Newsletter - 9th August 2019 - Cardano 1.6 (Byron) Released to Testnet
The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you about the Cardano project, in particular, the part that relates to exchanges and third-party wallets. We want to make sure you are kept up to date on our development processes and notify you about any important changes coming in future releases.
Cardano 1.6 (Byron) Testnet: Daedalus 0.14.0 with Cardano SL 3.0.3
We’ve just released Cardano 1.6 and Daedalus 0.14.0 on the Cardano Byron testnet! This testnet release brings improvements in Daedalus such as new user interface themes, a redesigned loading screen, and exciting new features.
This new Daedalus version improves usability with an improved update system which helps users who are having issues with older Daedalus versions to update to the latest version as well as a new ‘Wallet UTXO distribution’ screen to help users understand how their funds are distributed.
For more information, please see the release notes
Cardano Byron Testnet restart
Cardano Byron Testnet has been restarted in order to shrink the blockchain to a manageable size so users do not have to wait as long for chain synchronization, similar to the process which was followed for the Bitcoin testnet.
We are doing this in anticipation of the new Haskell Byron-Shelley rollout. We are expecting a large spike in users who will be interested in evaluating the new tooling we are working on.
There are some actions you need to take if running a Daedalus instance connected to testnet:
- Upgrade to version 0.14.0 – available to download now from the Cardano Byron testnet website 85
- Follow instructions in the Reinstallation support article 22
Actions you need to do if running connectScripts from cardano-sl:
- git checkout develop
- rm -rf state-wallet-testnet state-explorer-testnet
- nix-build -A connectScripts.wallet.mainnet -o launch_testnet_wallet (for wallet API)
- nix-build -A connectScripts.explorer.mainnet -o launch_testnet_explorer (for explorer API)
- Run launch script
You will need to create new wallets and refetch funds from the faucet after the restart of testnet.
Upcoming planned hard forks
The Cardano ecosystem is a busy place at the moment, with lots of changes on the way. One of the biggest topics is the hard fork due to happen end of August. To maintain compliance and a working wallet, all exchanges using the Cardano settlement layer (SL) must upgrade to this version, cardano-sl 3.0.2 or later.
The first hard fork will occur within weeks, but not before August 28, 2019. The second will be advertised closer to the time. It is essential that exchanges upgrade to cardano-sl 3.0.2 as soon as possible, and certainly within this time window. After the majority of clients have upgraded we will switch from the original consensus algorithm to Ouroboros BFT via a protocol update in the first of the two hard forks.
If you have any issues during the upgrade please contact us by replying to this email or you can open a ticket via Zendesk here.
Transition to BIP44
We recently sent you a questionnaire asking for feedback on how you handle BIP44 addresses. Your feedback is very important to us, as part of the Shelley era rollout of Cardano, we are introducing a new wallet format, one that will be based on the BIP44 standard.
The intent of the questionnaire is to gain feedback so we can include it in the new wallet with the second hard fork coming at the end of this year. Knowing these details will help us develop something to meet your requirements and infrastructure needs. Apart from responding to this questionnaire, there is no action to take at this time regarding BIP44 wallets. We will keep you posted on updates as they become available.
Health check API
As part of an initiative by our DevOps team, we have created a script that continuously monitors the state of health of the Cardano SL wallet via an API call.
We have now implemented this on six exchanges with great success. Using the Prometheus tool, we receive alerts when an ada wallet goes offline. These alerts prompt us to contact the affected exchange and let them know. This has proven to be very useful with some of the bigger exchanges and all have welcomed this approach to monitoring the ada wallet.
We are asking all exchanges to provide a health check API endpoint that we can use for monitoring. The ideal endpoint would give the status of the pay-in and pay-out functions of the ada wallet. A response of ‘True’ or ‘False’ is suitable for this purpose. We can then gauge the status of the mailbox based on these values. If this is not possible, just a simple result such as ‘Up’ or ‘Down’ will suffice.
Cardano Foundation
A note from the Cardano Foundation
The Cardano Foundation plays a key role in the Cardano ecosystem, with the aim to drive the adoption of Cardano, growing the global Cardano community, ensuring stakeholder accountability and facilitating partnerships.
The Foundation and IOHK work closely on developments—including exchanges and third-party wallets. IOHK provides its top rank technical expertise and the Foundation is responsible for the community and outreach.
IOHK and the Cardano Foundation encourage full integration efforts and offer support through existing channels where possible. As a rule, no public endorsements are provided, or marketing engagements are carried out for any single product or exchange due to the absence of the due diligence platform in the Cardano ecosystem.
For more information, please visit www.CardanoFoundation.org or send your inquiry to info@cardanofoundation.org