One week ago, we released the official Upfiring dapp (download it here if you haven’t yet). The official release was just the beginning of our journey to expand into the greater torrenting space, and we have a plan of attack to help fuel this expansion over the next two years. In this post, we’ll share the Upfiring 2-Year Roadmap, go into detail about each item on the list, and answer the question “What’s next?”.
The Upfiring Roadmap — 2019 and 2020
Upfiring v1
- Scaling for larger file sizes and higher quantities of files
- UFR earnings for each file
- Batch uploading
- Set consistent download folder
- Pause or restart downloads in progress
- File Configuration Backup & Restore
- Upfiring Protocol Command-Line Interface (Headless Release) and Raspberry Pi Support
Upfiring v2
- Upfiring DEX
- UFR Staking
- Upfiring Wallet Expansion — Ledger Nano S and other compatibility options
Other Events
Note: This is a small preview of some events we have planned and only a small portion of the complete list. Many other events are set to be disclosed at a later date or are still in the planning stages.
- Stress Test Event & Airdrop
- Major Exchange Listings
- Existing file-sharing site campaign
Detailed Analysis of the Roadmap
Let’s break down and discuss each item in detail. Please note that the release dates are approximations and are subject to change at any time. In addition, items may be added or removed from this roadmap at the team’s discretion, if necessary.
Upfiring v1
Scaling for larger file sizes and higher quantities of files
Approximate Release: Late Q2, ongoing
Upfiring v1.1 was designed for use by single users looking to seed a typical computer’s-worth of files, but future versions will change that. Depending on the user’s computer specs, the dapp can typically support up to 100 files and several hundred GB worth of files and run smoothly. Support and testing for quantities greater than this — 1000+ files, several TBs — is underway, and will allow for larger seeders to move to Upfiring and run the dapp without issues. This process of optimization will be an ongoing one — our first implementation that will improve several in-app processes (large files occasionally “stalling” upon upload, application slowing down once 50–100 files are actively seeding) is expected this quarter and we are actively working on this aspect of the dapp right now.
UFR Earnings For Each File
Approximate Release: Early Q3 2019
This useful feature was not included in the initial release of Upfiring but is well on its way. Currently, when a user earns UFR from seeding, there are no records in the application showing the user which file of theirs was decrypted. A feature is being implemented in the Upfiring dapp that will show the user exactly how much UFR he or she has earned from seeding each file in both the “Uploads” and “Completed Downloads” tab — along with the total number of times that file has been decrypted. This will allow users to better track and manage their file seeding strategies.
Batch Uploading
Approximate Release: Mid-Late Q3 2019
If a user wants to upload 50 files as 50 separate .ufr files, it can be tedious to drag in all 50 files separately and enter information for each one. With batch uploading, users will be able to upload several files at once and automatically generate separate Upfiring files for each upload, making it easier for seeders with larger file libraries to begin using the application.
Set Consistent Download Folder
Approximate Release: Mid-Late Q3 2019
An optional setting will be added to the “Settings” tab to set a permanent folder where all of your Upfiring files will be stored. If this option is enabled, users can skip having to select the “Save to” path each time they upload, download, or decrypt files.
Pause or restart downloads in progress
Approximate Release: Late Q3 to Early Q4 2019
A small update that will give users more control over the files that are actively downloading in the “Downloads” tab. Users will be able to pause downloads or restart them if desired.
File Configuration Backup & Restore
Approximate Release: Early Q4 2019
A backup and restore feature will be added to the application. This will allow users to mass backup every file they have seeding and restore this configuration if data is ever lost or if a user’s client malfunctions and they need to reinstall. This will also allow users to easily transfer their file seeding setup to another computer without having the reupload or download every file from scratch.
Upfiring Protocol Command-Line Interface (Headless Release) and Raspberry Pi Support
Approximate Release: Q4 2019-Q1 2020
This is a huge release that will open the door for seedboxes, running Upfiring in the cloud (such as on a VPS), and running Upfiring on a Raspberry Pi. These options will make it possible for users to more seed files long-term and stay online 24/7. Community-driven websites will also be able to run their own implementation of Upfiring on their servers, allowing them to implement features such as auto-seeding any files uploaded to their website (to ensure they are kept online) and many more. A version of Upfiring that can be built and run on a Raspberry Pi is also in the works.
This release will most likely result in the Upfiring protocol becoming open-source, with two main versions of Upfiring released:
- The current client with extended functionality, remaining closed-source
- An open-source command line interface that can be used to run the Upfiring protocol headlessly. This would also allow the community to build their own Upfiring client front-ends or work to improve the protocol.
Upfiring v2
Upfiring 2.0 is a major upgrade to the entire Upfiring ecosystem planned for 2020 that will deploy a huge upgrade to the existing Upfiring smart contracts in order to allow for the implementation of several key new features.
Upfiring DEX
Approximate Release: Q2 2020-Q3 2020
Upfiring DEX — the in-app decentralized exchange that lets you convert your smart contract UFR to either ETH or DAI. The DEX will be 100% serverless — using the Upfiring dapp on the front-end and the Ethereum blockchain on the back-end. This means that the DEX will run locally on all the computers running Upfiring, rather than on a website front-end interface like Etherdelta or IDEX. This adds an extra layer of decentralization and security.
This will be a MAJOR release and be included in the Upfiring 2.0 release. The Upfiring smart contract will be upgraded to allow for an in-app exchange to be implemented.
If you’ve used Upfiring, you know that all UFR used for file decryption and all UFR earned is credited to your “smart contract balance”. Your Upfiring smart contract balance will be expanded to allow for both ETH and DAI. A separate tab inside the application will be created for the Upfiring DEX to display your wallet’s balance of UFR, ETH, and DAI.
This implementation will allow seeders to convert UFR earned from seeding to ETH or DAI. Since DAI is designed to maintain a price of $1.00 USD, this will allow seeders to have the choice to tether their UFR earnings to a considerably less volatile cryptocurrency asset if they would like to do so.
Having the ability to convert UFR to ETH and vice-versa will be highly useful so that users will be able to convert their earned UFR to ETH to cover gas costs without having to continuously send their wallet more ETH from an outside source. This means that active seeders will never have to fund their Upfiring wallet from an outside source — both the UFR needed for file decryption and (indirectly) the ETH required for gas will be able to be earned by seeding!
UFR Staking
Approximate Release: Q3 2020
UFR staking will allow users to passively earn several cryptocurrencies (ETH, UFR, & DAI) by simply storing their UFR in the Upfiring smart contract and activating staking.
This feature will go hand-in-hand with the Upfiring DEX. A small transaction fee will be charged when users convert between UFR, ETH, and DAI using the Upfiring DEX. This transaction fee (the exact percentage will be disclosed as the release gets closer) will then be split and paid out to all users staking UFR in the Upfiring smart contract. Your payout of DEX fees will be proportionate to the amount of UFR you have staking — the more you have, the higher your payout will be.
Upfiring Wallet Expansion — Ledger Nano S and other options
Approximate Release: Q3 2020
The current Upfiring wallet has been tested extensively and works well for its intended purpose. However, Upfiring 2.0 will enhance the wallet’s capabilities, providing users with the ability to send and receive funds in-app, view transaction status live, and more. We’ll also be working to implement Ledger Nano S support. If you store your UFR on a Ledger Nano S (most secure option for long-term storage), we’ll be working to add support so that users can load their UFR directly into the application without having to first transfer the UFR to another wallet.
Events & Adoption
Stress Test Event & Airdrop
Approximate Date: Mid 2019
The Upfiring Stress Test Event is an event that will demonstrate the Upfiring dapp’s power on a large scale. This event will also double as an airdrop for users, rewarding them for helping test the network.
Here’s how it will work. A file will be generated with an extremely high UFR price (let’s use 10,000 UFR, for instance). This file will be distributed to all users up to 2 weeks before the event, allowing users plenty of time to download and seed this file. We hope to amass hundreds or even thousands of seeders supporting this single file.
On the date of the event, we will decrypt the file by paying the 10,000 UFR price. The Upfiring smart contract will then split and distribute the entirety of this UFR to every active seeder. This event will encourage new users to download the Upfiring dapp and demonstrate to the community how Upfiring works on a large scale when files have huge numbers of seeders.
Major Exchanges
Approximate Date: 2019, Ongoing
We waited until the official dapp release to begin the process of applying to major exchanges (top 10–20 exchanges by volume). We have made it a top priority to get listed on major exchange(s) this year and are determined to do so. There are two important things to note about this process:
- It is the policy of most, if not all, of these exchanges that project teams do not disclose any information regarding potential listings. This means we can’t provide ANY updates to the community about the status of our exchange applications until we are given the “OK” from the exchange, which often happens only when the listing goes live.
- The application process for many exchanges usually takes several weeks to several months, and may include processes like legal analysis or other extensive vetting procedures. Exchanges often have listing waitlists as well. It is important to be patient during this process and know that we are actively working on it.
Existing file-sharing site campaign
Approximate Date: Mid-2019, Ongoing
Many users in the community have already designed file-sharing sites to support the Upfiring ecosystem, and many more are still under development. As with the release of the original bittorrent protocol, it will take time for development of these sites to proliferate and for the network to become more mature, with larger numbers of seeders and downloaders. Many of these Upfiring sites are new (several weeks to several months old, at most) and there is still a ton of opportunity for growth and improvement in this area.
We hope that sites that currently support the uploading or sharing of .torrent files will enable sharing the .ufr files as well. While we won’t be promoting individual sites on our social media channels and are solely focused on the Upfiring dapp itself, we expect that support for .ufr files will increase dramatically throughout 2019 and 2020.
Other Notes — Sharing Content
Please note that when it comes to the official channels that we manage — Telegram, Discord, the Forums, and Reddit, we have a strict no-tolerance policy towards copyrighted or otherwise unoriginal works — and actively enforce these policies. If users see any copyrighted content posted on these channels, we encourage you to contact us at support@upfiring.com so that this content can be removed. Please also keep in mind that Upfiring is a dapp — meaning you are solely responsible for your own activity and actions within it. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction, and it is important that you understand and adhere to any restrictions before sharing files using Upfiring or any other torrenting client.
Download Upfiring and start earning UFR for sharing files at https://www.upfiring.com. If you have any further questions about the project, feel free to post on our community pages or send us an email at support@upfiring.com. Come join us over on the official Upfiring Forums, Reddit, Twitter, Bitcointalk, Telegram, and Discord as we continue our mission to change the future of P2P file-sharing.
