April 25, 2017

NOTE: If you run a Counterparty node, please UPDATE your software as soon as possible with these instructions, prior to the block 467417 hard fork!

Today we released version 9.55.2 of counterparty-lib, which adds the much anticipated “subassets” feature, as well as an update to use bitcoin-0.13.2. In short, subassets allow for owners of a specific named parent asset (such as “DOMINOS”) to create a child token (such as “DOMINOS.Coupon_34930”) that can be managed, sent and traded independently. This has numerous potential uses on the Counterparty network, from additional in-game items within Counterparty’s growing in-game economy to tradable “blockchain domain names” on Bitcoin. Support for subassets is currently almost complete in Counterwallet and will be released on testnet within the week, as well as implemented in other Counterparty-aware wallets such as Indiesquare Wallet, Freewallet and Book of Orbs shortly.

Subasset functionality is currently live on Bitcoin testnet, and will go live on Bitcoin mainnet on block 467417, in approximately 3 weeks (~May 22). It is important that all parties running a Counterparty node update their software as soon as possible. In the meantime, feel free to jump onto Counterwallet testnet and play around with them!

And speaking of Counterwallet, we have also recently added the ability to specify custom fees, as well as implemented a new caching layer to improve performance and responsiveness.

Development Process

The development of this feature was particularly noteworthy, as the implementation of it was made by a member of our community off of the specs written by a different member of our community. These specs were written to our CIP standards guidelines (similar to the BIP specifications that Bitcoin uses) and financed via our the newly created CIP Bounty process. These processes will allow for sustainable Counterparty development moving forward as various members of the community can easily plug in and contribute in a variety of ways, all dictated by standards that the community as a whole as agreed to.

Upcoming Roadmap

Beyond this, drastically cheaper send transactions (with CIP009) and multisend (via the upcoming CIP010) is in the pipeline next, along with the implementation of a more flexible token voting system as detailed in CIP005 and more Counterwallet improvements. Preliminary segwit support is also implemented, and waiting on finalized upstream libraries to be released. Stay tuned!

Counterparty is a community-run project with no corporate entity or ICO funding, and – like Bitcoin – we rely entirely upon the effort of volunteers and enthusiasts. Feel free to ask questions or get involved by contacting us on our Slack chat.