From Byron to Shelley: part two, the journey to the mainnet

Continuing on to Shelley with the decentralization of block production

11 May 2020 Kevin Hammond 5 mins read

From Byron to Shelley: part two, the journey to the mainnet

Today, we’re kicking off the ‘Friends & Family’ testnet, which will allow us to establish a robust network to test and iterate, before we roll it out to the wider community. We’ve gathered a small number of around 20 ‘pioneers’ to help us with this important initial work. By the time you probably read this, they’ll be briefed and we’ll have things underway.

In my last blog, I…

Combinator makes easy work of Shelley hard fork

A behind-the-scenes look with Duncan Coutts and Edsko de Vries

7 May 2020 Anthony Quinn 11 mins read

Combinator makes easy work of Shelley hard fork

Since the launch of the Incentivized Testnet marked the coming of the Shelley era last year, the Cardano platform has entered a fast-moving period of development. The Ouroboros Classic consensus protocol has supported Cardano Byron and the ada cryptocurrency for the past 30 months, and we’ll soon be switching to Ouroboros Praos. This is the version of our proof-of-stake (PoS…

From Byron to Shelley: Part one, the testnets

The evolution to decentralization continues with a series of three Haskell Shelley testnets

29 April 2020 Kevin Hammond 7 mins read

From Byron to Shelley: Part one, the testnets

Following the successful Byron reboot of Cardano, we are beginning our phased transition to the Shelley mainnet. This means moving from a static, federated system to a dynamic, decentralized Cardano blockchain.

The process begins with a series of Haskell Shelley testnets, culminating in the Shelley upgrade hybrid phase.

The Haskell Shelley testnets will be a different experience…

Merging formal methods and agile development to build Cardano

IOHK formal methods director Philipp Kant lays out our methodology for building software with flexibility and precision

9 April 2020 Philipp Kant 7 mins read

Merging formal methods and agile development to build Cardano

Form and function

IOHK is building Cardano into a global financial and social operating system. This enormous task requires both quick iteration and absolute precision. It is why IOHK has chosen to combine the speed of agile development with high assurance code and formal methods. Fusing flexibility and formality led our engineers to pioneer this modern development philosophy.

Architecting Shelley: an interview with Duncan Coutts

A fireside chat with Duncan Coutts, Cardano's chief technical architect, about Haskell and delivering Shelley

7 April 2020 Eric Czuleger 6 mins read

Architecting Shelley: an interview with Duncan Coutts

Duncan Coutts has been an important guide on the road to the Cardano Shelley mainnet. Long time supporters of IOHK are likely familiar with his signature long hair, beard, and penchant for drinking tea while discussing decentralization in front of a white board. He recently sat down for an interview to discuss the upcoming Byron reboot, the Haskell Shelley testnet, and the…