Nexus Development & Ambassador Quarterly Report (May 2020)

We have uploaded the Nexus Development & Ambassador quarterly report for May 2020 to PUBLISH0X in order to make available information on past development updates.

May 2020

One of the biggest pitfalls other projects encounter is the inability to achieve security, decentralization and scalability concurrently. The development team has been working overtime to optimize performance and their efforts are proving the blockchain trilemma can be solved on chain. Tritium++ testing is currently ranging between 1,000 to 4,000 Transactions Per Second (TPS) while processing from 25,000 to 80,000Contracts Per Second (CPS)!! All tests were accomplished using consumer grade hardware. Additional code adjustments are still being made so these numbers could be much higher when it arrives… buckle up!

Current Blockchain Metrics

The Three-Dimensional Chain (3DC) will transform the LEDGER into a multi-layered processing system, in order to scale securely with a high degree of decentralization. The below graphics are pulled from the Nexus Blockchain Explorer Metrics section showing mining difficulty statistics on the blockchain for this year. Please visit the Nexus Blockchain Explorer and NXS Orbital Scan website for updated and additional blockchain information

Examining the number of tokens, accounts, names and similar values can provide greater insight into the development activity on a blockchain. The below information is pulled from a node using the NXS System API functions. specifically the “system/get/metrics” command. Key values are in bold and categories italicized.

Github can be another great gauge for the level of development activity. This is clearly not a timely or ultimate indicator as many tasks, activities and related work are done offline until ready for merge. This is especially true for Nexus considering extra-curricular aspects such as consulting, on-boarding and piloting new Dapp projects as well as innovating with satellite, terrestrial mesh networks and other special projects being worked in parallel.

The below charts are pulled from the Nexusoft Github repository on the insights page. LLL-TAO and wallet interface have received the most activity although additional progress on other portions of the project are reflected on the website as well.

LLL-TAO contributions to master

LLL-TAO merge-commits

Wallet Interface contributions to master

Wallet Interface merge-commits

Development Updates and Accomplishments

05/14/20 — Developer Zoom Meeting. Highlights below:

• Considering 3.0.* as the last of Tritium updates. Forks moving forward will be Tritium ++ with focus on mobile wallet (client mode), pooled staking, augmented contracts and DAO.
• Client mode is the #1 priority. The backend is done however only ~50% complete overall at this time. Android will likely be released before iOS.
• Client mode will have the security of a full node but only download sigchain and block headers with Merkel verification. This results in a small footprint of approximately 150MB synchronizing in under 30 seconds on average.
• Two modes are being designed for the new wallet. The default option will be client mode and then full mode will be required for staking with both available on desktop and mobile. The third component to this is the hybrid option so the client and full mode can be used for privacy enhanced activity.
• Progress with hybrid mode privacy has been made. Hybrid mode allows an entity to own a particular network by creating access control schemes enabling permission modification of particular nodes or accounts.
• A major overhaul of the Lower Level Database (LLD) is underway. A constant time algorithm has been developed significantly increasing chain speed regardless of the data set size. Many small bottlenecks were also identified and corrected which culminated into approximately a 5 FOLD increase from current transaction processing capabilities.
• Bloom filters were another huge piece to the puzzle in the constant time configuration on the LLD. This is a type of container that indicates if something does not exist in the set. With bloom filters utilized for each hashmap file, a constant time lookup can be accomplished without having to touch the disk. Resolution of collisions occurs in the hashmap with linear probing and the bloom filters are used to determine which hashmap file the key is in. Optimization of false positives was another significant challenge that was addressed to achieve constant time. This breakthrough has potential beneficial implications for a wide range of high performance security and web applications, not just cryptocurrencies.
• There is a downside, in order to keep the efficiency of the bloom filters they cannot be accessed on the disk and must be held in memory. The good side of this is that the bloom filter is extremely small, only 2MB of memory is required for each hashmap bucket. A small memory increase sacrifice was made, 200MB in total initially, with a growth rate of approximately 2MB for every 4 million keys.
• While Nexus is not focused on privacy first it is a goal once the foundational elements are finalized. Two primary factors are being considered, confidentiality and linkability. Confidentiality basically means obfuscating the balance so it cannot be viewed by other parties. Linkability implies being able to associate transactions between parties. All existing privacy and anonymity cryptocurrency technologies are being considered however nothing is settled at this time. Privacy is the primary focus and the team is soliciting community feedback. Anonymity is currently being planned for the Obsidian phase.
• The team is looking to define a minimum for pooled staking, considering limiting it to single digits. It’s necessary to consider a global perspective as the cost of Nexus can be significantly different depending on the country, especially 3rd world varieties. Pooled staking will actually increase security. Solo-staking will still be available although incentives on pooled staking will be increased. Trust scores will remain individually computed and not be shared in the pool, just balances. Scott provides a more in-depth perspective of the mechanisms behind this innovative design in the video.
• Augmented contracts basically take the existing smart contracts and provide developers with a lower-level access to the API including domain-specific languages and object modeling. It will also include functions, methods and operator overloading. Colin provides granular insight into this implementation in the video and indicates how it will make Nexus more powerful than Ethereum, processing contracts with fully asynchronous behavior. This will drive numerous developers to our solution once the market begins to rise again.
• A multi-factor authentication solution has been identified utilizing a multi-sig sigchain. The plan is to allow multiple public keys to be submitted by creating a crypto type virtual machine scripting where one can just code items into the nexthash. It will essentially be a mini assembly programming language which will enable the inclusion of multiple signature and key types. So isolating U2F we should be able to generate a single transaction with the public key then append or concatenate the U2F public key to become the nexthash. The verification of the transaction will be against multiple signatures correlated to each public key essentially enabling a decentralized two-factor authentication system with modular capabilities and multiple options. Biometric authentication features are also being looked at.
• Satellites and terrestrial mesh networks were also discussed. However, we have included those in the “Partnership, Special Project, Exchange and DApp (Modules) Updates” section toward the bottom.

05/13/20 — New API added providing encryption/decryption functions for keys generated from sigchains and accessible with wallet authentication credentials. This is also capable of using shared ECDH keys meaning sender private key and receiver public key can be used to encrypt then sender public key and receiver private key can be used to decrypt. The API also has methods for signing and verifying data, generating SK and Argon2 hashes, and switching your dog chain key type (brainpool/falcon).

04/22/20 — NXS wallet version 3.0.3 released. Small patch release that adds more features to the module system.

03/31/20 — Hashoshi — Interview with Colin Cantrell. Highlights below:

• Early in the interview they discuss Colin’s background, Nexus project history, global current events and the state of the cryptocurrency environment.
• Network Time Protocol (NTP), timestamps and the importance of this to blockchain as well as relative attacks on coins from this angle are discussed.
• History and details surrounding scaling, quantum resistance and consensus mechanisms and how Nexus is being designed to meet these challenges.
• The conversation covers the importance of network in blockchain designs including Colin’s IETF meeting, introduction to Dino Farinacci (1st Cisco Fellow), LISP and how these influenced the overall Nexus foundation and architecture.
• Colin takes a deep dive into kernels, operating and file systems, memory management, IoT as well as Jeff Garzik’s early influences.
• They talk about smart contract history and current bottlenecks, augmented contracts and how Nexus is tackling these challenges.
• Overall another insightful interview providing an in depth background and overview of the technical intricacies involved in the TAO evolution.

03/25/20 — Developer Zoom Meeting. Highlights below:

• Using smart contracts and DEX to provide Invoices. Demo included.
• Majority of development focused on mobile wallet, core updates and bugs.
• Mobile is developed in React Native, enabling a smooth transition to all platforms and increased security integrations on client (light) mode; only headers and sigchain sync’d, not the entire blockchain. Pooled staking will also be included.
• Authentication is utilizing crypto object registers (public keys, including symmetric) enabling off chain signing and elevelvated level of trust paving the way for full safenet implementation (LISP).
• Pooled staking is under heavy development for all nodes allowing small balances to stake further enhancing decentralization.
• Core optimization and testing accomplished, 3–12k contracts per second achieved without shards; depending on contract complexity and other variables.
• Shard architecture in Amine mode described, will be voluntary until Obsidian.
• Multi-dimensional chain architecture compared to lightning network and other off-chain scaling solutions.

03/25/20 — NXS wallet version 3.0.2 released. This is a patch release to fix a few backend issues, and small changes to the frontend.

03/16/20 — NXS wallet version 3.0.1 released. Relay and mempool issues were addressed in this update.

03/12/20 — NXS wallet version 3.0.0 released. This was a mandatory hard fork release.

02/22/20 — NXS wallet version 2.2.2 released. This is a patch release to fix some issues that came out from our previous release.

02/20/20 — NXS wallet version 2.2.1 released. This is a patch release to fix some issues that came out from our previous release.

02/18/20 — Kenn Bosak — Fireside Chat with Colin Cantrell. Highlights below:

• Covered Colin’s background and what inspired his interest in cryptocurrencies and the evolution of Nexus with a deep dive into the TAO architecture.
• Discussed smart contracts, scaling considerations, misconceptions, voting protocols, legality constraints and what Nexus is doing to solve these complex problems.
• Conversation took place on common problems with general programming concepts, relation to blockchain evolution and what the project learned from these lessons.
• Overview of the cryptocurrency community competitive mentality, fandom, race for recognition, the toxic environment it breeds and why Nexus is different.
• Satellite project discussion provided highlights on the demise of Vector and shifts in design; applying game theory, building open source operating systems, HW integrations and more. This aspect is progressing as funding allows.
• Discussions surrounding secure decentralized data layer outlined the LLD file system planned for the Amine phase enabling leased storage space regulated with smart contracts.
• DAO history, common problems, ecosystem evolution and solutions being considered for the Nexus implementation of this technology are covered.
• Colin and Bosak discuss the history of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, economic models, 2017 ICO market, psychological and philosophical aspects and how Nexus longevity, community and current stealth mode are beneficial to the project.
• Overall a great open hearted discussion covering many historic and current topics relative to the cryptocurrency paradigm shift with segways into Nexus technical architecture, 3DC security and the delicate balance with usability.

02/18/20 — NXS wallet version 2.2.0 released. Virtual keyboard, name and namespace UI, module and API updates

01/28/20 — Social Stack construct initial plan for DAO foundation has been defined.

01/28/20 — NXS wallet version 2.1.4 released. This patch release fixes issues with first installs missing the Nexus folder, Legacy transactions page not loading, and external modules not loading.

01/08/20 — The Trituim++ Roadmap updates were discussed and prioritized with the community. A copy of this Zoom meeting is available for review.

01/03/20 — NXS wallet version 2.1.3 released. This update contains an important bug fix to improve the stability of the network. Using previous versions may cause wallets to stop syncing properly and/or relay invalid transactions.

Website, Article, Video Guide and Related Updates

05/15/20 — Colin Cantrell nominated on an Uptrennd poll, “Who is the Best Changemaker and Innovator in Crypto”.

05/08/20 — An article published on Medium by the Nexus team titled “Why Crypto: a Brief History of Money, Gold and Banking” provides an excellent overview of the current paradigm in relation to NXS’ innovative solutions.

04/29/20 — Wallet DApp general module installation instructions released.

04/28/20 — New Nexus website launched. A new blockchain explorer is also available.

04/22/20 — Mandatory and Incremental Nexus wallet update instructional video available.

04/07/20 — Nexus was announced the winner of community voting to list on Staking Rewards. This is a HUGE accomplishment by the community!

04/07/20 — This video describes how to recover your password and pin if they become unavailable.

03/31/20 — Video guide on how to create a custom theme for the wallet.

03/29/20 — Oligarchy is the real virus, what is the remedy? Direct democracy, decentralized blockchain solutions. Video commentary highlighting Nexus.

03/23/20 — Video introduction to the Tritium wallet.

02/29/20 — Bitshills publishes a guide for beginners to Nexus titled: Nexus — The Most Advanced Universal Blockchain.

01/23/20 — Medium article released titled: Developing on Nexus — Five benefits

01/14/20 — An article providing instructions for a Tritium account recovery was published.

01/10/20 — Instructions provided on how to create a Nexus token.

Partnership, Special Project, Exchange and DApp (Modules) Updates

05/15/20 — The satellite project is being kept low-key until we have tangible results. Timescale for expected results is currently approximately 2 years, so announcements will be minimal moving forward. A hack resistant operating system is in the early phases of architectural design; this is applicable to both satellite and IoT devices for better device interoperability. ISM frequencies are being assessed for satellite communication. Additionally, we are building blockchain-like logic into the constellation providing incentive mechanisms for those who deploy the satellites. In comparison to StarLink where internet service is leased, Nexus is creating a free internet owned by everyone and monetized by individuals. We are still collaborating with SpaceChain and share an overall goal however our initial implementations vary slightly.

05/15/20 — Progress has also been made on terrestrial mesh networks as well and will take priority over satellites for the time being. Phased array antennas are being researched to provide high directional beams for small devices and utilization of the 5.8 GHz band with channelization offsets using 432 Hz harmonic wavelengths (5,800,000,032 Hz). The scope has also expanded to include research around Zenneck ground waves that travel over the surface of the earth, giving communication systems that don’t rely on line of sight or RF exposure. This opens the possibility of having terrestrial mesh networks that can operate independent of the satellite constellation, by overcoming line of sight issues that usually plague RF transmitters

05/13/20 — CoolADE development is underway and the cryptocurrency donation widget has been released on the website (image below). The project is moving forward in manual mode with community donations during the Coronavirus crisis assisting local food drives for less fortunate in respective regions.

05/03/20 — NXS is available on InstaSwap exchange with the following available pairs: BTC/ETH/EUR/USD/GBP/CHF

04/23/20 — Invoice module version 1.0.1 update released. Below is a quick screenshot.

03/25/20 — Invoice module initial version 1.0 released on github.

03/04/20 Nexus Use Case Zoom — CoolADE. Highlights below:

• Eric Sullivan is interviewed regarding the CoolADE concept focused on keeping nonprofits accountable and transparent via blockchain. They are building a gamified decentralized platform with Customer Relationship Software (CRS) that will be provided for free upon joining and initially targeting large organizations.
• The platform will also support the gig economy enabling individuals to supplement their income doing work for causes they prefer. This design will support even small yet diverse endeavors such as cleaning a river, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or paddling across the English Channel.
• Planning a localized proof of concept in North Carolina to provide a test bed for use cases, technologies, crowd funding mechanisms and more.
• Discussed problems with current and historic foundations similar to the Red Cross and Haiti debacle. CoolADE is planning to include governmental organizations as well. Primary goal is to minimize fraud, waste and abuse.
• Timeline is to generate a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or beta is currently six months pending funding. Once production deployment is obtained the project is being designed to fund itself and ultimately dissolve the foundation structure enabling autonomous self organizing management of the platform and organizations it supports. Projects will also be capable of utilizing 14 different cryptocurrencies.
• Several partnerships and early adopters including an exchange are engaged however anonymity is required at this time.
• Non-profits were a 410 billion dollar industry last year across the globe and it’s difficult to see relative results with the current paradigm.
• CoolADE chose Nexus after meeting with Colin and realizing the heart and values behind the blockchain project. Additionally, after learning about the platform Eric realized that Nexus has accomplished 90% of what needs to be done.

02/27/20 — Free & Equal Election Assistant DApp v1.0 announced.

02/26/20 — NXS listed on StealthEX exchange.

02/26/20 — Nexus Use Case Zoom — Free & Equal. Highlights below:

• Interview with Christina Tobin, founder of the non-profit foundation Free & Equal, focused on voter and election transparency. An overview of the foundation and collaboration with Nexus is provided.
• Discussions on historic and present issues plaguing electoral systems and processes in the United States. Rand Paul and other politicians are being engaged.
• Surveys are built out in a pilot application and the March 4th presidential debate was live streamed. The first phase application was launched here providing a basic polling system to demonstrate the qualities of blockchain voting.
• Code is being developed as open source software. Initial pilot validation is using SMS for KYC, voter identity will not be exposed. This is clearly not legally binding however sufficient for proof of concept. Will likely plug into government identity verification systems where required.
• Planning October for MVP release. Still in early phases however working to streamline with Agile development processes.
• Nexus has a majority of the application functionality necessary and the API interface enables development acceleration.

01/14/20 — Tritium Token (Trit) giveaway announcement commemorating the creation and cutover to the Nexus Tritium protocol.

12/23/19 — NXS has been listed on Pionex Exchange.

Roadmap and Roadblocks

The roadmap below is referenced from the Nexus website.

No roadblocks are worth noting at this time.

Goals for Next Quarter

Client mode (mobile wallet) is the top priority. Applying the LLD optimization adjustments into production will be a priority along with pooled staking, augmented contracts, API enhancements and DAO.