TL;DR
 — Namadexer is an indexing solution designed by Zondax for Namada, addressing the challenge of non-searchable on-chain data.
 — As of today, it has helped the community participating at Namada´s Shielded Expedition
 — This project was developed by Zondax in collaboration with Heliax

You’re dealing with a system that manages who owns different pieces of land, and you want to quickly find out who owns a specific piece without having to dig through a lot of data manually. Normally, the way the system (blockchain) is built doesn’t allow for this kind of quick search, so there’s a need for an extra tool: an indexer. This tool makes it easy to find information about land ownership by creating a searchable list of all the land plots.

Here is where Namadexer comes in, a tool built by Zondax for the Namada blockchain, which focuses on privacy and can work with other blockchains through specific connections. Namadexer keeps an eye on the Namada blockchain and uses a SDK to gather and organize information about blocks, transactions, and other important data into a database. This setup is great for analyzing blockchain data, including storing and searching historical information.

The Namadexer was delivered before the Namada’s Shielded Expedition, a massive multiplayer role-playing incentivized testnet, that started back in late January 2024. Since the beginning, the Namadexer was built with a focus on performance whilst taking a minimalist approach, after all, a solid base is what makes a project last.

Speaking with Lola, software engineer at Zondax, she says since the expedition started a lot of people have been running the Namadexer and actively contributing to the project. The Zondax team has been actively participating in the Discord server listening to the community, which has helped to see how the community reacts and needs — which wasn’t as easy at the beginning of the project. Now, in her own words “we have an active network and more interactions with the community, we have more precise goals and can iterate faster toward an enhanced indexer”.

Namadexer is designed to be user-friendly, with its code available for anyone to use and set up, especially through Docker, which makes the data on the Namada blockchain easy to search.

Introducing Namadexer: The Indexer for Privacy Blockchain Namada was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Latin American Bitcoin & Blockchain Conference (LaBitConf) stands as the foremost event in Latin America, bringing together luminaries from the crypto industry and regional entrepreneurs since its inception in 2013. It has become an indispensable meeting point, fostering discussions on the latest trends, developments, and challenges within the realms of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, often serving as the catalyst for innovative projects.

Despite prevailing market conditions, this year’s LaBitConf witnessed an impressive turnout. The atmosphere was electric, brimming with vibrant discussions surrounding recent industry developments, the prevailing upward market trend, and the persistent challenges faced by the crypto industry, ranging from adoption hurdles to regulatory landscapes and evolving use cases.

Zondax not only attended LaBitConf but also took the stage by hosting a pre-event gathering the night before the official commencement of the conference. In collaboration with Filecoin, the event brought together enthusiasts and developers eager to explore the intricacies of the Filecoin Virtual Machine. Attendees had the opportunity to delve into the Filecoin community, fostering connections and setting the stage for an enriching LaBitConf weekend.

LaBitConf 2023 not only solidified its standing as a premier conference in Latin America but also served as a testament to the resilience and dynamism of the crypto community. The engaging discussions, collaborative spirit, and forward-thinking initiatives showcased at the event underscored the industry’s commitment to pushing boundaries and driving innovation. As we reflect on the vibrant energy that permeated Costa Salguero, it’s evident that LaBitConf continues to be a vital nexus for shaping the future of blockchain technology in the region.

For a deeper dive into LaBitConf, upcoming events, and the latest from Zondax, follow us on X and LinkedIn. Our platforms offer a window into insightful perspectives, providing a comprehensive view of the evolving landscape within the crypto and blockchain spheres.

Highlights of LaBitConf 2023: A Convergence of Crypto Pioneers in Buenos Aires was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In a blockchain landscape marked by complexity, the Rosetta project stands out by prioritizing simplicity and accessibility. The introduction of a Docker image aligns with this commitment and empowers both users and developers. With Docker, Rosetta becomes more than a tool; it’s a seamless experience, a plug-and-play solution that streamlines the path to blockchain innovation.

Docker containers have become a cornerstone in modern software development. They provide an isolated, controlled environment where applications can run consistently, regardless of the underlying infrastructure. This containerization not only ensures that all necessary dependencies are bundled together but also enhances portability across diverse platforms.

Docker images play an important role ensuring the reproducibility of builds. By encapsulating an application’s environment, dependencies, and configuration in a container, Docker allows developers to recreate the exact development environment regardless of where it’s deployed. This ensures that builds remain consistent and reproducible, reducing the risk of issues stemming from differences between development and production environments.That why this update is great, because Docker allows you to run the project on any architecture, easily integrate it into container environments such as kubernetes, and allows you to make reproducible builds.

Another critical aspect is end-to-end (E2E) and integration testing. Docker facilitates the creation of more meaningful and efficient tests, ensuring that Rosetta functions seamlessly in various scenarios.

The proposal was clear and actionable, creating a Docker image that automates the process of building Rosetta and its default cosmos-zone plugin. Additionally, a corresponding GitHub workflow will ensure that the Docker image is always up-to-date, reflecting the latest changes to the Rosetta repository.

This initiative embodies the project’s commitment to user-friendliness and adoption. With the Docker image readily available, anyone interested in using Rosetta can enjoy a smoother experience. The setup process is simplified, and the potential for integration and testing is greatly improved.

Join us on this thrilling journey into the world of Rosetta and Cosmos SDK v0.50. For more updates, visit www.zondax.ch, follow us on X, LinkedIn and Telegram.

Cosmos Rosetta Dockerization: Simplifying Deployment and Enhancing Accessibility was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sophia Gold, the esteemed Engineering Lead at Parity Technologies, took the stage to unveil a transformative innovation set to catalyze Polkadot’s growth trajectory. Her introduction of asynchronous backing not only signified a major technical milestone but also held the potential to triple the number of validators within the Polkadot network by the end of 2024. This development underscores Polkadot’s unwavering commitment to scalability and decentralization, paving the way for a future where Polkadot remains at the forefront of the blockchain revolution.

A prominent highlight of this year’s Sub0 conference was the unveiling of a groundbreaking development in the Polkadot ecosystem. Juan Leni, CEO of Zondax, and Fernando Theirs, showcased their relentless commitment to the project by sharing the progress on a Generic Ledger App designed exclusively for Polkadot. This Generic App would theoretically allow users to interact seamlessly with multiple Parachains and provide numerous benefits for the community. One of the primary reasons behind the need for a Generic Polkadot Ledger app is the frequent runtime upgrades conducted by the chain. These upgrades result in breaking changes for the Ledger app, requiring not only development but also testing and a security review process. Additionally, as Polkadot’s runtime upgrades often impact Parachains, the need for updates, development, and review extends to their Ledger apps as well. All of this results in significant costs and time for each parachain. You can learn more here.

Sub0 2023 was more than just a conference; it was a testament to the vibrant and passionate community driving Polkadot’s vision. In Lisbon, the heart of Portugal, the event successfully fostered an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation, inspiring all attendees to continue building the decentralized future envisioned by Polkadot.

As the curtains fall on Sub0 2023, the crypto community eagerly awaits the real-world implementation of the breakthroughs unveiled at this remarkable gathering.

Sub0 2023 Lisbon: A Recap was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Cosmos ecosystem has been making waves in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, and its annual conference, Cosmoverse, has become a must-attend event for enthusiasts, developers, and thought leaders alike. This year, Cosmoverse 2023 is set to take place in the stunning city of Istanbul, and it promises to be an event like no other. In this blog post, we’ll dive into what you can expect at Cosmoverse 2023 and why you should join Zondax, with Juan Leni, CEO and Ainhoa Aldave as Head of Growth of Zondax, at this exciting conference.

A Brief Introduction to Cosmoverse

Cosmoverse is a one-of-a-kind conference that focuses on the Cosmos ecosystem and the broader concept of interoperability in blockchain technology. Over the years, this event has gained immense popularity, with previous editions held in Lisbon (2021) and Medellin (2022). Now, in 2023, the Cosmos community is converging on the vibrant city of Istanbul.

The primary goal of Cosmoverse is to bring together influential thought leaders, developers, entrepreneurs, and blockchain enthusiasts from not only the Cosmos ecosystem but also from the wider blockchain and cryptocurrency space. Through captivating keynotes, insightful panel discussions, and hands-on workshops, the conference aims to educate, inform, and inspire attendees about the latest developments, implementations, and visionary ideas within the Cosmos ecosystem.

Cosmoverse 2023: When and Where

Cosmoverse 2023 will take place from Monday, October 2nd to Wednesday, October 4th. The event will be held in person at the Swissotel The Bosphorus in Istanbul, a city known for its rich history, stunning architecture, and the unique blend of East and West.

But that’s not all! Following the main event, Cosmoverse will lead into Hackmos, the official Cosmos Hackathon, which is scheduled for **October 6th and 7th**. It’s an excellent opportunity for developers and innovators to roll up their sleeves and contribute to the Cosmos ecosystem by building exciting new projects and applications.

Don’t Miss Out — Follow Zondax!

To stay updated with all the latest news and developments leading up to Cosmoverse 2023, make sure to follow Zondax on our social media platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Telegram. This is your chance to be part of a thriving community, learn from the best, and contribute to the exciting future of blockchain technology.

In conclusion, Cosmoverse 2023 promises to be an unforgettable event for anyone interested in the Cosmos ecosystem and the world of blockchain. With the opportunity to connect with industry leaders like Zondax, you won’t want to miss out on this incredible experience. Mark your calendars, pack your bags, and get ready to explore the Cosmos in Istanbul this October!

Join us on this thrilling journey into the world of Rosetta and Cosmos SDK v0.50. For more updates, visit www.zondax.ch, follow us on X, LinkedIn and Telegram.

Join Zondax at Cosmoverse 2023: Exploring the Cosmos Ecosystem in Istanbul was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The blockchain space is constantly evolving, and at Zondax, we’re committed to staying at the forefront of innovation. With the impending release of Cosmos SDK v0.50.0-beta.0, a groundbreaking modular version of Cosmos SDK, we saw an opportunity to enhance some capabilities and provide a seamless experience for Rosetta users.

The Leap to v0.50

Cosmos SDK v0.50.0-beta.0 marks a new milestone. It’s the first modular version where various x/ modules have been extracted as standalone Go modules. This modular approach opens up new horizons for flexibility and compatibility within the Cosmos ecosystem.

Rosetta and v0.50: Getting Ready for the Release

At Zondax, we firmly embrace a proactive approach. That’s why we decided to start integrating with v0.50 even while it’s in its pre-release state. Our goal? To be fully prepared for when Cosmos SDK v0.50 officially hits the market. This preparation involved seamless integration with the correct pseudo version of these modules, ensuring that we are on the cutting edge of blockchain technology.

What We’ve Accomplished So Far

Here are some exciting updates on our journey so far:1. The v0.50 Upgrade: We’ve eagerly embraced the v0.50 upgrade, positioning ourselves at the forefront of innovation, we’re running on Cosmos beta as we eagerly await the official v0.50 release.

2. Enhanced Transaction and Signature Parsing: We’ve dedicated efforts to improve our transaction and signature parsing capabilities, enhancing overall functionality and ensuring parsed data is handled properly.

3. Streamlined Code: To make Rosetta even more user-friendly, we’ve simplified some parts of the codebase, ensuring a smoother experience for developers. In addition, it has also been improved to make it more robust and reliable.

Embracing Multi Zone: A World of Possibilities

One of the developments in our integration journey is the newfound compatibility of Rosetta with any area of Cosmos. Whether you’re operating within the Cosmos ecosystem or venturing into new zones, Rosetta seamlessly adapts. No need to rewrite code, make forks, or perform major modifications.

In our quest to make Rosetta universally accessible, we’ve introduced dynamic type inference. This feature intelligently determines the necessary types based on the Cosmos-zone node to which it connects. This means less manual coding for our users, streamlining the integration process.

Empowering Users with Plugin Flexibility

This allows users to easily define the types they require for reading zone-specific information. Even if dynamic registration doesn’t cover your unique needs, our plugin solution minimizes the effort required to harness the full power of Rosetta.

Clearer and More User-Friendly Error Handling

We believe that error messages should never be a barrier to progress. That’s why we’ve completely revamped Rosetta’s error handling. Our error messages are now crystal clear, making debugging simpler and more efficient. No more cryptic error messages; we’ve got your back.

Stay tuned as we continue to break new ground, streamline integration processes, and empower blockchain developers worldwide. Together, we’re shaping the future of blockchain integration.Join us on this thrilling journey into the world of Rosetta and Cosmos SDK v0.50. For more updates, visit www.zondax.ch, follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Telegram.

Looking ahead: Integrating Rosetta with Cosmos SDK v0.50 was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For the past few months, Zondax, a leading blockchain service provider, has been working together with the drand team to develop and integrate new and extremely valuable features into the drand codebase. This article was originally published on drand to announce the completion of a vital project for the future of drand. The project focused on two important features that have the potential to unlock new capabilities for the drand randomness service, enable new application scenarios and make drand able to support many more applications and platforms.

In summary, the new features include:

• Unchained Randomness: Each randomness beacon in drand has so far been linked to the previous one, forming a chain of beacons. With this update, each beacon is now independent of (all) the previous one(s).
• Multi-protocol Support: Drand is now able to support multiple protocols running on the same physical node and the same binary. In other words, a node can now participate in multiple drand networks, each of which having different characteristics. These characteristics can be different frequency of emitting randomness, different thresholds, different participants or having randomness in chained or unchained mode.

Drand team has compiled a comprehensive list of 26 Q&A in this FAQ document. Below we provide a base summary of the new features and we encourage you to refer to the document for further details.

Unchained Randomness & Timed Encryption

What is this?

According to the original drand design and implementation, every new beacon is linked to the previous one, i.e., simplistically, every new beacon includes a link to the previous beacon, used to derive the new randomness. This creates a chain of randomness beacons from the current one to the genesis beacon, when the drand network was launched. With this upgrade, we provide the option of each beacon becoming independent of the previous one, or, in other words, randomness can be “unchained”. A new drand network can still run in “chained” mode, although we recommend using the “unchained” randomness version.

What does it enable?

Although chained randomness provides some nice properties, having each beacon independent of the previous one presents a lot of potential for some applications: drand consumers can now enable timelock encryption in their applications, which means that they can securely encrypt a message for a specific round in the future, which can then be decrypted by anyone with the corresponding randomness. This is a very important feature which can mitigate front-running attacks in Decentralized Exchanges, and oracle platforms, as well as enabling sealed bid auctions.

How does it work?

Both randomness generation and consumption procedures remain the same as previously. All members of a drand network, e.g., the LoE, need to contribute their part in order for Threshold Cryptography to work. As with the Multi-Frequency support feature, no security property of the protocol is compromised.

We will deliver this API in the coming months but we provide a sneak peek at how it can look like:

First, a client encrypts a message towards a round in the future.

ciphertext := client.EncryptToRound(msg, round)

Then, once the associated randomness is created, anybody can decrypt the message:

// get the randomness associated with the round

random := client.Randomness(round)

message := client.Decrypt(ciphertext,random)

With this feature, drand has the potential to solve problems that remain unsolved in the Web3.0 space, such as front-running attacks, and puts drand ahead of the competition!

Multi-Frequency & Multi-Protocol Support

What is this?

Drand is producing randomness every 30 seconds, by default, and this is how it has been programmed to operate ever since the network’s launch in August 2020 and up to the present day. However, several applications operate at higher frequencies (and quite likely some others at lower frequencies). We have heard the requests from our ecosystem of users and have worked hard to refactor the codebase and make drand capable of using different randomness schemes and/or frequencies.

What does it enable?

Multi-protocol support enables a single set of participants to generate multiple randomness beacons of different kinds and at different frequencies. For example, you could think of the LoE-operated network generating randomness at 3s as well as generating post quantum randomness every minute.

The full details of how the refactored protocol works will be made available in our documentation (once the features land in production), but, roughly, it works as follows.

In the next mainnet upgrade, LoE partners will start running a new protocol to generate unchained randomness at a higher frequency. The current protocol (chained randomness every 30s) will stay in place for the short term. The new base frequency is still to be determined, but let’s assume it is set to 3 seconds. Applications will now be able to consume randomness at any interval that is a multiple of the base frequency. So, for instance, Filecoin, which needs to consume randomness every 30 seconds, will be picking a beacon every 10th randomness generation event (once it starts following the new network). The case would be similar for an application that needs to consume randomness every, say, 6 seconds: the application would pick every other beacon generated by drand.

It is worth noting that all of the properties already natively integrated in drand, that is, verifiability, unpredictability and non-biasability, are kept intact with no compromise being made on the security properties of drand.

How does it work?

With the updated setup different frequencies (realized as routines) are generated and live within the same process as separate protocols, although each protocol is completely isolated from each other. Applications that wish to consume randomness at some particular frequency can form a separate network. Nodes that join each network participate in randomness generation and propagation between them and make use of the corresponding protocol.

Multi Frequency Support and Timelock Encryption Capabilities Are Coming in Drand was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Even though most wallets generate a mnemonic phrase for users to back up their wallets and generate a private key from the mnemonic, not all wallets use the same algorithm tor this key generation process. This variety of algorithms cause unexpected behavior when using the same mnemonic phrase in multiple wallets. Indeed, wallets that use different processes will arrive at a different set of addresses from the exact mnemonic phrase.

Ledger, the three-part system comprising a hardware device, the Ledger Live app, and a platform of integrated dApps, or better known as the the Most Secure self-custody option, uses a standard called BIP 39 for the generation and interpretation of the master seed on all of its’ devices. BIP 39 is an industry standard used by many other hierarchical deterministic wallets. The exact type of BIP 39 seed used by Ledger devices by default is a 24-word mnemonic. Accounts generated by a Ledger device can be recovered on any (third-party) hardware or software wallet that supports the same standards as Ledger (BIP32/BIP39/BIP44).

It is important to understand that the same mnemonic may generate different private keys on other wallets due to the various cryptographic algorithms used. For example, Subkey and Polkadot-JS based wallets use the BIP39 dictionary for mnemonic generation, but use the entropy byte array to generate the private key, while full BIP39 wallets (like Ledger) use 2048 rounds of PBKDF2 on the mnemonic. The above explains why users may have trouble exporting their keys from substrate based applications on the Ledger device. See Substrate BIP39 Repo for more information.

• Instructions on how to export your accounts here (Ledger Developers Portal)

Exporting Keys from Substrate apps in Ledger was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The next Filecoin mandatory network upgrade is v17, and codenamed Shark is expected at epoch 2383680, on Nov 30th on 2022–11–30T14:00:00 Z. All node operators, including storage providers, must upgrade to this release before that time. Storage providers must update their daemons, miners, market and worker(s)/boost.

The Filecoin Virtual Machine is being introduced incrementally. This minimizes the risk of disruption to the network, and gives developers plenty of opportunities to engage early on. Hence, this upgrade delivers a wave of protocol refinements that will allow for useful smart contracts to be written using the FVM (eg. programmable markets, lending contracts, etc.). It includes consensus-breaking changes and a couple of necessary improvements for the Network.

⚠️ We suggest upgrading your nodes to this version as soon as possible, all node operators must be on lotus v1.18.0 & ^ for this upgrade.! ⚠️

You can check the release note with the details of the upgrade here (Github)

What is new about it:

Beneficiary Address for Storage Providers: currently only the owner address can withdraw the funds from the miner actor. A new role beneficiary is proposed for a storage provider, which takes over the financial control from the owner. This will provide more flexibilities for the Filecoin finance market.

Fix PreCommit Deposit Independent of Sector Content: This proposal sets the pre-commit deposit to a value independent of sector content: the estimated storage pledge of a sector with space-time that is exactly filled by verified deals. This breaks coupling between storage power mechanics and the built-in (privileged) storage market actor, which is necessary as a prerequisite to a larger re-architecture supporting alternative deal markets on the FVM. It also presents an opportunity to reduce deal-related gas costs.

Forward Compatibility for PreCommit: Introduces new versions of PreCommitBatch and ProveReplicaUpdates methods, since in the near future Filecoin expects a change in storage market mechanisms to recognise UnsealedSectorCID as primary identifier of data. Adding these new versions of the methods ​​will allow more straightforward upgrades in the future.

Standard Message Authentication: Today, the only kind of actors that can “authenticate” a piece of data are account actors. This FIP proposes adding an Authenticate method that any actor can choose to implement. This method can be called by any other actor to verify the authenticity of a piece of data.

Decoupling Fil+ from Marketplace: Represents Filecoin Plus DataCap allocations separately from the built-in market actor. Adds explicit term (duration) limits to DataCap allocations. Simplifies the quality-adjusted power calculation to remove power spreading out over a sector’s lifetime. Supports extending the terms of DataCap allocations independently of market storage deals. Represents DataCap as a fungible token. These changes provide a foundation for user-programmed market actors to broker Filecoin Plus verified deals in the future.

Zondax developments for Filecoin

At Zondax we develop and maintain the Rosetta integration for Protocol Lab’s Filecoin project, tailored specially to the use cases of exchanges, with focus on:

• Blocks indexing and in-depth transactions inspection
• Getting accounts information such as balances and vesting schedules
• Network status inspection tools
• Transactions creation and signing tools

Filecoin signing tools — wallet tools

Many well known wallets in the Filecoin ecosystem depend on Zondax’s libraries to interact with the network. Zondax filecoin-signing-tools covers the signing process, to be used as a Rust or WASM library, and also to be used along with JSONRPC.Dockerized Filecoin Node. We have also worked on a dockerized Filecoin node, that is ready to be used for playing on a devnet or running a test node connected to mainnet/testnet.You can find more information in the following links:

• Shark: Release v1.18.0
• Filecoin Virtual Machine — Implementation Roadmap
• Atomic switch to non-programmable FVM
• Lotus releases (Github)

Filecoin v17 Shark Network Upgrade was originally published in Zondax on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.