Synopsis
This is a living document; check back regularly
Vidulum is proud to have the opportunity to upgrade to a trusted, secure, and modern blockchain. The next chapter brings you a fully scalable blockchain featuring Delegated Proof of Stake (dPoS) and secured by Validators.
Proof of Work (PoW) has been the basis of our blockchains consensus since it first began in October of 2018. In these last short three years blockchain technology has continued to leap forward providing more secure, faster and all around more robust technology to manage data and store value. The individuals and teams who continue to innovate have grown just as quickly as the technology but one name stands above the crowd. Jae Kwon, the Founder of Tendermint and co-creator of Cosmos. His background in blockchain software architecture, computer science, and distributed systems sheds light on the powerful and unique technology he has brought to life.
What is Tendermint Core?
The leading Byzantine-Fault Tolerant (BFT) engine for building blockchains. Tendermint Core tolerates up to 1/3 of your machines failing arbitrarily. This includes explicitly malicious behaviour. Through state machine replication Tendermint BFT replicates in a deterministic state machine onto computers around the world. With Tendermint Core, a transaction is immediately finalized once it’s included in a block. No need to wait for confirmations. This technology is by major players in the blockchain space to include, but not limited to: Binance DEX, Oasis Labs, IRISnet and of course Cosmos blockchain itself.
Learn more about Tendermint Core »
Estimated Execution Timeline
Estimated dates subject to minor changes
October 7th: PM EST - Awareness announcement/campaign providing an overview of the upgrade and this timeline
October 10th: 1500 EST - Ask Us Anything hosted within our discord community Join Our Discord
October 24th: PM EST - Swap window will open to burn legacy VDL and receive new VDL tokens
December 3rd: PM EST - V-Staking feature in the Vidulum App will pause
December 13th: Midnight EST - Swap window will close (DO NOT MISS THIS DATE)
December 14th - December 26th will be a technical buffer just-in-case
December 28th: PM EST - All remaining new VDL tokens that were not claimed will be burnt
December 30th: PM EST - Governance vote will be submit to enable token emissions (rewards)
January 3rd: PM EST - V-Staking feature in the Vidulum App will resume
January 6th: PM EST - With a passed vote; minting of new tokens will begin
January 10th: DAY - Official support for legacy Vidulum VDL blockchain will end
Is this a new mainnet chain or token like ERC20?
This is a full blockchain built using the Cosmos-SDK and will run independent of other blockchains like Cosmos, Ethereum, Crypto.org, and Binance Chain.
New blockchain details
- Target Block Time: 5 Seconds
- Emissions Rate (Rewards): Estimated 6-15% annual return
- Block Finality: Instant
- Validators: 100 maximum; those with the most (self + delegated) staking will be in the top 100 positions
- Governance: Validators and delegators have the power to vote.
- Bonded Goal: 67% - The rate of new token emissions factors in the percent of circulating tokens currently staking When the percent of staking tokens is less than the Bonded Goal more new tokens will be emitted. On the other side when a higher percent of tokens are staking than the Bonded Goal, fewer new tokens will be emitted.
- Slashing: Validators must sign at least 1,000 out of every 10,000 blocks or they will be jailed and their total delegation will be slashed (reduced) by 0.01%. Validators will also be slashed for double signing events putting them in jail and will be slashed 5.0%.
How do I prepare for the swap?
There are a few steps you can take as soon as you have time which will help you prepare for the swap.
- Consolidate your coins if you have been mining or use multiple addresses. On the current chain each deposit recorded for your address that has not yet been spent is called an unspent transaction (UTXO). No matter what amount the UTXO is, it has a size correlated to it and there is a limit to the number of these UTXOs that will fit into a single transaction. If you have thousands or even tens of thousands of these UTXOs you would have to swap smaller amounts until complete. The most simple fix for this is to use your desktop wallet or Vidulum App to resend the coins to your same address.
Process Example: Copy your address that has the UTXOs you want to consolidate, create a transaction and provide that same address as the receiver. Once sent, this will group the multiple UTXOs into a single UTXO making your swap much easier.
- Move your VDL to the Vidulum Apps transparent VDL address (v1…). Once the swap window opens you must send the legacy VDL from your Vidulum App VDL address to the swap address which will allow the new tokens to be sent to your new VDL address found in the Vidulum App.
How long will I have to swap from legacy VDL to new VDL tokens?
The swap window will be open for a minimum of 50 days with an additional 16 days before the window opens for announcements and awareness. A buffer of time following the projected closing of the swap window is in place to be used if the Vidulum Team deems necessary.
Where do I perform the swap?
The swap will be facilitated within the Vidulum App and will be just as simple as the current exchange feature.
What happens to my legacy VDL?
When swapping, all legacy VDL will be sent from your Vidulum App VDL address (v1…) to the master burn address. These legacy VDL will be forever locked (effectively burned).
When will new token emissions (rewards) begin?
Once the swap window has closed, all stakeholders will have the ability to participate in the first governance vote on the new blockchain changing the minting parameters to start the emission of new tokens. The voting window will be 7 days and once the vote to start emissions is passed, rewards will begin.
How do I stake my new VDL?
You will have the ability to see all validators on the network through the Vidulum App. You will be able to what commission rate they have set and details on how reliable they have been as a validator operator to date. Once you decide which validator you would like to delegate your stake to, the app will provide the ability to announce your delegation and you will start earning rewards immediately (following the vote to start rewards).
Validator operators can also self delegate to thier own validator and would not be charged the commission rate set. There is no requirement to allow others to delegate to your validator and you would accomplish this by setting the commissions rate to 100%. However, allowing others to delegate to your validator can earn you additional rewards from the commission rate you choose and will increase your voting power which can move your rank higher in the top 100 validators.
How much could I earn with my stake?
This is calculated by taking into account the total VDL in circulation, the total amount staking in relation to the staking goal (bonded goal is 67%) and the current inflation rate. A calculator will be available in the Vidulum App to provide estimates on annual returns could be possible for your stake whether you choose to delegate your tokens or run a validator. Generally a holder who is not running a validator themselves but simply delegates their stake could earn an estimated annual return of 6-15%.
What is a validator node?
A validator node is somewhat similar to the masternode you’ve come to know on the current blockchain in the sense that it is an application usually maintained on a virtual private server found in a data center anywhere in the world. Validators have a few key differences.
Validators perform very important tasks such as updating the blockchains state, voting, and most importantly consensus through its direct interaction with the Tendermint Core discussed above.
Validator operators must maintain reliable service to the network and therefore are able to collect a portion of the transaction fees as well as a commission (if they choose to) on the VDL stake that has been delegated to them. Running a validator on the Vidulum blockchain is not a start it and leave it type of responsibility. Downtime will be penalized by burning a percent of the stake it is responsible for. Malicious actions such as double signing are further penalized and will affect not just the validators self delegation but also the delegated stake from others to it.
A maximum of 100 validators will be able to take part in consensus. The 100 validators are selected from first to last depending on the total voting power it holds (stake it is responsible for).
How will V-Staking be affected?
V-Staking rewards currently come directly from the block reward. On the new blockchain the rewards will come from the existing Vidulum Rewards System (VRS) fund and possibly continue to come from the community tax fund once the current rewards are depleted.
The V-Staking feature on Vidulum App will pause from December 3rd 2021 to January 3rd 2022 as the transition between blockchains is completed. Following January 3rd the rewards will continue to be counted daily however the total rewards will be sent weekly or monthly (TBD)
What is the community tax?
The community tax goes directly into the community pool fund at 5% of the total emissions. This community fund can only be spent after a governance vote has been submit and passed. A passed community fund vote will send the requested amount to the provided address allowing it to execute the conditions outlined in the vote.
Will a testnet be available to interact with?
Yes! We are glad you asked. Check here for more details following the coming announcements.
What about mining pool operators?
Proof of work will no longer be a part of Vidulums blockchain. Pool operators can still take part in helping maintain consensus by running a validator and self delegating VDL as well as offering others to delegate to their validator. Validators will earn commissions (at the rate they choose) on all delegated stake they are responsible for as well as the possibility to collect a portion of transaction fees.
What will happen to the legacy Vidulum blockchain?
As of the 10th of January 2022 Vidulum Team will no longer support the legacy blockchain.
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