Announcing the Hermes Hardfork & What it Means for Beldians

Dear Beldians!

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming Hermes Hardfork, scheduled for September 2024, which marks a significant evolution of the Beldex network. As we gear up for this major upgrade, it’s crucial for everyone in our community — whether you’re running a masternode, an exchange, a wallet application, or any service provider partnered with us — to update to the latest version of the Hermes Hardfork binaries. This update will ensure you’re equipped with the newest features and the enhanced performance that comes with this hardfork.

What’s New in the Hermes Hardfork?

The Hermes Hardfork introduces several key updates aimed at improving the Beldex network’s speed, security, and overall performance. Here are the highlights:

• Ethereum Address & Domain Name Integration: With Hermes, the Beldex Naming System (BNS) now supports Ethereum addresses and ENS domain names. This integration allows users to seamlessly link their ETH addresses and/or ENS Names to their BNS identities, enabling smoother cross-chain interactions. While the Hermes hardfork prepares the network to support ENS names, users would have to wait a little longer to utilize these features in our upcoming new wallet application that’s currently under active development.
• Fixes to Sanity Check Issues: We’ve addressed the ‘sanity check’ issues, enhancing the security and stability of the network. This ensures that all transactions are properly vetted before being added to the blockchain, reinforcing the integrity of the platform.
• Multi-Masternode Setup Limit: To optimize the network’s efficiency, Hermes limits the number of masternodes that can be set up on a single VPS machine to three, down from ten. This change aims to improve the quality of block validation and enhance the performance of Beldex products like BelNet and BChat.
• macOS Sonoma Build and Warning Fixes: macOS users will benefit from specific improvements, including a more stable build for macOS Sonoma and the resolution of various warnings.

Action Required: Update Your Binaries

To ensure a smooth transition to the Hermes Hardfork, all node operators, including masternode users, exchange platforms, swap platforms, wallet applications, and masternode service providers, must update their binaries. Here’s how to do it:

curl -L https://deb.beldex.io/pub.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

echo “deb https://deb.beldex.io/apt-repo stable main” | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/beldex.list

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade beldex-master-node

The Hermes Hardfork, also known as Hardfork-19, goes live at block height 3546545. Update now to experience a smoother, more robust network.

What Do the Changes Mean for Users?

For users running masternodes, the introduction of the Multi-Masternode Setup Limit is particularly significant. Previously, many users and service providers ran up to ten nodes on a single VPS machine, but this practice often led to decreased efficiency. Hermes changes this by limiting the number of nodes per machine to three, thereby enhancing the network’s performance and reliability.

Why This Matters:

• Increased Efficiency: With fewer nodes sharing the resources of a single machine, the quality of block validation improves, leading to better network performance.
• Migration Guidance: If you’re currently running more than three nodes on a single machine, you’ll need to migrate the excess nodes to new machines to avoid deregistration. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to migrate your nodes:

How to Migrate Your Masternodes

1. On the Old VPS Server (where only the first three created nodes based on block height will remain active):

sudo beldex-mn-keys show /var/lib/beldex/key_ed25519

2. On the New VPS Machine (after full block sync):

sudo beldex-mn-keys restore — overwrite /var/lib/beldex/key_ed25519

Enter the secret key when prompted. After the process completes, restart the daemon on the new machine and stop the daemon on the old machine.

By following this migration guide, you can retain your nodes within the network without facing any penalties. For more information and guidance, you can always reach us on our telegram chat group, discord channel or at support@beldex.io

Hermes Evolves from the Bern Hardfork

While the Bern hardfork established the Beldex Naming System and a deflationary tokenomics model via the BDX coin-burning mechanism, the Hermes hardfork expands on these accomplishments by emphasizing usability, security, and decentralization. Bern was essential in laying the groundwork for a more confidentiality-focused and user-friendly network, with the implementation of BNS streamlining interactions and the coin-burning mechanism limiting supply to favor long-term holders.

Hermes, on the other hand, focuses on technological elements of the network, improving its general stability and usefulness. Hermes increases BNS’s value by adding Ethereum address compatibility, making Beldex more compatible with other blockchain networks. The hardfork also tackles critical security concerns and strengthens decentralization, ensuring that the network evolves in a way that benefits all members.

The Hermes Hardfork is a pivotal upgrade that brings significant enhancements to the Beldex network. By updating your binaries and following the migration guide, you can ensure your participation in a more efficient and secure Beldex ecosystem. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to building a stronger, more innovative network together.

Update now and be part of the next chapter in Beldex’s journey!