tl;dr
Altair pre-release is out
Over the previous week, beacon chain Altair pre-release specs — Stargazer v1.1.0-alpha.1 and Half of ’em just look like dots v1.1.0-alpha.2 — have been launched. These signify the primary function full releases of the upcoming Altair improve to the beacon chain, and provides engineering groups one thing concrete to dig into.
Altair is an improve to the beacon chain that brings mild consumer assist, minor patches to incentives, per-validator inactivity leak accounting, a rise in slashing severity, and cleanups to validator rewards accounting for simplified state administration.
Along with these numerous options, Altair additionally represents a “warm-up improve” for the beacon chain and beacon chain purchasers. Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system has run fairly easily since genesis, however earlier than performing the high-stakes merge, consumer groups need to undergo the method of a reside improve to additional check and prepared their codebases and the reside system.
Shopper groups are at the moment integrating modifications from the pre-release and offering suggestions alongside the best way. After this course of, we’ll minimize a full launch and start the testnet part.
Open name: Safety RfP
Final week, the EF printed a beacon chain security+testing RfP. That is an open name for proposals that intention to enhance the beacon chain’s safety, evaluation, and testing. Past consumer engineering, there’s a lot to be completed to proceed to vet, refine, and harden the beacon chain system previous to the merge, and we need to carry in additional groups with all kinds of experience to dig in.
Try the RfP’s potential areas of focus for some concepts, however in case you are having hassle narrowing down these numerous domains right into a extra refined proposal, be happy to e mail rfp@ethereum.org for some steerage. Present some background on you or your workforce’s skillset and expertise, together with some primary path, and we are able to work collectively to refine a proposal.
If you recognize of a workforce or person who could be properly fitted to this RfP, please ahead it alongside!
Merge progress
Merge progress is heating up 🔥
What’s the merge you ask? It is the unification of Ethereum’s application-layer (at the moment supported by proof-of-work) with Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus-layer, the beacon chain. Though the beacon chain is already reside, it at the moment solely involves consensus on itself, however after the merge, the beacon chain would be the driver of all of the dapps, sensible contracts, and accounts that you simply use as we speak.
Over the previous few weeks, merge designs have continued to be refined. Try Mikhail’s current spec PR for the newest synthesis of merge plans and construction. We count on these base designs to be built-in into the specs shortly and for engineering groups to start work on the subsequent wave of demos and testnets.
Along with our asynchronous analysis, design, and engineering, we have begun a fort-nightly name to extend collaboration throughout the various groups. You may observe together with progress and take part actively within the Eth R&D discord #merge channel 🚀
