IOTA has announced changes to the coordinator. Unfortunately, this update is not about the long-awaited shutdown but an exchange. The reason why the coordinator will be replaced by a new one on April 10th is the new IRI version (1.7.0). The big novelty at the coordinator is its open source code. According to the IOTA Foundation, this is another step towards making the inner workings of the current network set-up fully transparent.
What is the coordinator?
IOTA is based on a tangle structure. Each new transaction must confirm two old ones in order to be able to be self-confirmed. The coordinator is a central entity that secures the Tangle with a kind of safeguards, the so-called milestones (milestones). This is necessary because at present too few transactions are carried out to secure the completely decentralized network. The whole transaction chain that was confirmed by a milestone cannot be changed anymore.
Every minute the Coordinator executes a typical transaction with its sign on it, these are known as Milestones. Every transaction (also Milestones) establishes two other transactions. When users need to understand if a transaction is established, they discover the latest Milestone and notice if it obliquely confirms other transaction.
The purpose that the Milestones endure is because if users just selected any blind transaction, there’s the plausibility that the node they are connected to is wicked and is attempting to fool them into establishing its transactions. The people who run nodes can’t forge the signatures on Milestones, so they understand they can assume the Milestones to be legit. This also acts as an impetus for them to operate their own node as if they are operating a node they can trust it 100%.
Learn more about the plan for the Open source coordinator on Mainnet on the blog now: https://t.co/sijfSaTF5U#IOTA #Coordicide
Will the coordinator be part of IOTA forever?
The coordinator is one of the biggest things of IOTA. Because as long as it is used to secure the tangle, the network can be called central. The IOTA Foundation is working according to their own statements at full speed on the problem. Shutting down the coordinator, also known as Coordicide, has been postponed time and time again. One of the heads behind IOTA Sergey Invancheglo, aka “Come from Beyond” (CfB), even contemplates a possible distribution of the coordinator.
The whole thing seems to be very difficult. The IOTA community hopes for this step, because there are enough critics of the project, which they finally want to silence. Should it be possible to run the network really decentralized, without its crutch, long-term and safe, IOTA has a bright future ahead. Unless you have to introduce fees for it as CfB considers in its article.
What is IRI?
The IRI (IOTA Reference Implementation) is the software that contains the full set of rules and parameters for the IOTA Node. When it comes to major updates, such as on 10.04.2019, the coordinator must be exchanged.
Conclusion
The global snapshot will be completed on the day of the Coordinator replacement, April 10, and will start at 7:30 AM UTC. From 08:30 the network will not work and no transactions can be done. On the Twitter page or in the Discord channel, you will be able to follow the progress of the update and find out when you can resume transactions. Furthermore, there will be a snapshot, which can cause problems for old wallets. The Trinity Wallet is not affected.
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any cryptocurrency. It is not a recommendation to trade. The crypto market is full of surprises and overhyped assets. Do your research before buying anything. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose.
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