Development Update: October — November
Tags: Blockchain, Masternodes, Cryptocurrency, Staking, Bots

Welcome to our update for November. October flew by in a jiffy as we welcomed November with open arms, together with the recovery and resurgence of Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto-sphere. Events over the past few weeks have had quite a ripple effect on the global economy and subsequently on the global financial and crypto landscape. Quite simply put, it is exciting times going forward for all of us.

Development Updates

Building on the work from last month’s update, our developers are proud to announce the following milestones:

Membrane

Through inputs gathered from the engagement activities conducted in November, the community has placed a strong emphasis on Membrane and its incorporation with MERGE.

The common misconception is that Membrane is generally referred to as a software tool or a framework. This is not the case as Membrane is fundamentally a protocol which houses a series of definitions for the interoperability and communication of different software. In essence, the Membrane protocol provides concentrated strategies for value exchange within an application and between software modules.

Putting this concept into the picture: Membrane will enable us to, for example, create an ecosystem where mobile phones can make their wireless data connections available to users who wish to access the internet. The exchange of value will translate to these users paying a certain denomination for access to the internet, with the mobile phone owners getting remunerated in return for offering and monetizing their connections to the users. While all of this is taking place, a distributed network is thus created which enables the user to access the internet.

The Membrane protocol is a long and arduous work in progress. Much of it has been developed, though, and drafted, with its technical whitepaper and auxiliary documents being close to completion. We will be publishing an in-depth article dedicated to Membrane next week, so stay tuned for the updates.

RocketBot

On the heels of last month’s update on RocketBot, Merge has release RocketBot v2 after extensive design structuring and rebasing. Users can now use RocketBot's multiple integrated social media platforms to perform a myriad of self-automation features. All with the ease of the main web-wallet, allowing all instances of the bot to be synchronized through RocketBot’s dedicated web platform.

The current version of RocketBot features support for Telegram and Discord, with users also having access to a web platform. Essentially, users will have a main RocketBot account for all their social media channels. As for future plans, Merge's developers will integrate RocketBot on Twitter and undertake a revamp and redesign of the web application.

SmartStake by MERGE

The developers have integrated SmartStake into MERGE, henceforth streamlining the staking process for MERGE's users. SmartStake essentially calculates the modifier with all the bits needed for a stake and subsequently stores it in a temporary cache. The cached result is then used to cycle through UTXOs for network rewards during the currently processed block.

This routine will allow users to save up to 80% on CPU and disk input/output resources, and enables their wallets to stake more efficiently, with fewer orphan or stale blocks.

You can find more information about SmartStake through this Github link.

Deterministic Masternodes

The testnet for Deterministic Masternodes Lists (DMN) DIP3 and 8 was launched by our developers. DMN are lists that are fully derived from on-chain data, which in turn introduces a new transaction structure with a specific type, facilitating the network to register and keep the on-chain masternodes updated. In layman’s terms, your masternode status on your wallet will always be aligned and in synchronization with the network.

Serialization and quorum for MERGE’s DMN have been completed, with the final phase of launch anticipated in December.

Marketing Updates

With the developers working their socks off on the back-end deliverables of Merge, the marketing team has also been hard at work in terms of engagement and outreach.

While the unity and cohesion of Merge’s community are unquestionable, enhancing the engagement levels between the team and the rest of the community has been earmarked as a top priority as per the marketing team’s update in October.

The marketing team launched an array of activities tailored to trigger the community’s interests on Merge’s Discord server. This included a series of quizzes, questionnaires, and general exchanges on Discord, with winners selected based on their engagement levels. The primary objective was to gather inputs from the community while maintaining and strengthening the activity levels of our interaction platforms.

In the interest of keeping activity levels aligned with those of the developers, the marketing team will strive to keep activity levels up by introducing and incorporating new campaigns. Do stay tuned to find out more!

Other Updates

Merge will effectively reach a huge milestone in December, as it will mark the 2nd anniversary of its incredible journey. What started as a collective and valiant effort to merge different communities has quite literally emerged into a MERGE in itself. Here’s to many more years of MERGE to come.

As we enter into December, do remember to fill your bags with MERGE as you brace yourselves for the festive season. That will be all from the Merge team. Stay safe and take care!

Project Merge

Knowledge Base