‘Ithaca 2’ – the ninth Tezos core protocol upgrade has been activated and this upgrade switches out the Tezos consensus algorithm from Emmy* to Tenderbake. This upgrade lowers block times, delivers improved finality, faster transactions and enables smoother-running applications. It also paves the way for advanced scaling solutions including transaction and smart contract rollups
Ithaca 2 Activates And The Tenderbake Consensus Algorithm Is Now Live
‘Ithaca 2’ – the ninth Tezos core protocol upgrade has been activated and this upgrade switches out the Tezos consensus algorithm from Emmy* to Tenderbake. This means that the consensus algorithm has changed from being a Nakamoto style algorithm (Emmy*), to a BFT-style algorithm (Tenderbake). This upgrade lowers block times, delivers faster finality, and has the potential to be optimized further down the line to deliver advanced scaling solutions. It’s been a long journey towards Tenderbake activation for the Tezos community and now it has recently happened with Ithaca 2.
The first research paper on Tenderbake was submitted in early 2020. This research paper included notable people and organizations such as CEA List, Université Paris-Saclay, and Nomadic Labs among others. CEA List, who are part of the CEA, otherwise known as the French Alternative Energies And Atomic Energy Commission. The French Alternative Energies And Atomic Energy Commission have an annual budget of €5 billion and have over 20,000 employees. In April 2021, Tenderbake was launched on testnet.
In early 2022 Tenderbake could have also been activated in ‘Ithaca 1’, however that amendment upgrade did not quite secure enough of a supermajority to push it over the line. Now, Tenderbake has been activated with the Ithaca 2 core protocol amendment upgrade on the 1st of April 2022.
Summarized optimizations included in Ithaca 2:
- Lower blocktimes and improved finality
- Faster transactions
- Smoother running applications
- Preparation for scaling solutions including transaction and smart contract optimistic rollups (expected to be enshrined into the blockchain itself), and enabling WASM and EVM compatibility
- Reducing the requirement to become a network validator (“baker”) by 25% from 8,000 tez to 6,000 tez, strengthening the decentralized nature of Tezos
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