After raising $15.6 million in less than 5 days back in March 2017, the Singapore-based team has had a busy year.
With no signs of slowing down, Qtum demoed their highly-anticipated x86 Virtual Machine in March 2018. The x86 Virtual Machine allows mainstream programming languages to be used on the Qtum platform, increasing the amount of developers building Qtum applications moving forward.
July 2018 has seen a few important milestones, further integrating the Qtum platform within both the crypto space and the tech industry at large.
Development Updates
The team regularly releases detailed development updates on the Qtum blog. Some of the more notable July updates surround integration with multiple wallets, updates to their Google Chrome plugin, and the Qtum Mainnet V0.15.2 release.
They also revealed details of ongoing x86 Virtual Machine updates and bug testing, as well as released details of their expenditures for March, April, and May 2018.
Qtum Mainnet Release v0.15.2
Qtum announced the release of Qtum Mainnet v0.15.2 in early July 2018. In the new version, they’ve included an optimized network topology and fixed a few bugs as well.
Below is a detailed list of what they’ve accomplished, taken directly from their Medium blog post:
- Fix a staker halving subsidy calculation bug
- Fix some translations errors and typos
- Add Support for openssl 1.1
- Fix CVE-2018–12356 by hardening the regex
- Fix a python tests bug that caused bulk running of tests to fail
- Add static seeds
- Add new dns seed nodes
- Update copyright year
It was also announced that the Enterprise Edition, QtumX, has also been updated. The first round of Alpha testing the v0.15.6 Beta is complete. Naturally, several bugs were found and fixed, and the team is now moving on from the design phase and entering fully into development.
To kick off QtumX’s development, research is being conducted on cross-chain technology, and a draft for a cross-chain solution between the Enterprise and Mainnet editions is underway. The development team also researched on-chain exchange, data storage, and data encryption solutions.
Electrum and Mobile Wallets
Qtum has integrated their platform with the popular lightweight wallet, Electrum. Since early July 2018, they’ve been optimizing their transactional processes to better support segwit. Support for signature segwit transactions has also extended to the Trezor hardware wallet. In late July 2018, Qtum announced they had reorganized some of their Electrum code, and fixed a coinchooser issue that previously occurred when sending tokens.
The beginnings of a new mobile wallet are underway, and the team has already implemented APIs, fixed some GUI bugs and an Android compiling issue, and completed the development of login/sign flow.
Qtum Integrates With Amazon Web Services
Qtum announced in late July 2018 that their platform is officially available through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Qtum’s launch in the AWS marketplace provides an easy-to-use and powerful cloud-based solution for end users and the Enterprise. Anyone who wants to develop/build DApps on the Qtum platform or use it as a staking node will benefit from this.
—Miguel Palencia, Qtum CIO
With the integration of AWS, companies will be able to launch servers without devoting resources to developing its infrastructure. Users will also be able to run Qtum nodes or deploy a test network with the AWS platform, without paying any fees.
Celer Network Collaboration
Celer Network specializes in off-chain scaling solutions meant to bring “Internet scale” to current and upcoming blockchains. Both companies share the vision of enabling scalable dapps sufficient for global real-world use.
Qtum and Celer Network have recently announced a strategic partnership that will allow mutual initial access to software developer kits, connecting both companies’ tech teams to ensure optimal integration.
Celer will be developing and integrating their solutions on top of the Qtum blockchain in order to boost Qtum’s scalability. Qtum would serve as the foundational security layer, while Celer Network’s cChannel and cRoute algorithms provide the Qtum network with an added dimension of “unlimited scalability.”
Since Celer Network is a scaling platform designed to integrate Qtum with the masses, they’ll also be providing a user-friendly development framework that gives Qtum community-developed dapps easy access to the off-chain solutions that allow mass scalability.
Community News
Qtum summarized the community and marketing events that took place between March and May 2018, highlighting their broad, yet influential reach as it currently stands.
- Qtum x86 VM development progress launch event in Seoul
- Consensus 2018
- Qtum tech meetup at Columbia
- Qtum tech meetup at Yale
- CSSA blockchain forum at Harvard University
- Open lesson at SUSS
- Penn Wharton China Summit
- Stanford Blockchain Conference
- Blockchain applications forum 2018
- Qtum developers meetup in Shenzhen
Upcoming Qtum meetups were also announced for Moscow and Berlin.
New Hires at Qtum
In efforts to maintain their current rate of expansion, Qtum recently hired a product manager, an R&D intern, and multiple developers.
Bibo Yu worked as a product manager for Alibaba for 3 years, and has accumulated an impressive amount of practical experience organizing and promoting products. Yu holds an International Business Master’s degree from a university in Beijing, and will be responsible for Qtum’s product business and planning.
Qi Li majored in computer science and technology, and during his university career, designed and executed a blockchain trading system. Li is being hired as a junior developer, where he’ll be participating in the development of QtumX.
Tian Xiang Ai began his Master’s degree in Network and System Security under Qing Ni Shen, a well-known professor at Peking University in Beijing. After 6 months of research, Xiang wrote his own software patent, and will be serving Qtum as a research and development intern.
Zhen Li and Dong Huo have also been hired to assist with the development of Qtum.
From left to right: Bibo Yu, Qi Li, Tian Xiang Ai, Zhen Li, Dong Huo
To stay in the Qtum loop, check out their blog, Twitter, and Telegram.
