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The Casper Association, the Swiss-based organisation that oversees the Casper blockchain and supports its continued decentralisation, has announced the successful 1.5 protocol upgrade.

This upgrade introduced a host of new and improved features, making Casper the only Layer-1 blockchain to enable the debugging of live, composable smart contracts on mainnet.

The 1.5 upgrade is a major landmark in our path to creating a blockchain environment that fosters innovation and paves the way for sustainable and impactful solutions to real-world challenges, said Ralf Kubli, board member at the Casper Association.

The Casper blockchain was designed from the ground up with the ability to be natively upgradeable without network halts or maintenance time. This foundational emphasis on adaptability is evident in the latest upgrade, which introduced features that enable the debugging of smart contracts in production, enhance the developer experience and accelerate time to market. The upgrade also streamlines the node joining process on the network, enhances the chains security features, improves the efficiency of redelegating tokens, and allows developers to run transactions against an active blockchain without committing to the results.

First of all, the 1.5 upgrade has introduced the Speculative Execution Endpoint, a new Casper-exclusive feature tailored specifically to the needs of enterprises. By allowing developers to test against production, the new speculative_exec endpoint can help ensure that contracts are reliable and cost-effective before actual deployment.

Unique to the Casper Network, the feature could be invaluable to enterprises looking to commit to large-scale deployments on the blockchain. Among them is IPwe, a global financial technology company revolutionising the IP space, that has recently enacted the largest deployment of assets to a blockchain network in history by logging millions of its patent assets as dynamic NFTs on Casper.

Further, the new endpoint also allows developers to calculate an estimate of the amount of gas a transaction will cost as well as execute their transactions against the mainnet to debug contracts all without committing these changes to the blockchain.

Another significant part of the Casper 1.5 upgrade is a number of enhancements in smart contract security and flexibility aimed at ensuring that the Casper network can support a wider variety of applications and use cases. As a result, smart contracts can now access the list of authorised keys, which is beneficial for multi-signature contracts and role-based security. The maximum stack height, which impacts how contracts run, has also been increased, providing more flexibility and compatibility with certain software packages.

On its part, the new Fast Sync feature allows nodes to join and participate in the Casper network more swiftly. Traditionally, nodes had to store all data from the beginning of the blockchain, but now they can join closer to the most recent block or the tip of the chain.

Fast Sync makes the network more robust and decentralised, addressing challenges faced by chains like Ethereum, including long node synchronisation times and state bloat. The fast sync feature also reduces the time to live (TTL) period from 24 hours to 18 hours, enhancing the networks sustainability and making it more efficient. This functionality can also considerably reduce the time required to set up a new node as well as allows operators to reduce the disk space needed for a node. It also introduces a much more powerful disaster recovery functionality, ensuring that critical work is not lost due to outages.

Following the upgrade to Casper 1.5, the delegator limit per validator the number of users who can stake their coins with a node operator has also been increased from 952 to 1200, and the process of re-delegating from one validator to another has been simplified. In particular, this removes the need for two separate calls to the blockchain, further increasing efficiency and making it easier for users to participate in the network and manage their stakes.

Finally, a series of miscellaneous updates, including the release of Casper-Client v2.0.0, Casper-types (v3.0.0), and JS SDK 2.13.3, now allows developers and node operators to access the latest tools and features to build on and maintain the Casper network. These updates have also enhanced security, functionality, and overall performance.

Caspers focus on the need to provide unique controls and data sensitivity around enterprise-level data drove the push to v1.5 and will continue to evolve the blockchain network over time as it enters into a state of constant upgradeability, unhampered by any maintenance periods. Recently, Casper has also secured a number of major partnerships with IBM, the Indian State of Telangana, Smart Media Labs, and many others.

Want to learn more about blockchain from industry leaders?Check outBlockchain Expotaking place in Amsterdam, California and London.

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Duncan is an award-winning editor with more than 20 years experience in journalism. Having launched his tech journalism career as editor of Arabian Computer News in Dubai, he has since edited an array of tech and digital marketing publications, including Computer Business Review, TechWeekEurope, Figaro Digital, Digit and Marketing Gazette.

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Tags: Casper Network, debugging, security

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Casper Network first Layer-1 blockchain to enable native smart ... - The Block

The Ethereum blockchain has become a revolutionary platform for decentralized applications and smart contracts. At the heart of Ethereum lies the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which serves as the runtime environment for smart contracts. The EVM is a Turing complete virtual machine that enables the deployment and execution of smart contracts on the Ethereum network.

The EVM is like a global decentralized computer containing millions of executable objects, each with its own permanent data store. It provides a sandboxed runtime environment where smart contracts are executed deterministically and can access resources like bandwidth, memory, and processing power.

Smart contracts are immutable computer programs that run on the EVM according to preset conditions agreed upon by the transacting parties. They are programmed to autonomously execute tasks when the conditions are met. The code and data of smart contracts are stored on the blockchain and distributed across Ethereum nodes.

When a smart contract is deployed on Ethereum, it is uploaded onto the blockchain and assigned a unique address. Users can then execute the smart contract by submitting a transaction and sending a message call to its address.

The transaction activates the smart contract code, which is then executed by the network of nodes on the EVM. Essentially, the EVM can be viewed as a large decentralized computer containing millions of objects called accounts. There are two types of accounts:

These accounts are controlled by users through private keys and contain ether that is used to pay for transaction fees on the network.

These accounts are controlled by contract code and contain the smart contract's data.

When a user initiates a transaction to execute a smart contract function, the transaction is broadcast to the network and collected by miners. The transaction contains information like the recipient address, sender address, amount of ether to transfer, and most importantly, the data payload that encodes the function to call in the smart contract.

Miners then validate the transaction against a set of rules, and if valid, execute the smart contract function against the EVM. The EVM compiles the smart contract bytecode, enabling the code to be executed. It also provides the smart contract access to the data payload and information about the originating address and available funds.

The miners compute the result of the execution, as well as the amount of gas required, and stores the output and new state of the smart contract onto the blockchain. The updated state includes any changes made by the smart contract function, such as the transfer of funds.

Finally, the miner collects the execution fee based on the amount of gas used and includes it as part of the block reward. The execution of the smart contract function is now complete.

The deterministic nature of the EVM ensures that if the same function is executed on multiple nodes, they will all compute the same output and new state. This allows the network to reach consensus on the execution to update the blockchain.

The EVM provides two types of storage for smart contracts - memory and storage. Understanding the difference between the two is important for optimizing smart contracts.

This is temporary and cleared between external function calls. Memory is volatile and resets after computation ends. It is faster to access but more expensive to use.

This is the permanent data storage of smart contracts. It is written to the blockchain. Storage is persistent and persists between function calls. It is slower to access but cheaper to use.

Well designed smart contracts efficiently use memory and storage to optimize computation and reduce costs. For example, simple variables and counters that do not need persistence can be stored in memory while data that needs to persist, like a user's balance, can be stored in a contract's storage.

The concept of gas is crucial in the EVM to incentivize efficient computation and prevent infinite loops or other computational wastage.

When a transaction is executed, gas refers to the fee required to perform the computation. The gas cost of a transaction is the total amount of gas used multiplied by the gas price (in Ether). The gas mechanism ensures that complex computations that require more computational resources cost more, while simple computations have lower fees.

The gas cost is deducted from the user's account that initiated the transaction. The miner that executes the transaction and computes the result is awarded the gas cost as a fee. This incentivizes miners to include transactions with higher gas fees.

The deterministic nature of the EVM ensures that miners will arrive at the same gas cost for a transaction. Gas also prevents bugs or infinite loops in a smart contract from exhausting the network's computational resources. If a transaction runs out of gas during execution, any state changes are reverted, but the user still has to pay for the gas used up until that point.

The concept of gas makes the EVM a practical and economically sustainable transaction processing and smart contract execution engine.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine represents one of the most significant innovations in blockchain technology. As the world becomes more digitally connected, decentralized systems like Ethereum will power greater automation, transparency and efficiency across industries through smart contracts. The deterministic and Turing complete nature of the EVM provides the reliability and computational completeness required for such applications.

Looking ahead, the EVM is poised to drive the web 3.0 revolution by serving as the trust layer for decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and the metaverse. As more assets become tokenized on blockchain, the need for customizable and transparent rulesets will grow, and the EVM will be at the center of it all.

Beyond finance, the EVM could even be used for decentralized voting, transparent supply chains, identity management and disintermediating industries like insurance. The most profound impacts may be ones we can't even conceive today. Such is the nature of exponential technological change.

For smart contracts and the EVM to realize their full potential, blockchain scalability remains an active area of research. Current scaling solutions include:

The core challenges are ensuring these solutions preserve decentralization, security and transparency while enhancing scalability. Vitalik Buterin's vision of Ethereum as a "world computer" hinges on the ecosystem's ability to scale efficiently. With research ongoing, the future looks promising for Ethereum to deliver on its vast potential.

Web 3.0 represents an evolution of the internet toward decentralization, openness and enhanced user control. Some of its key aspects include:

While still in its infancy, Web 3.0 represents an important shift in how the internet operates and creates value. Vitalik Buterin refers to it as the "internet of value". Its success depends on mainstream adoption, which will be driven by compelling decentralized applications that put users first. The future looks bright as the technology matures.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine is a game changer for enabling decentralized computing on a global scale. By executing smart contracts in a secure, deterministic manner, the EVM allows customizable and transparent business logic to run on blockchain. This opens up endless possibilities for decentralized applications in finance, governance, identity and beyond that can reduce corruption and monopolistic rent-seeking.

For the EVM and Web 3.0 vision to succeed, blockchain scalability and mainstream adoption remain key challenges. However, with some of the brightest minds in computer science and cryptography working on these issues, the future looks promising. The next decade may witness blockchain and smart contracts transforming industries in ways we cannot yet conceive.

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Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and How It Executes Smart Contracts - BTC Peers

Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that aims to be scalable, interoperable, and sustainable. One of the most anticipated features of Cardano is its support for smart contracts through the Plutus platform. Smart contracts allow for the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) that can execute automatically based on predefined conditions, without the need for intermediaries.

In this article, we will explore how to build smart contracts on Cardano using Plutus. We will go through the key concepts, components, and steps involved in developing Plutus-based dApps on the Cardano blockchain.

Plutus is the purpose-built smart contract development platform for Cardano. It provides a framework for writing smart contracts using Haskell, a functional programming language. Plutus smart contracts are compiled into Plutus Core code, which runs on the Cardano Virtual Machine (IELE VM).

Some key benefits of building dApps with Plutus include:

Overall, Plutus provides a robust and flexible platform for developing decentralized apps on Cardano with built-in security assurances.

To start building Plutus smart contracts, you'll first need to setup your development environment. Here are the main components required:

Plutus smart contracts are written in Haskell, so GHC is required to compile the code. Install the latest version of Haskell for your operating system.

This provides a library of Plutus code and helpful tooling for contract development. Install it on your machine from GitHub.

The Plutus Playground provides an online IDE and simulator for testing Plutus smart contracts. Use it along with the Plutus SDK.

With these core components installed, you'll have the necessary toolkit to start writing Plutus apps on Cardano.

Plutus smart contracts consist of the following key elements:

This is the core Haskell code containing validation rules for the contract. The script specifies under what conditions funds can be spent.

This script contains runtime parameters that are provided by the user when making a transaction. This allows customization of contract execution.

Validator and redeemer scripts are compiled to Plutus Core, an intermediate representation optimized for execution on the Cardano Virtual Machine.

This data allows wallets and apps to display human-readable information about contracts to end users.

Native ADA must be locked to register a Plutus script on-chain. The amount required is proportional to computation and storage needs.

Here is an overview of the typical workflow for deploying a Plutus dApp on Cardano:

Define contract validators, redeemers, and any supporting code in Haskell. Use the Plutus SDK for common functionality.

Simulate your contract in the Playground IDE using test parameters and mocked on-chain conditions. Fix any issues.

Use the Plutus compiler to generate validated Plutus Core code for on-chain deployment.

Determine the minimum ADA collateral needed based on computation and storage requirements.

Send a transaction with collateral payment to register the Plutus Core contract on the Cardano blockchain.

Once deployed, users can interact with the contract by submitting transactions that execute the business logic.

By following these steps, you'll be able to take a Plutus smart contract from conception to deployment on the Cardano blockchain.

-Excerpt from my developer journal

Smart contracts have the potential to benefit society in many ways by enabling decentralized solutions without middlemen. What are some key areas where they could have a positive impact?

Smart contracts can encode complex business logic and conditions for payments, assets transfers, and other workflows to happen automatically. This removes paperwork, delays, and reliance on manual processes.

With contracts executed on public blockchains, terms are visible to all and manipulations are extremely difficult. This promotes transparency and fairness.

Tokenization allows both digital and real-world assets, like real estate, to be fractionalized and owned/traded in novel ways. Smart contracts enable management of these digital assets.

Overall, Plutus brings the vision of more open, accessible, and transparent smart contract development on Cardano closer to reality. As adoption grows, smart contracts have the ability to reshape organizations, commerce, ownership models and beyond. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination of developers leveraging these tools.

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Building Smart Contracts on Cardano Using the Plutus Platform - BTC Peers

In a groundbreaking move that promises to advance the blockchain landscape, VeChain and Vyvo Smart Chain have joined forces in a strategic partnership. This collaboration aims to reshape the blockchain industry and enhance the user experience by fostering cross-blockchain utilization, particularly in the health data sector. VeChain, a leader in smart contract implementation, and Vyvo Smart Chain, a pioneer in health data monetization, have come together to create a synergy that could redefine how we interact with blockchain technology.

At the core of the new partnership lies the concept of blockchain interoperability, allowing different blockchains to seamlessly interact with each other according to the press release of the parties. This development opens up a world of possibilities for users, enabling them to leverage both Vyvo Smart Chains $VSC and VeChains $USDV tokens within the VeChain ecosystem.

The interoperability feature is a significant leap toward a future where users can choose the blockchain that best suits their needs, creating a truly user-centric blockchain environment.

VeChain, headquartered in San Marino, Europe, stands as the custodian of the VechainThor platform, known for its excellence in smart contract implementation. VeChainThor has been at the forefront of driving blockchain adoption across various industries.

The company uses secure and verifiable data without intermediaries, smart contracts, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to catalyze global sustainability and digital transformation.

Vyvo Smart Chain, on the other hand, operates as a HealthFi ecosystem, with a mission to empower individuals by monetizing their health data while ensuring data privacy. In an increasingly digital world, this concern for data privacy resonates deeply.

With this partnership, the platform can further incentivize positive lifestyle habits, offering users not only enhanced health awareness but also financial gains.

What sets this partnership apart is the seamless user experience it promises. Users can seamlessly transition between Vyvo Smart Chains heartbeat-based health data services and VeChains extensive smart contract capabilities.

This amalgamation of strengths creates a digital environment where blockchains coalesce, providing users with a secure, convenient, and uninterrupted digital life.

Fabio Galdi, CEO of Vyvo Smart Chain, underscores the significance of this collaboration, stating that it opens up a world of possibilities for both platforms. For him, the partnership is poised to foster a thriving community of users who have the freedom to choose the blockchain that aligns best with their objectives.

The strategic partnership between VeChain and Vyvo Smart Chain represents a pivotal moment in the blockchain industry. It demonstrates the power of collaboration and interoperability in shaping the future of blockchain technology.

As these two blockchain titans converge their vision and capabilities, users can look forward to a world where blockchains seamlessly work together to provide unparalleled convenience, security, and choice. This partnership is not just about merging technologies; its about creating a new era of blockchain innovation that prioritizes the users needs and preferences.

Giancarlo is an economist and researcher by profession. Prior to his addition to Blockzeits dynamic team, he was handling several crypto projects for both the government and private sectors as a Project Manager of a consultancy firm.

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VeChain And Vyvo Smart Chain Forge A Blockchain Partnership - Blockzeit

The gig economy has grown rapidly in recent years, with more and more people choosing independent contract work over traditional full-time employment. Ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft, delivery services like DoorDash and Instacart, and task platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have made it easier than ever for people to find flexible, short-term jobs.

However, the gig economy still faces some major challenges. Gig workers are often left without important benefits and protections that employees receive, like health insurance, paid time off, and predictable wages. The work can also be inconsistent, with wide fluctuations in demand and compensation. This uncertainty makes it difficult for gig workers to plan for the future.

One emerging solution that could transform the gig economy is the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). DAOs are member-owned communities with no centralized leadership. They operate on the blockchain through smart contracts, which enable collective decision-making and financial transactions without intermediaries.

In a DAO, gig workers could come together as member-owners and collectively decide on issues like pay rates and benefits. Smart contracts could distribute wages instantly and algorithmically, removing reliance on a single company. DAOs could also provide services like insurance directly to members.

By decentralizing ownership and control, DAOs have the potential to give gig workers more stability without sacrificing flexibility. The technology is still developing, but DAOs are an innovative model for making the gig economy work better for everyone.

One of the most transformative aspects of DAOs is self-governance. In a traditional business, decisions come down from executives. But in a DAO, each member has voting power proportional to their ownership stake. This collective decision-making is enabled by blockchain technology.

For gig workers, self-governance means having direct control over important issues like:

Conflicts are resolved through transparent voting. Proposals are efficiently executed via smart contracts rather than middlemen. By giving workers more autonomy, DAOs could reshape the gig economy to be more responsive to members' needs.

One major downside of gig work is the lack of benefits and protections employees often receive. However, DAOs and smart contracts could allow gig workers to access portable benefits - services that move with them, unattached to any single job.

Potential portable benefits enabled by DAOs include:

These benefits could be funded through small fees charged on each transaction. Smart contracts would disperse payments to providers automatically when certain conditions are met. For example, withdrawing retirement funds once a worker turns 65.

By pooling resources and needs together, gig workers in a DAO could enjoy safety nets and peace of mind typically out of reach for independent contractors. This has the potential to vastly improve work life.

Conflicts are inevitable in any organization. But centralized control can lead to arbitrary decision-making, inequities, and power imbalances. Self-governance in a DAO can promote more organic conflict resolution.

Issues can be deliberated transparently with input from all stakeholders. Proposals are voted on publicly, with results visible on the blockchain. This helps build consensus and perceived fairness.

Smart contracts also enable disputes to be settled algorithmically based on predetermined rules ratified by members. With predefined conflict resolution processes, decentralized organizations can be more meritocratic and prevent certain voices from dominating.

Overall, decentralized governance empowers individual members while limiting biases and unbalanced power dynamics. By giving gig workers direct control, DAOs can help resolve conflicts through transparent deliberation rather than top-down rulings. This promotes satisfaction and longevity within the organization.

For DAOs to truly transform the gig economy, the platforms and interfaces must be well-designed and easy to use. Seamless user experiences will be critical for decentralized models to reach mainstream adoption. Here are some key innovations that could propel decentralized gig platforms forward:

Mobile apps - Simple, accessible mobile apps can make it easy for gig workers and clients to connect, communicate, and transact remotely in a decentralized way.

Reputation systems - Reviews, ratings, and public profiles help build trust and accountability between gig workers and clients without central intervention.

Token-based pay - Cryptocurrency payments and blockchain transaction records foster financial transparency between workers and clients.

Data interoperability - Open standards let profile information, ratings, and work histories transfer across multiple platforms. This benefits workers.

AI recommendations - Advanced algorithms match workers with the best jobs based on skills, location, preferences and reputation.

As blockchain technology and design principles mature, decentralized gig platforms have the opportunity to set a new standard - one that empowers individual workers more than centralized giants ever could. Distributed, self-governing systems still have challenges to overcome, but the future looks bright.

The gig economy holds advantages like flexibility and independence that appeal to many workers. However, concerns over unfair treatment, lack of benefits, and income instability remain.

Decentralized autonomous organizations demonstrate a promising application of blockchain technology that could transform the gig economy. By enabling self-governance, portable benefits, and peer-to-peer transactions, DAOs have huge potential to resolve some of the most stubborn issues faced by gig workers today.

There are still challenges to overcome before decentralized models go mainstream. But as innovators continue improving the technology and user experience, a more equitable and empowering gig economy could emerge - one that works better for all stakeholders, not just centralized platforms. The possibility of worker-owned structures promises a more sustainable and satisfying future of work for gig employees.

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How Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Can Transform the ... - BTC Peers