Theta v4.0.0 upgrade to go into effect on November 2nd, preparing for Metachain launch on December 1st
We are pleased to announce that Theta v4.0.0 will soon go into effect via a hard fork on November 2nd. This upgrade is for the “main chain” i.e. the existing Theta mainnet, which is a prerequisite for the December 1st Metachain launch. The release will perform a hardfork at block height 17790756, which is approximately 7pm November 3, 2022 Pacific Time. If you are running a validator node it is mandatory to update to this new version, otherwise it will fall out of sync after the hardfork. To upgrade your node or review the v4.0.0 source code, please check out the following page: https://github.com/thetatoken/theta-protocol-ledger/releases/tag/v4.0.0
Note: the official Metachain launch on mainnet is still slated for December 1st, when the metachain feature set will become available. The Theta v.4.0.0 release on November 3nd will put the required network upgrades in place for the Theta Metachain launch on December 1st.
Theta Metachain is an interconnected network of blockchains, a “chain of chains”. It will allow permissionless horizontal scaling of the Theta blockchain network in order to achieve potentially unlimited transactional throughput and subsecond block finalization time. This enables a customizable, highly scalable blockchain tailored for emerging Web3 businesses in the media and entertainment space.
The Metachain consists of one “main chain” and an unlimited number of “subchains”. Just as “meta-” as a prefix refers to something that transcends or is more comprehensive than the subject, ex. metaphysics describing what exists beyond physics, Theta Metachain refers to an overarching “main chain” above many purpose-specific “subchains”. The “main chain” in this case refers to the existing Theta mainnet. Theta will offer an easy-to-use SDK that developers can quickly use to launch a subchain and plug it into the main chain. Since each subchain can execute transactions independently, this provides a viable path to infinitely scale the processing capacity of the Metachain. The subchain SDK will implement a built-in interchain messaging channel which connects the subchains and the main chain, and thus allows crypto assets like TNT20/721 tokens to flow freely across the chains. The process of creating a subchain is permissionless, meaning that anyone can register and launch a subchain. No approval from Theta Labs is required. You can find the open-source Metachain code on Theta GitHub.
The v4.0.0 upgrade increases the allowed maximum code size for smart contracts, so that after the hardfork the main chain will be able to support more complex smart contracts. A subchain ID mapping mechanism will be implemented to support potentially thousands of Subchains. The upgrade also includes various other fixes and a code refactor for the Metachain.
Media partners such as Fuse Media, Replay, and TrooVRS have already announced their plans to create their own subchains on Theta Metachain, with several more partners on the way leading up to the December 1st launch. And for Theta developers, stay tuned for upcoming documentation for building your own subchains on Theta Metachain.
