Dear Solarians,

It has been sometime since we posted any updates on Solaris as the core team were mostly busy with Txbit Exchange development, progressing it’s features and functionality.

As most of you are aware from the current Roadmap found on the Solariscoin.com website, a major codebase update was planned for Q3 of this year. After Pivx team discovered a potential exploit in the Zerocoin library, the Solaris team used a spork to de-activate the Zerocoin protocol on the XLR blockchain to prevent any exploits from happening. As such we also started working on a codebase update in hopes to get it released sooner than expected while fixing all the issues with the old codebase.

Unfortunately just as we were getting through the updating process, another, much more serious exploit, was disclosed by the Zcoin team. This exploit stems from the Zerocoin library and is much harder to fix, infact no project using the Zerocoin protocol has found a fix at the time of writing this article.

This got us thinking. Why should we stick with the Pivx codebase? Sure, at the core level it is based on BTC, and it’s a reliable cryptocurrency because of that. But, due to the nature of it using C++ coding language, it’s somewhat difficult to develop on and not an easy task to add new features. As such it would make more sense to move to a codebase that we as developers are a lot more familiar with. Our native language is C#/.NET, and we can develop a hell of a lot better on it than C++.

So, what will we do next?

We certainly don’t have the time or manpower to develop a brand new codebase, but we have narrowed down on what we feel is one of the best developed and easily accessible codebases that we would like to base the Solaris 3.0 blockchain on.

Stratis (STRAT) is a fantastic blockchain platform, with the core technology and consensus based on Bitcoin, but re-written in C#. It easily allows to develop new solutions and services using the .NET platform, giving a lot more flexibility to future developments with native Smart Contracts in C#, sidechain technology and other beneficial opportunities that are not possible on the Pivx codebase.

One of the first things we believe we will be able to do is implement direct Txbit trading into the core Solaris wallet, allowing users to quickly exchange XLR with other pairings on Txbit. Of course this plan is only in its infancy and a lot more work is required to flesh it out, but it’s certainly a possibility which is not available if we continue on the current codebase.

Stratis is also a natively Proof-of-Stake consensus cryptocurrency, which aligns nicely with the current XLR state. While Stratis does not have native chain Masternodes, they are available for the Stratis side chains. We will port over the Masternodes to the mainchain and make it a much simpler process than is currently required to set-up the Masternode. We will make sure to implement Masternodes for the release of the new mainnet.

Some of you probably have the questions whether the Solaris Reward Program will get affected by this change. We are happy to say that there is no change regarding this, Txbit will still share the 50% of Net Transaction Fees with Solaris holders.

What are the Positives?

As already briefly described above, we see many positives such a move to a Stratis codebase will bring. First of all we will be able to develop new features and functionality, both on blockchain level and the services around it such as the GUI wallet due to it being natively C# and .NET platform.

It also opens up a new pool of possible developers, whether it’s community involvement or the core team expanding, as C# language and .NET platform are very popular and largely under-used in the blockchain sphere. Developers who are already familiar with these languages don’t have to go and learn C++ which is largely obsolete in the corporate world on IT. This allows for many more opportunities to bring new and exciting features to Solaris in the future.

This change will also allow us to re-invigorate the community, as updates will be more often and with bigger possibilities on the new codebase. We will also propose, and have a discussion with a vote, to instate a small dev fund to once again fire up various bounties, from marketing related to external development, that made Solaris so visible previously.

What are the Negatives?

As always there are some negative outcomes that we need to consider when discussing this decision with the Solaris community.

First and foremost a change like this will require a swap from the current Pivx based XLR coins to the new blockchain. Swaps are tedious, with many people usually not checking the progress of the coins they hold and missing out on the swap period. As such we will ensure that the swap period is sufficiently long, 6 months or more, to ensure all active XLR will be swapped over to the new chain.

Secondly, a change to a new codebase like this will mean some exchanges that we are already on will either delist us, or request a new listing payment to ensure the new wallet is installed and coins swapped over. Of course this is not the case with Txbit, as it will support and swap over coins on the exchange.

Of course such a change will also mean the new wallet will not be released until at least late Q2, or Q3 of this year. There is a fair amount of work involved to ensure a smooth transition to the new chain, and we want to ensure there is as little disruption as possible to any existing services. This means extensive testing of the new codebase, changes to the website and all the documentation/guides have to be redone. Txbit has to be ready for the change as well, including the Solaris Reward Program. In short, it will be a lot of work, but we feel it’s positive change for the future of Solaris.

With this in mind, what do we do?

We stated our case. At the end of the day this is a decentralized project and the decision is up to the holders of XLR. First and foremost, we want to discuss this decision with you. Come join us on Telegram or Discord (links below) and voice your opinion. If there is a community support for this plan, we will hold a governance vote with the Masternode holders, and possibly some other means to ensure most of the community is able to join in the decision making if we should go forward with this proposal.

Join The Solaris Community:

Website — https://solariscoin.com

Twitter — https://twitter.com/SolarisCoin

Telegram — https://t.me/solariscoin

Discord — https://discord.gg/wMcqapP

Reddit — https://www.reddit.com/r/solarisxlr/

Facebook — facebook.com/solariscoin/

Offical ANN — https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1831629.0