Edit (04 July, 2015): Updated roadmap description up to version 1.1.1Edit (13 July, 2015): Updated roadmap description, split version 1.0.6 and added new features to 1.0.7Today is March 31th 2015, which is the 1001st day of Bytecoin's existence, and we are honored to present our new website and Bytecoin development roadmap for 2015.On the anniversary of Bytecoin, we have launched a new website, which embodies our philosophy of reliability and convenience. We continue to gradually implement our
mission and create a new efficient financial system that would enhance the classical one.
We are making considerable efforts to help in building the new economy, and doing our best to make the world of tomorrow differ from the world of today. Such grand task as changing the economical paradigm requires assistance not only from cryptographers and programmers, but from specialists in social fields, like economists, lawyers and sociologists, as well. These people are the ones who mostly help in creating a cryptocurrency not for itself, but cryptocurrency for other people, for the world.
The presence of large number of teams and ideas that they implement increases possibility for the new economy to be really new. It means that it would not be the 20th century economy + the Internet, but rather a brand new Economy: a system that has never existed before, the one that creates new patterns for people interaction in virtual reality.
And we are making our own contribution to this new economy. A reliable cryptocurrency is a must, but it is not enough. After developing the Bytecoin Core we moved our focus to creating the add-ons that would be convenient for users and businessmen, for all those who will create the new economy by becoming a part of it!
Welcome to the new Bytecoin website:
Bytecoin RoadmapBytecoin software is presented with two development branches, Bytecoin Reference Client and Bytecoin Wallet. The first one refers to the original
CryptoNote console daemon and simplewallet binaries, while the latter is the graphical wallet for end-users. Bytecoin Wallet roadmap depends on Bytecoin Reference Client features, so versioning is the same for both Bytecoin branches.
Here is the visual representation of Bytecoin roadmap. The features are briefly covered below. One thing to mention, these are not some vague plans scheduled for 2050; every feature mentioned in this post is being either researched or developed actively. We aim to significantly improve CryptoNote protocol and give birth to broad ecosystem on top of Bytecoin network.
The majority of the updates has been discussed with CryptoNote team members to ensure that our work is aligned with their philosophy and vision. However, it is completely up to them to decide which of them should be included into CryptoNote's official codebase and become part of CryptoNote's core features.
There are going to be more great features coming out this year. It's high time CryptoNote technology become more user-friendly to ultimately drive mass adoption to the platform and all CryptoNote currencies. Even though the cryptographic protocol behind CryptoNote's anonymous transactions is well-tested and robust, there is still a lot of work ahead. That is why Bytecoin team puts a lot of effort to make whole CryptoNote ecosystem reach a radically new level.
You may follow the progress on
Bytecoin website. The page is going to be updated with each Bytecoin release.
v.1.0.3Low-level API for ordinary and multisig transactionsBytecoin low-level API interface provides 3rd party developers with a flexible access to CryptoNote transactions engine. It covers CryptoNote's core functions that allow to create, validate, sign, and broadcast any kind of transaction including multisig.
Instant transaction notificationWith this feature CryptoNote transactions become real-time. When Alice broadcasts her newly created Bytecoin transaction to Bob, his wallet will immediately recognize it and update Bob's pending balance before the transaction is included in the blockchain.
Simplewallet migration to high-level APILegacy simplewallet code is completely re-written with the new high-level API libraries. This allows new Bytecoin simplewallet to process blocks and transactions 20% faster. It also acts as a showcase for Bytecoin high-level API for wallets. As for the user experience, it still the same CryptoNote wallet you're all used to, with a whole new engine under its hood.
In-process INode for applicationsINode interface is Bytecoin's high-level API library that provides network node functionality. Its in-process implementation allows to launch an instance of Bytecoin daemon inside any C++ application. As an example, it allows Bytecoin Wallet to run a native network node. What's more, if you have a local Bytecoin daemon running, INode will connect to it rather than create a new in-app instance. This update marks the start of Bytecoin lightweight wallet development, a long-awaited feature in CryptoNote ecosystem.
Bytecoin GUI WalletBytecoin team has designed an elegant graphic wallet. Bytecoin Wallet is much more than just a user-friendly implementation of simplewallet's functions. Our team has spent months prototyping, running A/B tests, and focus groups. The result is the well-polished application focused on user experience.
v.1.0.4E-commerce solution designed for highloadBytecoin e-commerce solution offers a new integration scheme for businesses that operate with Bytecoin. It is a robust demonized RPC Wallet that is capable of receiving and sending thousands transactions simultaneously. Designed for highload, Bytecoin RPC Wallet meets the requirements of the most sophisticated business cases.
Daemon refactoring and optimizationThe data serialization code among various CryptoNote components is significantly updated. This feature improves Bytecoin code maintainability and is extremely important for future updates. It enhances CryptoNote code modularity and allows Bytecoin team to tremendously increase software test coverage.
Improved console loggingBytecoin logging module is largely updated and standardized, both in daemon and simplewallet.
Color themesThis update provides Bytecoin users with a new set of color themes for Bytecoin Wallet. Even though our main focus is hardcore protocol features, we believe it's time for CryptoNote to become more user-friendly.
v.1.0.5Network-wide real-time transactions synchronizationThis feature allows Bytecoin nodes to synchronize the transaction pools (transactions that are not in blocks yet) network-wide. It improves network stability by addressing multiple sophisticated cases for newly created transactions. It also lays ground for the upcoming transfer features.
High-level API for blockchain explorerThis API interface provides Bytecoin blockchain explorer functionality for any C++ application. It further decentralizes Bytecoin's infrastructure allowing anyone to easily implement block explorers.
New network libraryThe network layer is being migrated to a new library. Unlike epee library that has been used previously, the new solution makes node's behavior more predictable in runtime. This update splits network and worker threads and is a pre-requisite for multi-threading behavior optimization.
In-wallet blockchain explorerA native blockchain explorer is coming right to your Bytecoin Wallet. It improves user experience, since all you may need to know about Bytecoin is already in your wallet.
In-wallet minerAn in-wallet miner is a long-awaited feature for Bytecoin Wallet. It simplifies mining in pools for average users and allows to start getting Bytecoins with a few clicks right in your wallet.
v.1.0.6Multiple wallet addressesMultiple wallet addresses is a secure scheme for payment identification. Implemented in Bytecoin RPC Wallet, it takes payment processing to a whole new level. It may well be the largest update to CryptoNote cryptographic protocol since 2012.
v.1.0.7New transaction priority rulesThis feature is a major improvement of transaction rules for Bytecoin network. It reserves a part of each block for specific zero-fee transactions. The latter are likely to emerge as a result of micro-donation protocol implementation and in case a large amount of tiny inputs is involved.
Transactions inputs optimizationAs a result of new transaction priority rules introduction, Bytecoin Wallet is capable of optimizing your wallet funds. In a process similar to good old defragmentation, tiny inputs are joined into a smaller number of larger outputs. This is a significant improvement of the CryptoNote protocol, which will be covered in a our new whitepaper.
Tracking key import/exportThe access to your Bytecoin wallet address is based on two private keys: tracking key and spending key. The former allows any party to learn your balance and all financial operations. This update extends the transparency-on-demand core feature and introduces a user-friendly way to export your tracking key or import the keys provided by other parties.
8-bit color themeA taste of good old 8-bit style is coming to our elegant Bytecoin Wallet. This color theme is a tribute to the old Bytecoin website.
v.1.0.8Instant transaction notifications through proxy INodeInstant transaction notification is coming to the proxying node module. The latter is the INode interface implementation for the wallet to work with the remote daemon. This is an important step towards lightweight wallets.
v.1.0.9External keys for Bytecoin RPC WalletThis update substantially extends Bytecoin RPC Wallet functionality allowing third party developers to securely pass private keys of the wallets to its API interface. This is a major feature that improves Bytecoin out-of-box security for various web applications.
Transaction commentsTransaction comments provide a functionality to enclose any message to the transaction that you are sending. Its content is going to be encrypted, stored in blockchain, and available only for the recipient.
InvoicesInvoices are a usability enhancement for Bytecoin Wallet. They allow merchants and services to send an invoice directly to the user's wallet. Therefore, payment for the end-users is simplified to just a couple of clicks required to accept the invoice.
v.1.1.0On-blockchain aliasBytecoin team aims to give on-blockchain aliases a new perspective allowing you to create aliases for basically whatever you want.
v.1.1.1P2P layer refactoringThis update isolates p2p and cryptocurrency protocols to further improve testability, modularity, and reliability. This update allows to create any p2p project on top of Bytecoin's network layer.
Higher daemon synchronization speedThe ambitious goal is to improve the speed of daemon synchronization from scratch by 500%. After this update there will be no need to distribute blockchain files, since there will be no time difference between synchronizing with the network and downloading blockchain from a server.
Higher block relay speedThe updated P2P layer allows to polish the way the blocks are relaid across the network. It ensures that all Bytecoin nodes are synchronized with just a neglectable delay.
Various work in progressFull daemon refactoringAnother significant daemon refactoring that improves code modularity. It also increases blocks and transactions processing speed by roughly 15%.
Lightweight walletLightweight wallets are able to operate with any network daemon that has allowed external applications access, and exchange wallet peerlists. They minimize the resource requirements and allow Bytecoin wallet to run on a large variety of platforms.
Colored coins and assetsColored coins are the next big thing in cryptocurrencies and is the next significant step for CryptoNote. They will allow Bytecoin users to create and distribute various securities and digital assets.
AlertsAlerts are a handy feature to ensure that all Bytecoin network nodes are notified on software updates and important notes from the Bytecoin developers.
SOCKS-proxy for walletNative SOCKS-proxy support for Bytecoin wallets connected to remote daemons.
P2P poolsWith all the updates mentioned above we expect Bytecoin network to significantly increase. P2P pool is a temporary sidechain that implements decentralized pooled mining, which is important for network decentralization.
Turing-complete language for on-blockchain scriptsThis update is on the early prototype stages. We aim to provide a brand new Turing-complete language and an interpreter capable of powering CryptoNote's smart contracts.
Further readingBytecoin websiteWhat is Bytecoin?Bytecoin BlogBytecoin developers documentationCryptoNote websiteCryptoNote technology explainedCryptoNote whitepaperShould you have any questions, feel free to
contact us anytime.