HYDRA 2.0 Rollout begins with Delegated Staking, 32 Sec Block Time Reduction and many more
We are happy to announce that another major milestone is going live today — the release of various new features on the Hydra Public Testnet!
Today’s deployment is the result of multiple months of hard work, and will allow our community to test and verify some of the first features of Hydra 2.0.
We are excited to share the new release version with you, and are planning a public testing event with the participation of our community members.
With this upgrade, the network performance of Hydra will be boosted by a factor of 4!
Summary of New Features
The release comes with a set of completely new features, and various improvements to existing ones.
Among the many upgrades, the more notable ones are:
✅ Block time reduction from current 128 seconds, to 32 seconds
✅ Integration of the Delegated Staking feature
✅ Integration of Superstaking capabilities
✅ EVM version now includes Istanbul release
✅ Upgrade to Bitcoin Core v0.20.1 (latest improvements inherited from the Bitcoin wallet)
Additional Improvements:
- Add RPC calls for offline staking utilization
- Add functionality to estimate the gas cost for contract creation
- Update EVM to include Istanbul and Muir Glacier updates: EIP 152, EIP 1108, EIP 1344, EIP 1884, EIP 2028, EIP 2200, EIP 2384.
- Add HRC20 RPC endpoints to manage HRC20 tokens:
hrc20name, hrc20symbol, hrc20totalsupply, hrc20decimals, hrc20balanceof, hrc20allowance, hrc20approve, hrc20transfer, hrc20transferfrom, hrc20burn, hrc20burnfrom, hrc20listtransactions
Downloading the Testnet Client
To try out the new features, you will need to download and install a new wallet version, which can be accessed from the below link:
Important: Please note that the testnet and mainnet can not be launched at the same time. We therefore recommend to use separate devices or instances for the two, as otherwise you won’t be able to continue staking on the mainnet while running the testnet.
Note: The new wallet version is capable of running mainnet and you can stake with it too. But please keep in mind that it is still under testing (now with public participants) and therefore is not the recommended version for staking on mainnet.
To participate in the testnet, simply follow the below steps:
- Download & Install the above linked wallet version (Installation Guides)
- Launch the wallet in testnet mode (The shortcut with testnet in the name!)
- Directly go to the wallet settings and enable superstaking:
Settings → Options → Main→ Enable Superstaking
You should complete step 3 immediately and without waiting for the wallet to synchronize, since otherwise you will need to synchronize again.
Importing your Test-Wallet
After installation and synchronization with the chain, you will need to create and import a testnet wallet address.
- Go to webwallet.hydrachain.org
- On the settings, change the network from “mainnet” to “testnet” (you will need to reload the page)
- Generate an address
- Copy the private key
- Go to your staking client’s console (Help → Information Window → Console) and enter the command:
importprivkey “KEY”
Where KEY is the private key of the wallet. If you have encrypted your wallet before, you need to unlock your wallet first.
Testnet Explorer
If you want to browse through the testnet or track transactions, you can do so through the explorer below. It works the same way as the regular explorer you are used to, but is connected to the testnet instead.
Upcoming Hard-Fork at Block #270,200
Currently the testnet is still running on its old version. The above changes will go into effect with the hard-fork planned at block #270,200. Anyone who downloads the new wallet version and runs the testnet, will automatically participate in the hard-fork and be part of the upgrade event.
Those who join the testnet after block 270,200 will automatically enter it with the new features.
Block 270,200 is expected to be mined on Friday, June 24 — European Daytime.
Note: The soft-work will only happen on the testnet. There won’t be any changes on the mainnet.
Important: If you are running a node on the testnet, please make sure to update your client, as otherwise you will not be able to connect with other nodes after block 270,200.
Testnet Participation Bounty
In the coming days we will be launching a testing bounty, where those who participate in the testnet and complete certain tasks/goals, will be rewarded with small prizes.
No testing environment beats the real world in terms of complexity and creating corner cases.
Make sure to organize and prepare a staking instance if you want to participate.
The testnet is also a good opportunity to get yourself familiar with the new delegated staking mechanism.
Hint: Please don’t request more than 10,000 HYDRA from the faucet. None of the tasks will require a lot of HYDRA and we want everyone to have a chance to test the network. Thank you!
Delegation and Superstaking
On the “Stake” tab of your client, you will now find two new sub-tabs, with the titles “Delegations” and “Super Staking”.
Super Staking Tab
Here you can unlock the superstaking feature for your wallet address.
Simply click on the + button on the right side, and select the address you want to turn into a superstaker.
After the setup, you can configure your superstaking options by clicking on the gear ⚙️ button. Here you can set the minimum fee you want to ask for, and add wallets to the whitelist or blacklist.
With a whitelist for example, you can turn your superstaker private (e.g. for family and friends only).
Delegations Tab
In this tab you can delegate your HYDRA to someone else. The fee you offer defines whether the superstaker will accept your delegation or not.
For example if the superstaker asks for 5% minimum fee, but you offer only 4%, then your UTXOs will not be staked.
You can easily revoke your delegation and superstaking status from the same interface, whenever needed.
We hope that you liked this update and we can’t wait for the testing events to start!
👉 Join the Hydra Community
HYDRA is a proof-of-stake blockchain optimized for real-world businesses. It tackles some of the most profound and challenging issues with existing blockchain economies and introduces a truly shared economy with fair treatment to all network participants. Some of the more notable features:
🔥 100% Burn of all Transaction Fees
💎 50% Royalty on Gas for Smart Contract Creators → More Info
📌 Fixed Coin Transaction Fees of $0.20 → More Info
📌 Fixed Token Transaction Fees of $0.50 → More Info
💰 20% Minimum APR Staking Income → Staking Calculator
📈 Up to 540 TPS Elastic Capacity
🔏 EVM Compatible Smart Contract Platform
⚙️ Wallet-Level Scalability → More Info
🗳 Unique Decentralized Governance Protocol
