NEO Mainnet Gets Much Awaited Updates, Votes in KPN as a Consensus Node

The NEO “MainNet” has seen two significant updates in a single week, launching a new consensus node and update 2.9.0, the company announced in a Medium post published on October 22, 2018.

NEO MainNet Upgraded to 2.9.0

(Source: Medium)

The last few weeks of October have seen a slew of new developments at NEO, with the company launching two “extremely significant” updates in a single day.

The post highlighted the new update as being of extreme significance not just to the company, but to NEO users as well. The update brings much faster block times, while also enabling larger blocks. The slight tweaks to the platform have also reportedly brought a massive boost to both performance and stability.

According to NEO’s data, block times that were averaging 23 seconds are now hitting 16 seconds or less. The company says that the 2.9.0 update has brought a 150 percent faster block average.

As faster block time means more rapid gas generation, which in turn means more users joining the blockchain, who will subsequently register more assets on the network.

NEO Finally Embracing Decentralization

Previously hosting six out of seven available nodes, NEO has been criticized for not being decentralized enough. Now, the company seems to be embracing that reality, as the NEO Foundation announced that KPN was voted in as a consensus node in the NEO protocol.

KPN is a Dutch telecom company that offers landline phone service, cellular phone service, and internet access to over 30 million customers across Western Europe. According to NEO Global Development, KPN has maintained stable operation on the NEO TestNet, which is why NEO Foundation decided to complete the MainNet election three months ahead of schedule.

With five of seven MainNet consensus nodes currently controlled by NEO Foundation, the company has now delegated most of its control. This is the first enterprise-level company to hold an NEO Consensus node, as previously all nodes were held by NEO foundation or City of Zion, NEO’s open source community.

NEO Global Development has stated that “NEO is scheduled to fully democratize the election of consensus nodes” in 2019. Under this plan, NEO holders will be able to vote to elect consensus nodes through their wallet software.

According to Neo News Today, another possible addition to the NEO MainNet in the coming months could be Switzerland’s largest telecom provider, Swisscom, who is currently running a TestNet consensus node.