Ethereum could see a number of changes in the coming year, after revelations that senior developers have held quite discussions on undisclosed upgrade.
Implemented, the changes are expected to significantly improve the platform’s performance, ostensibly earmarked for release by June 2019.
The changes are attributed to four meetings held in private during Devcon4 in October, and which refers to the potential upgrade dubbed “ethereum 1x.”
The minutes are part of an internal document published to Github on Friday by Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) engineer Greg Colvin.
The main reason the minutes have remained undisclosed all this time relates to differing opinions among some of the senior developers of the platform.
The key sticking point is on how to involve the Ethereum community and solicit general feedback on the sensitive issues that include technical proposals.
Although changes to the network code mainly come from developers, the move to have the community involved stems from the nature of public blockchain networks. As with other public blockchains, changing the rules requires distributed consensus before any of these changes takes effect.
Reports suggest that Ethereum heavyweights, including creator Vitalik Buterin, Consensys founder Joseph Lubin, attended one of the meetings. Notable figures also include developers Peter Szilagyi, Lane Rettig, and Hudson Jameson.
According to the notes referenced by Coindesk, Ethereum developers are getting under increasing pressure to enhance their roadmaps, a move that should now see several improvements added via system-wide upgrades.
Series of upgrades planned for 2019
Reportedly, the enhancements being targeted include a change to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and an introduction of ‘rent’ fees for smart contracts.
Per the document, the project will encompass the urgency of implementations, involving “sequential updates,” and extensive feedback from the public.
Ethereum developers have also held several discussions on an implementation dubbed eWASM, mooted as a replacement for the EVM, presumably to make the network’s computation faster than it presently is.
Some programmers favor private discussions, which give them the room to work faster and with minimal fluctuations.
However, Vitalik Buterin, who attended the discussions, is quoted as having expressed his disapproval for such private meetings, saying that he prefers a lot more transparency and that he remains “uncomfortable with institutional private calls and absolutely against private forum[s].”
Although supportive of transparency and public participation, Parity’s Afri Schoedon said in a chat forum on Friday that no such planning occurred without involving the public.
He said that it’s all “fine” to work in such private groups, but to ensure the meetings stay within the realm of public participation, there “should be transparent and maybe start with a public announcement.”
The developments come even as Ethereum (ETH) continues to buckle under the bearish market, with prices tanking fast. The coin is currently down around 10% on the day and could hit $100 in the short-term.
The third-ranked Ethereum now has a market cap of $11.5 billion and trades at $110 against the USD.
This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets and are very risky investments. Do your research and consult an investment professional before investing. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Never borrow money to invest in cryptocurrencies.
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Source: https://xbt.net/blog/ethereum-blog/ethereum-eth-devs-quietly-planning-major-upgrades-around-june-2019/
