- Nano team has almost completed the Nano V20 Lydia
- The highlight of V20 is the new PoW algorithm with better spam resistance
Ever since the release of Nano V19 Solidus, the Nano team has been busy working on the next big software update. In a recent blog post, the project members have given more insight into what will be included in the update.
A New Release Addressing the Big Issue
One of the big features setting Nano apart from competing coins is the lack of transaction fees. While it is a big advantage for users, this quality of the Nano network also means that it was vulnerable to spam transactions.
However, Nano V20 (codenamed Lydia) will solve this issue or at least make it far less pronounced. The release will introduce key several changes to the PoW algorithm Nano currently uses, making the network more resilient to spam.
What’s more, Lydia will also include several smaller changes, including experimental support for RocksDB and various optimizations.
Nano PoW
By far the most important feature of V20 is the introduction of Nano PoW. Previously, the algorithm mainly required computational power in order for PoW to be solved. This made it secure. However, it also meant that any user with enough computational power could generate a large amount of pre-calculated PoW and send lots of meaningless transactions, slowing down the whole network.
In order to combat this, the Nano team developed a new algorithm from the ground up – none of the existing PoW algorithms met the team’s standards. The new algorithm, called simply “Nano PoW” mainly uses memory elements for confirming transactions. Because scaling memory elements is more difficult and much more costly for individual users than scaling computational power, the network becomes more immune to spam.
Interestingly, the new algorithm also has a positive side effect of reduced energy consumption. This will be especially important if the Nano network continues to grow in the future.
Test, Optimize, Iterate
Even before Nano V19 was launched, Nano developers had already started planning, which features to include in future releases. Many features were included thanks to the feedback of Nano beta testers. One such feature which is now in the testing phase is support for RocksDB, which could potentially optimize disk I/O operation count. Other improvements include dual-phase voting and so-called Durable Snapshots.
The full list of upcoming Nano features can be found here.