IOTA 2.0 Development Update Unveils Major Milestones in Mempool Implementation, Accounts & Mana, and API Development

• The IOTA Foundation is making progress in developing the updated IOTA 2.0 architecture, focusing on a fully decentralized node software called iota-core.
• The team is actively working on establishing the core API structure for iota-core and integrating existing functionalities, bringing together Stardust-VM, Mempool, hornet ledger state, and the ConflictDAG.

The IOTA Foundation has been working on the launch of the updated IOTA 2.0 architecture and has made some progress in this regard. There have been a few developments made with the IOTA 2.0 node software.

Currently, the IOTA blockchain relies on the node software Hornet which currently runs on the Shimmer Layer 1. However, to enable voting, native tokens and NFTs on the base layer, Hornet does make use of the Stardust Virtual Machine. But this base layer still depends on a centralized coordinator for approving transactions and milestones in the Tangle. Although the coordinator cannot modify transactions or accounts, there lies a centralization risk as it can be turned off.

To address this, the IOTA Foundation is working on a fully decentralized node software to disable the coordinator and thus achieve Coordicide. IOTA’s research engineering team has also built a prototype node software GoShimmer, as a proof of concept, which demonstrates the feasibility of the Coordicide ideas.

However, the IOTA team has chosen to work on the production-ready node software called iota-core instead of working on the GoShimmer MVP. The IOTA core will serve as a replacement for the Hornet code and will be responsible for running the Shimmer Network initially. Later, in the future, it will also power the entire IOTA network. Let’s take a look at some of the developments initiated by the IOTA-core node.

Key Developments With IOTA-Core

1. The Mempool Implementation: The Mempool is shifting to the “in-memory paradigm,” enhancing ConflictDAG performance in GoShimmer. Upon checking GitHub, it is evident that PR#53 “Mempool implementation” and PR#84 “Conflict propagation in Mempool & test fixes” have been successfully reviewed and merged by the team. This confirms the completion of the first point on the list and indicates the presence of a functional implementation.
2. Accounts and Mana: Modifications to iota.go enable UTXO-level account support and commitments in iota-core. Also, changes are documented for a new TIP, aiming to implement mana for congestion management and scarcity. The GitHub activity in iota.go includes branches (serix-iota-core, serix-iota-core-accounts) and PRs (#428, #426). Progress is underway for iota 2.0.
3. APIs: The team is developing the core API structure for iota-core and integrating existing functionalities. The progress is consolidated in PR#7, PR#36, and PR#72, all of which have been reviewed and merged.
4. Bringing together Stardust-VM, Mempool, hornet ledger state and the ConflictDAG: Stardust-ready transactions will soon be running on the decentralized iota-core protocol. All Mempool implementation PRs are merged, the ledger state is ported, and the ConflictDAG-PR has been successfully transferred from GoShimmer.
5. Testing: The team continues to test what they have been building. The team has several testing PRs and other tests that come with modules ported from GoShimmer.