYGamma also introduces a block-weight model designed to allow the network to grow as demand increases.
Transaction proofs count as one quarter of their byte size for block-weight accounting.
The rules allow block weight to grow with demand up to:
Maximum block weight: 12 MiB
Equivalent real bytes: up to 48 MiB
The long-term block-size adjustment uses a median-based mechanism similar in principle to Monero's approach.
The maximum is a protocol limit, not a claim that the current network can sustain blocks of this size in practice.
No large-scale test has yet demonstrated that maximum capacity.
8. MINING, COMPACT BLOCKS AND POOLSThe gamma release includes the node, miner, wallet, GUI wallet, block explorer, seed utility, pool, and pool verification utility.
Compact block templates have also been introduced.
Instead of requiring a remote miner to receive a full block template containing every transaction, the node can provide a compact template using the block header, reward, and transaction IDs.
This allows remote miners and pool miners to work with the full protocol block-weight limit without the old 3 MiB template cap.
The included pool is still an experimental developer-operated service. It runs on one operator's infrastructure, has not been independently reviewed, and has not been tested at scale.
Pool payments are not guaranteed. The pool operator retains the block rewards, and there is no independent mechanism guaranteeing that the operator will pay miners.
Do not use the pool as though it were a trusted or production service.
9. NETWORK BOOTSTRAPGamma has two built-in seed endpoints:
195.26.244.245:38353
194.238.27.60:38353
These run on two machines, but both are controlled by the same developer. This is not the same as having three or more independent seed operators.
The project still needs independent node operators and seed infrastructure.
Running a node yourself is one of the most useful ways to help test the network.
10. BUG FIXES FROM BETA TESTINGGamma also includes fixes for problems discovered during beta testing.
One important issue involved nodes that were far behind the chain.
Previously, a syncing node could receive transactions, judge them against its old chain, and incorrectly penalize peers for sending transactions that were valid on the current chain. This could eventually leave the node with no peers while incorrectly reporting that it was synchronized.
The new implementation avoids judging new transactions against an outdated chain during synchronization. It also reports when a node has no peers and therefore cannot determine whether it is up to date.
Other changes improve duplicate transaction handling and the time needed to quote fees for payments involving many inputs.
These changes are based on testing and feedback, but some of the new network fixes have been verified through simulation rather than extensive real-world gamma operation.
11. TEST STATUS AND KNOWN LIMITATIONSThe gamma release passed:
Automated tests: 1,151 passed
Failed: 0
Skipped: 37
The skipped tests include GPU-dependent tests and longer tests that are run manually.
The release also includes end-to-end tests covering mining, transactions, real FCMP++ proof verification by a node, view-only wallets, message signatures, payment proofs, pool connections, and wallet application logic.
The RTX 5070 Ti GPU miner has been tested by the developer. Additional hardware support has been compiled for NVIDIA RTX 30-series and newer GPUs, but those other architectures have not all been tested physically.
The following limitations are especially important:
- The FCMP++ implementation has only partial upstream auditing, and its use in Tenero has not been independently audited.
- The Carrot implementation and curve-tree bookkeeping are unaudited.
- Message signatures and payment proofs are custom constructions that have not been independently reviewed.
- The network is brand new, and real-world gamma testing has only just begun.
- The seed servers and pool remain under one operator.
- The Linux GUI and GPU miner have not yet been fully tested.
- Early-chain privacy is limited by the small anonymity set and transaction timing.
Please read the project's known issues and threat model before participating:
KNOWN_ISSUES.mdTHREAT_MODEL.md
12. DOWNLOAD AND UPGRADERelease:Tenero v0.3.0-gamma.1Source code:GitHub RepositoryAll gamma components should be run at version 0.3.0:
- tenerod
- tenero-miner
- tenero-wallet
- tenero-wallet-gui
- tenero-explorer
- tenero-pool
- tenero-poolcheck
The release packages include the documentation, running instructions, pool instructions, and wallet proof documentation.
The binaries are not code-signed. Verify the SHA256 checksum before running downloads, or build from source.
13. COMMUNITY / REPORTINGGitHub Discussions:https://github.com/zad112/Tenero/discussionsReddit:https://www.reddit.com/r/Tenero/Discord:https://discord.gg/ZwMGXwQdCJReport ordinary bugs through GitHub Issues.
For security problems, use GitHub's private vulnerability reporting rather than publicly posting exploit details.
14. MAINNET PLANSThe previously stated target for permanent mainnet has been November 1, 2026.
Gamma is a new experimental network with substantial privacy and wallet changes, so the priority now is to test it thoroughly and find problems before any permanent launch.
The date remains a target, not a guarantee. Critical consensus, cryptographic, or security issues must take priority over a fixed schedule.
GAMMA IS A TEST NETWORK
Nothing on this network has monetary value.
The network may be reset at any time.
The software is unaudited.
The privacy architecture and custom wallet proofs are experimental.
There is no premine and no coin sale.
Do not use gamma to store anything you cannot afford to lose.
The objective remains simple:
Build it. Mine it. Test it. Break it. Improve it.
Feedback, code review, GPU benchmarks, independent node operation, privacy analysis, and bug reports are welcome.