After only a few weeks since the release of KYVE’s fourth protocol update, our team is back with update number five! This time, we’re introducing a few exciting Cosmos SDK changes, new governance features, UI improvements for the KYVE App, and KYVE’s ability to archive Web2 data.
Let’s go over the details of what’s new…
Upgraded Cosmos SDK Features
Launching our own Layer 1 chain with the Cosmos SDK gave the KYVE team the basic building blocks it needed to better scale the KYVE protocol. After evaluating the chain’s initial configuration, our team has released a few new updates on these SDK features to better suit the protocol’s functions, use case capabilities, and user experience.
The first significant change was the upgrade of IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication) from V2 to V3. This decision was made not just for security reasons, but also to allow KYVE to enable IBC’s new interchain account feature in the near future. This will enable users to manage their tokens across all IBC-enabled Cosmos chains via a single account. For example, if a user with an interchain account buys $KYVE on Osmosis, they can control that $KYVE on the Osmosis chain as well as fund or participate in a pool on the KYVE chain.
Then, there is the reintroduction of the unbonding feature for delegating and staking on the protocol level. With this unbonding feature in place, pool security increases due to the discouragement of throwing off the pools, such as staking into a pool and then immediately unstaking.
Now, when undelegating, the action is implemented immediately; however, the tokens will be locked for 5 days. When unstaking, there is a delay of 5 days until the tokens are officially unstaked and returned to the user. It’s important that when unstaking, the node must stay running during this period; otherwise, it will be subject to a timeout slash.
Major Governance Updates
One of the fundamental building blocks of KYVE’s functionality and decentralization is governance. As a result, it’s critical that the governance system be as efficient as possible. To help with this, a few key updates have been released, starting with who exactly can vote.
Previously, KYVE governance proposals could only be voted on by users that locked or bonded their tokens through chain nodes. However, this was not very inclusive of the protocol nodes that were also staking and delegating $KYVE tokens but could not vote. For this reason, a new feature has been added that allows both chain and protocol nodes to participate in the voting process!
The next governance feature to be updated was the amount of time a proposal lasts. Before the V5 update, all proposals took six hours, which was found not ideal for many situations. For instance, six hours is too short for a chain upgrade, as the community may want more time to best discuss the subject at hand, and the validators need more time to thoroughly examine the proposal. However, six hours is too long in case of an emergency, such as if there is an issue and nodes start getting slashed.
To solve this, we implemented a new feature that allows each proposal to specify a custom voting period. Now, creating a pool is set at two hours and a general vote is set at twenty-four hours. Overall, this gives the community the time they need to look over the proposals’ details and allows our team to react quickly when needed.
Along with these new custom voting periods, expedited proposals have also been implemented. In the case of an emergency, or if a user believes their proposal is time-sensitive and important enough, they now have the option to expedite the voting period from one full day to only thirty minutes. This feature requires five times as much $KYVE as is typically required to submit a proposal in order to be activated.
KYVE App UI Updates
Just a week prior to this update, our team released a great deal of UI updates for theKYVE appto accompany the launch of Phase 2 of our incentivized testnet. You can read into these updateshere. Since then, there have only been a few minor additions.
The “archived to” section has been replaced with “current key”. When archiving blockchain data, it will stay the same, showing the block height. For Web2 data being archived, this section will show the generic key.
The more prominent UI change in the V5 update was on the User page. To go along with the added unbonding feature for delegation and staking, a new section was added to the User page; under both the “My Delegations” and “My Staking” tabs, users can now easily track the progress of their undelegation or unstaking.
KYVE Coming for Web2 Data
Known as the Web3 data lake solution, KYVE archives blockchain data. But why stop there? While implementing this new protocol update, our team has found a way to bring KYVE’s solution to all data providers, expanding into the Web2 data space.
KYVE’s blockchain data archiving protocol relies on a counter inside each pool corresponding to the blockchain height. In order to replicate this for Web2 data, the block height will be replaced by generic keys. Once we start implementing Web2 integrations, each of these pools will have a starting key that, at the end, will identify the following key of data to be archived. Data in these pools will only be deemed valid if the data and the subsequent key are both correct.
Our mission is to provide reliable, valid, and permanently stored data to all who need it. Opening up to Web2 data not only introduces new KYVE use cases but also contributes to Web3 adoption and full data decentralization. Join in on our mission by participating in a pool on theKYVE apptoday!
About KYVE
KYVE, the web3 data lake solution, is a protocol that enables data providers to standardize, validate, and permanently store blockchain data streams. By leveraging permanent data storage solutions like Arweave, KYVE’s Cosmos SDK chain creates permanent backups and ensures the scalability, immutability, and availability of these resources over time. KYVE’s network is powered by decentralized uploaders and validators funded by $KYVE tokens and aims to operate as a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in the near future. This past year KYVE has gained major support, currently backed by top VCs, including Hypersphere Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Mechanism Capital, CMS Holdings, and blockchains such as Arweave, Avalanche, Solana, Interchain, and NEAR.
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