In an effort to mitigate potential attacks and reduce miner centralization threats, Masari has developed Cryptonight-Fast to serve as our proof of work algorithm. This article will explain why the fork is needed, and highlight necessary preparations.
Reasons for the fork
Within the past 30k blocks, Masari has forked twice. So why another one? The reason is that as a young coin with a relatively low network hashrate, Masari is exposed to a variety of both plain and exotic attacks. Plain attacks could include the rollout of CNv7 ASICs which would drive Masari towards miner centralization through ASIC hashes. Exotic attacks could include the redirection of hashing resources from large pools that offer CNv7; which opens the door for 51% and flash mining attacks.
Both of these attack vectors rely on Masari using CNv7. As such, the most apparent solution to reduce potential corruption within Masari’s network is to use a different algorithm. Cryptonight-Fast is a Masari development that has slight variations from the current CNv7 algo while maintaining Masari’s standard privacy features. CN-Fast will still allow for Masari developments to be pushed upstream and to the greater Cryptonote community.
Preparations
Fork height: 204,000— Est. date & time: June 18, 2018 @ 22:34 UTC
- Users — v0.2.4 Mac & Windows GUI wallets are available here: https://github.com/masari-project/masari-wallet-gui/releases/tag/v0.2.4.0. You can continue to use the Masari web wallet without issue. Exchange wallets will be updated on their backend.
- Pool operators — This fork will rollout the same way as the previous two. Please reference here: https://github.com/masari-project/nodejs-pool and if any other questions arise let us know in discord.
- Miners — This fork requires action from MSR miners. The entire Classy Caiman release can be seen here. In the next published release of XMR-Stak, CN-Fast will be a selectable option under the header of Masari. In the interim, Masari will produce a forked XMR-Stak loaded with MSR binaries. When available, announcements will be made on social media. Initial tests report a 30–50% hashrate increase across both CPUs and Nvidia/AMD GPUs.
Questions?
If you have questions about preparing for this fork, pop into our discord and ask away in the #support channel.
