The original and longest running Proof-of-Stake blockchains, Tezos has activated a major ninth upgrade to the protocol, codenamed “Ithaca 2,” which introduces Tenderbake to replace the older consensus algorithm. The new Tenderbake consensus algorithm helps lower block times, which will further enable faster transactions and smoother-running applications on Tezos.
As per its press release, The Ithaca 2 upgrade is a revolutionary achievement for blockchains and open-source decentralized software and illustrates the power of the Tezos administration framework for introducing innovative designs.
Superseding the current consensus algorithm called Emmy with Tenderbake, Ithaca 2 is a groundbreaking upgrade that plans out a new era of innovation for the Tezos protocol. The decision was taken after being favoured by the Tezos community
Besides Tenderbake, Ithaca 2 has further plans such as rollups for WebAssembly and EVM compatibility with pre-checking, a lightweight validation scheme for the mempool that will increase overall throughput.
Additionally, the Ithaca 2 upgrade will also reduce the necessity of becoming a network validator (“baker”) by 25% from 8,000 tez to 6,000 tez. Thus, boosting the decentralized nature of Tezos.
The energy-efficient Proof-of-Stake blockchain’s modern governance framework helps in the integration of ultra-modern innovations from across the blockchain industry through its proven self-adaptation mechanism.
For instance, protected transactions from the Zcash Sapling protocol were developed in the Edo upgrade, and the consensus algorithm Tenderbake which is based on Tendermint from the Cosmos protocol was introduced in the new Ithaca 2 upgrade.
A scaling announcement from Tezos ecosystem developers in March 2022 mapped out proposals for optimal rollups modeled on Arbitrum, a popular rollup system on Ethereum, and zk-rollups based on top-tier industry research. With these frequent updates, Tezos continues to provide both first-rate technology and also greatest features across security, privacy and scalability.
Over the last year, Tezos has witnessed thriving growth in user activity. As for its smart contract calls, it has grown per month from 100,000 in January 2021 to over 6.2 million in January 2022.
Tezos’ partnership with leading global brand names like Red Bull Racing, Manchester United, The Gap, Kia etc is a testament to firms’ goodwill as an energy-efficient, low cost Web3 instrument. Making to the long list of its partners is Esports Giant MGG, alongside whom Tezos will focus on community building and growing the blockchain gaming space.