Serenity PoC2
Serenity PoC2: A Major Leap Forward in Ethereum's Evolution
The latest release of Serenity PoC2 marks a significant milestone in the development of Ethereum's next-generation protocol. After two months of intense work following the initial Python proof-of-concept release, the team has made tremendous progress in implementing the complete protocol, including critical corner cases. This achievement provides a solid foundation for further development and testing, bringing us closer to a testnet-ready client.
EIP 105: Sharding Scaffolding
One of the most notable additions in Serenity PoC2 is the implementation of EIP 105, also known as the "sharding scaffolding" EIP. This feature will enable the parallelization of Ethereum transaction processing, paving the way for a later sharding scheme. EIP 105 introduces a binary tree sharding mechanism, which allows transactions to specify an "activity range" that restricts the addresses that transaction execution can touch. This ensures that sets of transactions with disjoint activity ranges can be processed in parallel.
Gas Checking: A Major Breakthrough
The gas checking algorithm has been significantly improved in Serenity PoC2. This feature ensures that transactions correctly pay gas, preventing potential issues and ensuring the security of the network. The algorithm uses a pattern-matching approach to verify that transactions pay gas correctly, providing a maximum of 250,000 gas for the checker code to run. This allows users to pay for gas directly out of contracts, eliminating the need for a separate small amount of ETH in their primary account.
Ring Signature Mixer: A Game-Changer for Privacy
The Serenity PoC2 release includes a ring signature mixer, which is designed to provide a high level of privacy for users. This feature allows five users to send their public keys and a deposit of 0.1 ETH, and then withdraw the 0.1 ETH specifying the address with a linkable ring signature. This ensures that everyone who deposited 0.1 ETH can withdraw 0.1 ETH exactly once, and it's impossible to tell which withdrawal corresponds to which deposit.
More Precise Numbers on Interest Rates and Scoring Rule Parameters
The scoring rule, which determines how much validators get paid based on how they bet, has been refined in Serenity PoC2. The parameters are now a linear combination of a logarithmic scoring rule and a quadratic scoring rule, providing a more accurate and realistic representation of the validator's expected return. Betting absolutely correctly immediately and with maximal "bravery" will get you an expected reward of ~97.28 parts per billion per block, or 50.58% base annual return.
Validator Induction Rules: A Key Component of the Protocol
The validator induction rules have been rearchitected in Serenity PoC2, providing a more efficient and effective way to induce new validators into the network. The minimum ether amount starts off at 1250 ETH and goes up hyperbolically with the formula min = 1250 * 250 / (250 - v), where v is the current active number of validators. This ensures that only a limited number of validators are active at any given time, preventing potential issues and ensuring the security of the network.
New Precompiles and Rearchitecting of LOG and CREATE
The Serenity PoC2 release includes several new precompiles, including ECADD and ECMUL, which are critical for ring signatures. Additionally, the LOG and CREATE opcodes have been rearchitected as precompiles, providing a more efficient and effective way to implement these features.
Conclusion
The Serenity PoC2 release marks a significant milestone in the development of Ethereum's next-generation protocol. The improvements and additions made in this release provide a solid foundation for further development and testing, bringing us closer to a testnet-ready client. The features and improvements included in this release will have a significant impact on the security, scalability, and usability of the Ethereum network, making it a more attractive and viable option for users and developers alike.
Forward-Looking Thoughts
The Serenity PoC2 release is just the beginning of a new era for Ethereum. As the development of the protocol continues, we can expect to see even more significant improvements and additions. The team is committed to ensuring that every single protocol decision is made correctly and well justified, and that the network is secure, scalable, and usable for all users. With the Serenity PoC2 release, we are one step closer to achieving our goal of creating a decentralized, open-source, and community-driven platform for building and deploying decentralized applications.
Source: https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2016/03/05/serenity-poc2
