RenVM Mainnet Release Plan
An overview of the path to Mainnet
As we continue to prepare for Mainnet, we want to share the high-level release plan and its implications for the community, especially those running Darknodes. This release plan is not designed to be an exhaustive discussion of each release phase, but to set the foundation for the coming months, prepare our community for more active participation, and begin the conversation around a gradual release. Each phase will have a standalone blog post that details its distinct characteristics and how to get involved when released.
So, without further ado, the RenVM release plan:
1. Chaosnet
2. Mainnet SubZero
3. Mainnet Zero
4. Mainnet One
Chaosnet
Chaosnet is an unaudited and unrefined release of RenVM. It is a pre-production environment for RenVM which is deployed to Ethereum Mainnet and interoperates real ETH, ERC20, BTC, BCH, and ZEC. The purpose of Chaosnet is to test RenVM under real economic incentives. It will serve as a proving ground for the team, developers, and community where we will purposefully put the network under further stress, and incentivize its corruption. Ensuring RenVM is battle-tested under real-world conditions is paramount, and Chaosnet is an efficient — and fun — way to achieve this. Our hope is that experimenting on Chaosnet will become standard practice for developers to use as the final testing ground for their applications.
- Open and Permissionless: YES
Anyone can participate, but with the understanding that this is an unaudited, pre-production version of RenVM. - Darknode Bond: 10,000 REN
10,000 REN along with the normal Darknode registration process. The reason we chose to reduce the bond to 10,000 REN is simple; we want to make it easier for Darknodes to collude and lower the monetary risk for those who help us test in a pre-production environment. The 10,000 REN bond is only applicable to this stage and will not be considered for Mainnet. - Darknodes Earn Rewards: YES
Any transaction that RenVM facilitates will be split evenly amongst all participating Darknodes. During this period, the team has an allocated budget for testing, and will be running various games to incentivize participation; more details on this dynamic will be available at launch. - Manual Darknode Update Required: YES
Legacy Mainnet (Republic Protocol) will be sunset in the coming weeks in favor of Chaosnet. Those that wish to continue supporting development/testing should begin to shut down their Darknode(s) and prepare to register a Chaosnet Darknode (by keeping up-to-date with announcements). Chaosnet will not automatically be updated to Mainnet SubZero.
Mainnet SubZero
Mainnet SubZero will be the first audited release of RenVM Mainnet. It will be stable and ready for use in production environments (i.e. 3rd party applications). A semi-decentralized core of Darknodes (run by the Ren team and other projects) will power consensus and execution. All other Darknodes will power the P2P network. This semi-decentralized core will be larger than existing multisig/federated solutions, and is an important step to ensure the network remains secure until economic stability is achieved.
- Open and Permissionless: YES
Anyone with 100,000 REN can participate. - Darknode Bond: 100,000 REN
100,000 REN along with the normal Darknode registration process. - Darknodes Earn Rewards: YES
A semi-decentralized core of Darknodes will provide consensus and execution, but any transaction that RenVM facilitates will be split evenly amongst all participating Darknodes. - Manual Darknode Update Required: YES
Chaosnet is an independent deployment of RenVM (and will continue to run indefinitely in parallel with Mainnet). Darknode owners will have to independently, and explicitly, register for Mainnet SubZero. Mainnet SubZero will be automatically updated to Mainnet Zero.
Mainnet Zero
Mainnet Zero will incorporate open consensus and sharding into RenVM. All Darknodes will power consensus (actively participating in Hyperdrive shards) and the P2P network. The semi-decentralized core will continue to power execution. This step moves RenVM towards further decentralization but keeps the execution engine as secure as possible while economic stability continues to be achieved.
- Open and Permissionless: YES
Anyone with 100,000 REN can participate. - Darknode Bond: 100,000 REN
100,000 REN along with the normal Darknode registration process. - Darknodes Earn Rewards: YES
A semi-decentralized core of Darknodes will provide execution, but any transaction that RenVM facilitates will be split evenly amongst all participating Darknodes. - Manual Darknode Update Required: NO
Mainnet SubZero will be automatically updated to Mainnet Zero, and Mainnet Zero will be automatically updated to Mainnet One. Darknode owners will not need to take action.
Mainnet One
Mainnet One is the first deployment of RenVM that is completely open, permissionless, and decentralized. Mainnet One will come with new features, but also permit the open and permissionless participation in consensus and execution for RenVM. This means public Darknodes will run and partake in all aspects of the protocol and the semi-decentralized core will be retired. This final step ensures RenVM is as decentralized as possible, and ultimately, unstoppable.
- Open and Permissionless: YES
Anyone with 100,000 REN can participate - Darknode Bond: 100,000 REN
100,000 REN along with the normal Darknode registration process. - Darknodes Earn Rewards: YES
Any transaction that RenVM facilitates will be split evenly amongst all participating Darknodes. - Manual Darknode Update Required: NO
Mainnet Zero will be automatically updated into Mainnet One. Darknode owners will not have to take action.
Moving Forward
RenVM Testnet and Chaosnet will be supported in perpetuity after the release of Mainnet to ensure our developers, and those experimenting with RenVM, have proper testing environments to do so. We have designed this, and the above release plan, to gradually bolster the stability and security of our network during its infancy. The security of RenVM is our number one focus and this release plan has been crafted specifically to achieve this.
We know there will be plenty of questions, but more details on Chaosnet, and how to get involved will be coming out soon. In the meantime, if you’re a developer, you can build on RenVM Testnet right now, so have a look at our dev docs and sign-up here to receive RenVM Mainnet updates.
We have a lot in store for the coming months and hope everyone is as excited as we are!
— Loong Wang, CTO, Ren
