Mithril, a Stake-Based Multi-Signature Scheme, May Soon Launch on Cardano Mainnet

Cardano’s Mithril stake-based multi-signature scheme may soon launch on the mainnet, according to an IOG weekly report. Mithril leverages the existing Cardano network to provide certified snapshots of all or part of the blockchain, improving the speed and efficiency of syncing times for nodes joining the network. The team is currently seeking feedback and testing from a client perspective.

The report also highlighted ongoing work on node, ledger, and networking improvements by the core technology teams. The Lace desktop development team improved the error handling of CIP-30 DApps operations and fixed issues with signing CIP-30 transactions using hardware wallets. Meanwhile, the Adrestia team extended the multi-signature feature with delegation functionality in cardano-wallet and worked on performance optimization of cardano-services in cardano-js-sdk.

The Plutus team continued working on the Marconi MVP development, with test performance optimizations for cardano-api and Plutus end-to-end testing. The Marlowe team made significant improvements to the golden tests for the Marlowe validator and added the escrow contract to the examples suite in the specification. The Hydra team addressed issues with committing complex UTXOs into a Hydra head and prepared the Hydra node to support mainnet.

Finally, the report highlighted the publication of CIP-1694, describing Cardano’s future on-chain governance system, which has been received with anticipation and excitement. IOG, the Cardano Foundation, and Emurgo hosted a community workshop in Longmont, Colorado, in February 2023, sparking deep engagement and insight gathering from a broad spectrum of community interests and experiences. This week, a large update to CIP-1694 was pushed on GitHub, encouraging direct engagement and comments from the community.

Overall, the IOG weekly report showcases the ongoing development and progress of the Cardano network. With the potential launch of Mithril on the mainnet, stakeholders and clients can look forward to improved syncing times and increased efficiency. The ongoing work on wallets, smart contracts, and scaling, along with the exciting developments in governance, demonstrate the network’s commitment to continuous improvement and growth.