Announcing the Pandacoin Network Swap

Pandacoin launched in 2014 as a Scrypt algorithm coin with a 3 month mining phase before a transition to Proof-of-Stake. There was no ICO, no premine, and no instamine. 7 years later, we’re conducting our largest upgrade to modernise Pandacoin. This starts with a swap.

Why The Swap?

At its core, the swap serves as the foundations to our development pipeline. Network upgrades that currently aren’t possible will soon be, leading to a wide range of feature upgrades to the Pandacoin network that ramp up both development and the ways in which the coin is used.

As of now, the Pandacoin blockchain is bloated, with a block time of 1 minute, it takes users days on an SSD to synchronise their wallets for the first time; by performing the swap, we’ll be capable of starting fresh with a 10 minute block time, reducing network weight and thus wallet synchronisation time.

After the swap, Pandacoin will be using a new wallet. The links to the binaries and source code will be found in a future post, closer to the swap date. Our current Pandabank will then be discontinued. If you’d like a glimpse at the upcoming wallet, please see the testnet segment.

What Do I Have To Do?

The swap won’t be taking place until May 17. This gives existing holders, new holders, and exchanges time to prepare. However, when the time comes, current holders will not be required to do anything other than download and synchronise the new wallet.

The Pandacoin Team will be taking a snapshot of the current blockchain to record balances and addresses in preparation of the swap. There will be a cut-off date in which transactions won’t be recorded, but we’ll remain clear in our wording and transparent as to when these dates and times are to take place. As of now, the swap is scheduled for May 17, at 13:00. UTC + 02:00.

Your current addresses will remain and will receive their balances upon the swap.

Running The Testnet:

We’ve been privately running a testnet of our upcoming post-swap network, and will now be taking it public until the swap date. All are now capable of entering the testnet. It goes without saying, however we will say it: testnet coins are not the same as your current Pandacoin balances. Spending testnet Pandacoin will NOT spend the Pandacoin that sits in your wallet now.

If you choose to participate in our public testnet, please forward any bugs or feedback to the Pandacoin Team via GitLab issues or our Telegram and Twitter.

Please visit the GitLab link here for more information: https://gitlab.com/pandacoin/pandacoin/-/wikis/testnet

For source code and binaries for the testnet, follow this GitLab link: https://gitlab.com/pandacoin/pandacoin/-/releases/v0.9.0pnd.tn3

The Technicals

1. Upon the swap, the Pandacoin blockchain will begin following the Peercoin codebase. The decision to do so stems from much cleaner code and useful optimisations that keep the Pandacoin blockchain close to both Bitcoin and Peercoin. As mentioned above, this means longer block times but reduced network weight and improved synchronisation speeds.
2. Mining will also make a return! We’ll be adding Proof-of-Work to Pandacoin under the SHA256 algorithm. We have a current expectancy for this of every other 6 blocks. Though we will note that Proof-of-Stake will continue as it is, keeping our current 2.5% APY for staking. This will serve as an important addition that increases network strength and survival.
3. Following Peercoin’s codebase, one unit of PND will decrement from a current 8 decimal range to 6 decimal range. Example: The amount 1234.12345678will change to 1234.123456
4. Retrieval of lost developer funds will take place from the following wallet addresses:

The funds will be moved to new wallet addresses, and will be used for their original intended purposes. More on this will be made clear in time, as we ensure the process is done with the utmost transparency going forward.

Note To Exchanges:

If you’re an exchange that lists Pandacoin, we’ll be in touch closer to the swap to provide assistance and ensure the transition is of the utmost ease for you and your customers.

Alternatively, if you’re an exchange that would like to list Pandacoin and support the swap, please reach out to us via one of our entry points, found at the end of this post.

If you have any questions regarding the swap, or simply need some assistance, please reach out to us via Twitter or Telegram.

Entry Points:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PandaCoinPND

Telegram: https://t.me/DigitalPandacoin

GitLab: https://gitlab.com/pandacoin/pandacoin

Website: https://pandacoin.tech/

CoinGecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/pandacoin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pandacoin.PND

We’d like to offer special thanks to our developer Timon Sasse for his time and efforts conducting the preparation of this swap.