It’s been a little over a month since we released Blockmarket Desktop 1.0. We’ve been working intensely over the past month to continue evolving Blockchain Foundry’s offerings on top of the Syscoin blockchain as well as improvements to the core Syscoin protocol itself.

Syscoin Identities

As one of the new features in Blockmarket Desktop 1.1 we’ve included Syscoin Identities. Syscoin Identities are built on Syscoin’s Alias service. These identities are stored offchain, the reference and the integrity proof are their small on-chain anchor. Additionally, we keep pointers to common data fields on-chain, that allow for fast lookups. Blockmarket Desktop 1.1 includes mechanisms for alerting users if data-tampering is detected, so that they know the data can be trusted.

Syscoin Identity for Alias ‘dannotest’ on Syscoin Testnet

In our last post we shared the candidate spec for Syscoin Identities. We’ve evolved the specfications in the final release to incorporate some of the community feedback we have received. DIF specifications for decentralized identity are drafted to be recognized by regulators and legal entities alike. They will heavily influence the Syscoin Identity spec moving forward.

In this first iteration of Syscoin Identities, the specification is as follows:

export interface OffChainData {

lastUpdateTime: number; //unix timestamp of last update time to prevent proof-collision due to blocktime or network congestion

dataProof: string; //hash of data stored off chain to ensure it wasn't tampered with

dataUrls: string[]; //support multiple off-chain storage locations

}



export interface SyscoinOnChainIdentity {

avatarUrl: string;

firstName: string;

lastName: string;

}



export interface SyscoinPublicIdentity extends SyscoinOnChainIdentity { //the full offchain identity object

location?: string;

pgpPubKey?: string;

bio?: string;

socialMediaUrls?: string[]; //agnostic support for multiple social networks

trustedArbiterNames?: string[]; //list of arbiters this alias implicitly trusts for escrow operations

requireTrustedArbiter?: boolean; //applies to all offers from this alias, whether or not aliases buying from this alias can use an arbiter that isn't on the trustedArbiterNames list

}



export interface SyscoinPrivateIdentity {

shippingAddress?: string;

pgpPrivKey?: string;

}



export interface SyscoinIdentity {

lastUpdateTime: number; //unix timestamp of last update time to prevent proof-collision due to blocktime or network congestion

publicIdentity: SyscoinPublicIdentity;

privateIdentity?: SyscoinPrivateIdentity;

}

Blockmarket 1.1

In addition to Syscoin Identities, Blockmarket 1.1 has several key bug fixes and improvements. Issues with displaying the cumulative wallet balance have been fixed, as have issues with wallet passwords that use special characters. We’ve also taken time to improve the aesthetics of the “basic” alias form and view. There are some minor usability improvements such as being able to directly edit Aliases you own from the Alias view screen and being able to browse offers owned by a particular Alias. These types of bug fixes, aesthetic and usability improvements will continue with Blockmarket Desktop 1.1.1.

You can download all the latest releases today below:

Marketing

Syscoin and Blockchain Foundry Twitter feeds continue to grown by an average of 6000 organic followers per month to a current 38,000. As a result of the recent phishing scams, our Slack channel with 3700 members has been locked down to invite-only and new community members have been diverted to our Telegram channel which has doubled since August to 2000 members. Our Facebook pages are drastically larger as well with the Syscoin page growing to 5000 followers. Ballistic Arts is now putting together social media engagement campaigns to further boost Syscoin’s brand.

The branding strategy is on-track and will be rolled out with the new blockchainfoundry.co and syscoin.org websites being combined into a single site. In response to community requests (and recent Slack phishing scams) we have added an invitation-free forum which will allow open access and communication to a wider audience. We will also be moving the knowledge base and embedding our Medium.com blog posts within the final site to simplify access to information.

We should be able to share some storyboard snippets in our Slack channel in a few weeks to give an idea of the look and feel we’re giving to some of our upcoming videos.

Masternodes

Below is a breakdown of the baseline statistics for version 1 (V1) of our planned Masternode roll-out. After lots of testing and spreadsheet analysis we have come up with favorable numbers that will not only create incentive for healthy investor appetite but also a healthy network as we move towards Syscoin’s next generation design.

Masternodes get 75% of block reward, miners get 25%, governance will be done in V2 Masternode design through a smart-contract enabled massive multisig that Schnorr signatures will allow.

100,000 Syscoin collateral minimum requirement.

Reduce mining inflation to 10 from 16.39 SYS per block, Masternodes receive 28.5 SYS per block.

Blockchain Foundry team will commit to 5 Masternodes max per team-member to allow for network effect to take place.

60% ROI per year @ 250 Masternodes (3 month projection).

30% ROI per year @ 500 Masternodes (6 month projection).

15% ROI per year @ 1000 Masternodes (1 year projection).

3.8% inflation year 1, block reward decay by 5% per year, reward target schedule 40 years.

Specs for V1 only. These settings will serve as a baseline for V2.

Below are some recommendations in terms of Masternode minimum hardware specifications (this specification typically costs around $5–$10 USD/month at major hosting portals):

2GB memory

40GB free disk space(SSD recommended)

1 CPU

Linux 16.04 LTS x64

Hosting services: Microsoft Azure, Vultr, DigitalOcean, Amazon EC2, Google Cloud, Choopa, OVH

Setting up a Masternode will be pretty simple, there are 2 options both of which are not very involved and the release will accompany tutorials on how to setup a Masternode with either option.

Option 1: Use Syscoin Core:

Generate new Masternode key from core (using ‘Masternode genkey’ command’). Send funds to collateral address.

Option 2: (Using a HW Wallet for offline collateral storage for a Masternode):

Send funds to collateral address from your HW wallet. Use Syscoin Masternode tool to extract Masternode private key from HW device connected locally to prepare your Masternode VPS.

Hardware wallets (including Trezor and Ledger Nano S) will be supported through a Syscoin Masternode Tool. Supported hardware wallets will include Trezor and Ledger Nano S. We are currently in ongoing talks to integrate Syscoin on to these platforms and work with them to ensure the Masternode tool works flawlessly.

Now that we have the final specs for V1 Masternodes we’re completing internal tests before releasing them in Testnet mode for quality assurance and community feedback. We want people to exercise Masternode functionality on Testnet (similar to the Blockmarket Desktop approach) so that we can address any remaining issues that may only surface through large scale testing with the community involved. Following a short community testing and feedback period we’ll release Masternodes to the Syscoin Mainnet in conjunction with the Blockmaket Web release. We are currently finalizing internal tests and target rolling out a Masternode Testnet in mid-November 2017. We’ll be releasing Masternodes on Mainnet at the same time as the Blockmarket Web release. By releasing Blockmarket Web in conjunction with Mainnet Masternodes we’ll continue building on the momentum established by the updated roadmap, with one or more releases each month leading up to Blockmarket Web and Mainnet Masternodes.

We have discussed internally about launching Masternodes (Syscoin Core 2.2) prior to Blockmarket Web but unanimously decided against it. The current path to Blockmarket Web and Syscoin Core 2.2 would pave the way for a seamless transition from the current Blockmarket Desktop to Blockmarket Web (and a new Blockmarket Desktop). We will upgrade both the core and introduce Blockmarket Web along with merchants from the Merchant Pilot program all at the same time. We are currently working on upgrading Syscoin API to version 2.0 for Blockmarket Web functionality.

Roadmap Update

Now that the first iteration of Syscoin Identities is being released and we have the final specs for Masternodes V1 we have a better idea of what the pipeline moving forward looks like. Syscoin Identities will serve as a critical and fundamental building block for Blockmarket experiences moving forward, eventually going as far as being able to login to various third party sites using nothing but your Syscoin Identity! Masternodes are an equally critical part of the protocol, helping to service special transactions and acting as a decentralized data store (V2) while providing operators with substantially more ROI than other Masternode implementations.

Our next release will be Blockmarket Desktop 1.1.1, this will include major aesthetic and usability improvements to all screens as well as many “nice to have” bug fixes. With usability improved and bugs fixed the focus will shift to enabling quick and easy access to Syscoin tokens for the first-time user. Blockmarket Desktop 1.2 will include native payment processors such as Changelly, Flyp.me, Blocknet and possibly Komodo allowing you to move from one cryptocurrency to another and ideally even from fiat to cryptocurrency (and back) right within Blockmarket. This will greatly simplify the process of acquiring Syscoin tokens to enable users to more quickly leverage the Syscoin protocol’s services.

With usability and aesthetics improved and the ability to move between currencies directly from the wallet, we’ll be ready for Blockmarket Web. We posted about the inner architecture of Blockmarket and the component-driven approach we’re taking, which will majorly benefit our efforts to deploy a web version as soon as possible with all of the rich features already present in the desktop version. Shortly following the release of Blockmarket Desktop 1.2 we’ll be releasing a beta of Blockmarket Web, and then the Mainnet release which will happen in parallel with the release of Syscoin 2.2 and Masternodes V1. The Blockmarket Web release will be a major event which includes marketing around both Blockmarket and Masternodes and will enable users to access Blockmarket and in turn the Syscoin network from any internet-enabled device (including mobile and tablets) greatly simplifying the ease-of-entry into the Syscoin ecosystem.