IOHK Introduces Smash for Cardano; a New Service for Managing Metadata

IOHK has been busy developing a service for managing stake pool metadata. Their new service called Smash is a metadata framework that will bring verified information for the Cardano network.

Focusing on pool operations from IOHK has an outstanding reason because these operations help servers reach a consensus in the system. Smash will help those servers have a comprehensive data management framework.

Managing Metadata Information in Cardano

Node decentralization is one of the most vital concepts in the Cardano network. IOHK believes with more stake pools operating in the network, the need for a managed metadata platform becomes essential. In simple words, they believe the information about stake pools always have to be valid and relevant.

Smash the answer to the above needs from the IOHK development team. The new server supports operators and ADA owners. Smash validates stake pool information and store its metadata safely.

Stake pool metadata is crucial for ADA holders looking for a way to choose the best pool for delegating their stake. Information like owner details, pool name, pool ticker, etc., is stored in the metadata. The metadata is not stored in the blockchain, and smash is here to solve that. 

IOHK calls Smash a metadata aggregation server that helps ADA holders find the best staking pool:

“As well as ensuring that registered stake pools are valid, Smash metadata server helps to avoid duplicated ticker names or trademarks and ensure that they do not feature content that Cardano users are likely to find offensive. Given that scams, trolls, and abusive behavior are an unfortunate part of life online, we had to find a way of filtering potentially problematic actors out of the playing field.”

IOHK will initially work as the operator of Smash. They’re responsible for the maintenance and metadata curation on the Smash server. The operator has the right to delete the badly behaved pools from display in Daedalus. But there should be some rational reasons to get to that result.

All Cardano community members – especially stakers – can report pools in Smash. According to IOHK:

“While its most immediate impact can be seen in Daedalus, Smash is a resource to support the community. So if you identify a stake pool ticker that you feel might be causing harm and transgresses the guidelines, we encourage you to review the guidelines we have recently published outlining the reasons for a stake pool delisting and a step-by-step explanation of the delisting process. Get in touch if you believe there is a case to be made for removal.”

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