Gemini 3 Phase 2 | Incentivized Testnet Gets An Upgrade

We’re excited to announce Phase 2 of our Incentivized Testnet which will kick off on Monday, October 30th 2023. Our Gemini 3 protocol has undergone a number of significant upgrades and we’re excited to share a deep dive into what you can expect with the latest network reset as well as insights into what we plan to deliver over the coming months of this phase. Keep reading to learn more about our technical upgrades — and why they matter — and our upcoming product release. Plus we’ve been working diligently behind the scenes to deliver a best-in-class incentivize program that will give everyone in our community various opportunities to earn more TSSC (Test Subspace Credits).

Network Reset

Today kicks off the launch of Phase 2, so we’re asking everyone who’s currently running a node on our Incentivized Testnet to switch over their farmer to Gemini 3g. One of the key features of this network reset is the introduction of more secure protocol parameters. While these parameters are designed to bolster our security framework, it’s important to note they will cause certain aspects of farming, primarily plotting, to operate at a slower pace. We will continue to optimize in hopes of making the process more efficient, but this trade-off is a deliberate and calculated move to prioritize the safety of our system, ensuring long-term stability and trust.

A crucial parameter we are upgrading is the global plotting memory requirement parameter k. Initially set to 17 for testing purposes, it is being upgraded to 20, making it up to 8 times harder and slower to plot. To encode each piece in the plot, we generate a proof-of-space table with 2^k entries, using significant memory bandwidth resources. Such an increase in k is necessary to counter malicious farmers that try to cheat by using many cores and little storage: they can try to amplify their chances to produce a block by creating plots on the fly without actually storing them. The memory intensiveness brought by the higher value of k prevents malicious farmers from creating plots after the new block challenge is announced, making it more rational for them to store the replicas rather than try to compute on the fly every time. In the end, it benefits honest farmers who do the hard work once and store their encoded plots on disk, by making it much more expensive to deviate from honest strategy.

Technical Upgrades: Enhancing the Subspace Network

Let’s dive deeper into the core technicalities of Phase 2, as previously discussed in our ‘Wen Subspace’ blog post. We’re integrating a trio of foundational upgrades: Proof-of-Time, Compact Blocks, and Secure Domains.

Central to our network reset is the implementation of the Proof-of-Time mechanism. This serves as an integral layer of security for our Dilithium consensus, fortifying our network’s integrity. To learn more about how Proof-of-Time works to secure our consensus please check out our detailed post Securing Dilithium with Proof-of-Time.

Compact Blocks are a crucial step towards a more efficient and scalable framework. This is not merely an upgrade; it’s a forward-thinking preparation, ensuring the Subspace Network is primed to accommodate billions of users worldwide. As we set our sights on the future — we anticipate aggressive adoption by both individuals and AI Agents — these changes are crucial to ensuring seamless, global scalability.

As part of our commitment to network integrity, we’re rolling out upgrades that bolster our line of fraud proofs. Key among these are the mechanisms to detect invalid state transitions, inappropriate cross-domain messages, and illegal transactions. We’re dedicated to rigorous testing, ensuring that each of these security features is not only effective but also robust. By the conclusion of this phase, we anticipate the full completion of testing for these essential proofs, further strengthening the resilience of our network.

New Product Releases

Phase 2 is set to be an ambitious segment for our team, and we’re planning to deliver a broad slate of pivotal tools and resources.

First on the list is Subgraphs Support for Nova, our EVM domain. This is a critical feature that indexes blockchain data into a streamlined, queryable format, empowering dApps to operate at peak efficiency and deliver superior user experiences.

Additionally, we’re unveiling our Rewards Dashboard, designed to offer operators and farmers real-time insights into their contributions and earnings. This dashboard underscores our dedication to transparency, aiming to foster a continuous feedback loop for active network participants.

We’ll also be releasing Node Docs, which will serve as an anchor for community empowerment. This comprehensive documentation isn’t just a guide — it’s a foundational tool for enlightening our community, emphasizing troubleshooting, endorsing best practices, and championing a decentralized ecosystem grounded in clarity and collaboration.

We’re working to integrate generative AI, particularly GPT-based models, into the Subspace Network to improve user and developer experiences. The goal is to simplify processes, making tasks like identity verification and payment more straightforward through AI assistance. This effort is grounded in the concept of Humaic Intelligence (HI), which emphasizes a collaborative approach to AI that complements human needs. Subspace will also collaborate with entities such as Hugging Face to ensure the technical foundation is sound, aiming for a future where AI and humans coexist beneficially and harmoniously, made possible by Web3.

To learn more about where we’re heading here, check out our latest blog that details some of what’s to come.

Stake Wars

We are pleased to officially announce our incentivized staking contest. It is our opportunity to test all of the moving parts that make up execution and staking on the Subspace network. We also want to build a vibrant, engaged network of operators who will join us on mainnet. There will be a dedicated reward pool, separate from the Gemini 3 Incentivized Testnet rewards for Stake Wars. It is set at 0.6% of the total token supply and will be split between operators and nominators. Rewards will be allocated based on the transaction fees both operators and nominators are able to accrue during the contest — just like mainnet. Stake Wars will run on Gemini 3g, the next iteration of the network,and there will be several RTS game-themed phases. Note that the exact timeline is provisional and subject to change — provided here to give folks an idea of our plans.

Phase 0 — Orbit (T-17)

Gemini 3g is launched by the team. Gemini 3f remains running and incentivized. Rewards are disabled on 3g. Farmers are then presented with a dilemma on which network(s) to run on. Gemini 3f incentives will be turned off and 3g incentives turned on at the same time. It is up to individual farmers what they want to do. Nova is deployed but running an operator is restricted to just the genesis operator by an allow list to prevent any Stake Wars participants from registering early.

Phase 1 — Planetfall (T-14)

After a short period of stability, the Gemini 3f incentivized rewards end block will be announced on a community call. On that same call, rewards will be enabled on Gemini 3g. Farmers will want to be up and plotting sectors as quickly as possible so they are ready to start building their operator stake. Note that transfers will be enabled on Gemini 3g so operator wallets can have TSSC sent to them from any farmer who agrees to do so.

Phase 2 — Base Building (T)

Operator registration is enabled for everyone and, after registering, operators will be able to spin up their nodes and start executing on Nova. Nomination remains disabled. This is the start of the contest for operators. Instructions on how to register and run an operator can be found in our documentation.

Phase 3 — Harvesting Resources (T+14)

Nomination is enabled with another domain runtime upgrade. Anyone holding TSSC can nominate their preferred operator. This is the start of the contest for nominators. Why sit on your stack earning 0% when you could be accumulating even more through picking a strong operator and getting a portion of their transaction fees?!

Phase 4 — Endgame (T+42)

A pre-announced block to end the wars passes. This marks the end of the campaign and transaction fees are no longer counted towards a share of the reward pool.

The team will leave the network running for an extended phase of cooperation. Participation is optional and entirely at operator/nominator discretion. It will be an opportunity for competitors to experiment with the pressure off. A more collaborative, friendly stage to help us discover, define, and solve problems. Our aim is to get as many issues as possible raised into GitHub for core contributors to address before mainnet.

Rewards

The 0.6% of total token supply allocated to Stake Wars will be split into two sub-pools. They will be distributed in this way:

• 0.2% split proportional to transaction fees earned by operators in phase 2
• 0.4% split proportional to transaction fees earned by operators and nominators in phase 3

We also have plans for unique POAPs to be distributed to successful participants. More details will come later on.

If you would like to read more about Stake Wars, please check out our forum post for a more comprehensive update.

As Phase 2 of Gemini 3’s testnet unfolds, we continue to work on uncovering and resolving any issues on our blockchain. While we hope to conclude Phase 2 and transition to Phase 3 by December 20th 2023, each phase depends on the stability of the incoming network — which can be difficult to pinpoint with accuracy, so bear with us. This journey is about mutual growth towards a secure, user-friendly decentralized network. With straightforward rewards and innovative AI integrations, we’re setting the stage for a future where everyone can contribute actively. This phase marks more than an upgrade; it’s a collective leap forward in the blockchain realm. So, let’s all brace for the advancements on the horizon!