tl;dr
Altair pre-release is out
Over the previous week, beacon chain Altair pre-release specs — Stargazer v1.1.0-alpha.1 and Half of ’em just look like dots v1.1.0-alpha.2 — had been launched. These characterize the primary characteristic full releases of the upcoming Altair improve to the beacon chain, and provides engineering groups one thing concrete to dig into.
Altair is an improve to the beacon chain that brings gentle consumer assist, minor patches to incentives, per-validator inactivity leak accounting, a rise in slashing severity, and cleanups to validator rewards accounting for simplified state administration.
Along with these varied options, Altair additionally represents a “warm-up improve” for the beacon chain and beacon chain purchasers. Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system has run fairly easily since genesis, however earlier than performing the high-stakes merge, consumer groups wish to undergo the method of a stay improve to additional check and prepared their codebases and the stay system.
Shopper groups are presently integrating adjustments from the pre-release and offering suggestions alongside the best way. After this course of, we’ll minimize a full launch and start the testnet part.
Open name: Safety RfP
Final week, the EF revealed a beacon chain security+testing RfP. That is an open name for proposals that intention to enhance the beacon chain’s safety, evaluation, and testing. Past consumer engineering, there’s lots to be accomplished to proceed to vet, refine, and harden the beacon chain system previous to the merge, and we wish to carry in additional groups with all kinds of experience to dig in.
Try the RfP’s potential areas of focus for some concepts, however if you’re having hassle narrowing down these varied domains right into a extra refined proposal, be happy to e-mail rfp@ethereum.org for some steerage. Present some background on you or your staff’s skillset and expertise, together with some fundamental path, and we are able to work collectively to refine a proposal.
If you recognize of a staff or person who may be properly suited to this RfP, please ahead it alongside!
Merge progress
Merge progress is heating up 🔥
What’s the merge you ask? It is the unification of Ethereum’s application-layer (presently supported by proof-of-work) with Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus-layer, the beacon chain. Though the beacon chain is already stay, it presently solely involves consensus on itself, however after the merge, the beacon chain would be the driver of all of the dapps, good contracts, and accounts that you just use at the moment.
Over the previous few weeks, merge designs have continued to be refined. Try Mikhail’s current spec PR for the newest synthesis of merge plans and construction. We count on these base designs to be built-in into the specs shortly and for engineering groups to start work on the following wave of demos and testnets.
Along with our asynchronous analysis, design, and engineering, we have begun a fort-nightly name to extend collaboration throughout the various groups. You may comply with together with progress and take part actively within the Eth R&D discord #merge channel 🚀