June saw the release of 0.13.x, that was delivered to the Waves Platform MainNet. This development came with new on-demand features including Fair PoS, Data Transactions, Transaction Sponsorship as well as node state optimization. These features have all now been activated on the platform MainNet.

MainNet team hurriedly integrated these features to the main platform responding to a high demand, a move that brought some drawbacks. There were a few issues that the team missed during the initial testing phase. The team has noted from this experience that it is more important to ensure a quality and stable product, than to rush towards meeting a particular release deadline.

The new project manager, Igor Pavlov, is now in charge of establishing the right process for future releases. This process will involve:

A test automation as well as a complete test design

A third-party audit and public bug bounty

Correct functional as well as a non-functional testing of release candidate on TestNet

A steady release to MainNet that will begin with non-mining nodes, then official wallet nodes, followed by small miners and finally the large miners

Future Node Release

The main feature that is about to be released for the wave platform is 0.14, which is a Smart Accounts (phase one). Its functionality is already finished and the release candidate build has already been published and is now being tested on TestNet. The team expects the final release to be around the end of August, or the beginning of September.

The Smart Accounts enable users to use a script on their accounts that allows them to control all outgoing transactions. Users can use such accounts in varied situations including 2FA, multi-sig wallets, escrow and oracles among others. The accounts also allow the use of a verifiable state transition for the implementation of more complex applications. We shall describe such applications later.

In the first phase, Smart Accounts are partly supported for every transaction type apart from Exchange Transaction. The team aim to implement the feature that will support the Exchange Transaction in the next release, which will be around after two months. The lack of this feature means that the smart accounts in the current phase will have the functionality of all other features including multi-sig and 2FA, but will not trade on DEX.

Improvements of DEX Matcher

There has been an outage of the platform’s matcher just recently. It is for this reason that the team is now committed to addressing all issues arising from that incidence. After this, the team wants to go on with Matcher optimization and increase the platform’s capacity considerably in the next few months. They will also make some technical improvements and changes. After these changes, what will follow is the decoupling of the Matcher from the Waves Node, and then develop and release it independently and then scale it horizontally.

Waves Client

Waves platform team has been working on improving a few security features. This activity was after they recently released the DEX and version 1.0. The version was in beta testing for a few months.

Hardware Wallets- Ledger

Waves platform will work with the Ledger wallet. At the moment, the technical integration of the two systems is complete. Waves team says that it is now waiting for the ledger team to go through the Waves app and give a go ahead. At the moment, the team cannot give any specific date or timeline for the official release. The team has hope that Waves support will soon be available for Ledger users beginning of September. Make sure to check the Ledger Roadmap to check Waves support.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Once the Smart Accounts are fully activated within the MainNet system, users will be in a position to use features such as the 2FA for security purposes in the Waves Client. There are two ways in which users can utilize the 2FA. One, they can use a fully decentralized schema with several devices or use a semi-centralized system with the support of a centralized 2FA service like a Google Authenticator. The Client team is now working on the 2FA test app now that the Smart Accounts are already on the TestNet. This feature will probably be available in a few months’ time.

Browser Extension: Waves Keeper

In a bid to enhance the system’s security, the team has begun a new project. In this project, the platform will have a browser extension that will enable users store their private keys in a safe place. The browser will also allow users to interact with third-party websites, signing transactions while keeping their keys private. This tool is especially vital for the developer community that is growing every day. Waves team decided to name the extension Waves Keeper.

Mobile applications

A lot of users have been patiently waiting for a Waves Mobile applications update. Waves team has endeavored in the last few months to achieve this, even increasing the number of personnel working on the project to eight. The team now comprises of one UI/UX designer, three iOS developers, one backend developer and three android developers. The team is currently looking for a specialist to fill the position of a QA Engineer. They need an engineer who has a solid test automation background. The team has now finished developing the new UI and are now in the process of integrating it with the backend services.

The team says that the iOS application development is just a bit ahead of the Android version, but there are still many aspects they need to work on before completing and shipping the product. The team is putting in extra hours to ensure that this product is ready as soon as possible. They aim is to have it ready by this September or early October.

For Developers

The Waves team, in addition to the projects they are currently working on, are also working on others that are meant to assist developers establish their own projects on the platform. Let’s look at some of these projects.

Data Services

Waves says that the Data Services team is working towards developing new Application Programming Interface (APIs). These APIs are meant to give users a simple and easy avenue to access data from the Waves blockchain. The team consistently synchronizes the blockchain and keeps data in a relational database. The data becomes more flexible and can be aggregated in a simple manner allowing developers to have an easy access. Developers are advised, though, to use this service with caution, since it is still in its testing or v0 stage. Any developer who wants to use Data Services can help the team with the development work, and the one who wants to utilize the service for a specific purpose should visit the site’s Github or check on the team’s official forum.

Ride IDE

As of the moment, work is on going on the team’s online Integrated Development Environment IDE to support Ride smart contracts. The developers have in the last few weeks been working to add an interactive console (REPL), where users can launch their scripts, run normal JS code and even make transactions. This console is using auto-completion to meet its functionality and has tips to guide developers on how to use its functions.

Docker Container

After receiving a lot of queries on the easiest way to run the Waves Node, we have simplified it using the new Waves Docker container. Users will need just one simple command to run everything on the system or alter the settings of the node. For further instructions, visit the site’s Github

New Languages for Documentation

Waves is constantly updating the documentation. In just a few weeks, they have added numerous pages in the Russian and Korean languages with the assistance of their help ambassadors. So far, the English version is the most detailed. It is the Waves’ team ambition to ensure that other languages match this version to perfection. Any one out there who feels that this documentation can also be in another language is welcomed to sign up to the repository and start the translation.

Online Hackathon Results

Waves launched an online hackathon on the 2nd of July, that will last 3 weeks. The winner will receive 2,000 WAVES. This event is dedicated to Waves’ non-Turing complete smart contracts. Waves has presented participants with various ideas to work on like Escrow, multisig, Atomic swaps as well as a betting platform.

The results of the hackathon were announced on the 28th of July. Considering the participants exceptional performance, it was challenging to select an outright winner. Waves decided to award two more projects with a second and a third place. Check out the list of winners on the Waves’ forum. Finally, the team wishes to thank all those that participated and every one else that offered their time and expertise.