Core developers at Ethereum finalised six different code changes last Thursday for ethereum’s next system-wide hard fork, Istanbul.

Ethereum Istanbul upgrade

Decided by all core devs and team members in previous meetings, the Istanbul hard fork will be rolled out in two phases. The first part, which includes all of the six code changes AKA ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs) is set to roll out upon the ethereum mainnet in October.

The second part to the hard fork, which is set for activation sometime during the first quarter of 2020, will include EIPs that still need to undergo extensive testing and deliberation from core devs. Included in these EIPs is ProgPow, a proposed mining algorithm.

Commenting on the two-phase plan of the upgrade, Péter Szilágyi, a core developer, during Thursday’s call stated:

“We split Istanbul into two. One of them we can actually ship within weeks. [The other contains] two really big EIPs that would be nice to have but require some stuff that cannot be done within the two- or three-week timespan.”

Istanbul marks the eighth major hard fork upgrade to be implemented upon the blockchain network which is worth around $22 billion today. The hard fork is set to boost chain interoperability with the privacy coin zcash as well as aid in securing the broader network against replay attacks, amongst other improvements.

Developers at major ethereum clients such as Parity and Geth, have precisely one week to implement the freshly confirmed list of the six EIPs into their software and prepare to integrate the full code on the live ethereum test network.

Ethereum Istanbul: one final obstacle

Originally the target date for the testnet activation for Istanbul on Ropsten, the Ethereum testnet, was last Wednesday, Aug 14. However, during Thursday’s developer conference call, Szilágyi cited the fact that the target needed to be pushed back by two weeks to give the devs ample time to finalise the list of EIPs being implemented with part one of Istanbul.

Because this list has only recently been finalised, Szilágyi argued that a hard fork activation upon Ropsten for September 4 might have to be pushed back even further.

Szilágyi stated:

“With previous hard forks, after everybody implemented [to their clients], we had literally months of testing before rolling out to the testnet. Now, we just came up with a final list of EIPs and we want to fork in two weeks? That’s a bit brave.”

Other core developers on the call agreed with Szilágyi’s points and decided that a targeted activation date would have to be decided during next week’s call.

The testnet implementation of Istanbul marks the final milestone before its mainnet activation. Of course, as is the case with all hard forks, miners on the network need to simultaneously upgrade to the new software, or risk causing a network chain split.

Hudson James, Ethereum Foundation community manager stated:

“The security and stability of the network are primary concerns when it comes to doing hard fork on mainnet so the testnet release is a vital step in making sure that mainnet release go smoothly.”

Despite this sentiment, Jameson confirmed that while the testnet activation is delayed, it is indeed an event that all devs would love to see happen sooner than later.

Jameson added:

“[Ethereum] core developers are excited to get the Ropsten testnet hard fork going to make sure that everything’s working correctly.”

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