Dev Release-206

This development release highlights the most recent technical milestones achieved across the BlockDAG ecosystem, encompassing improvements to blockchain performance, enhanced smart contract and NFT visibility in the explorer, as well as refined hardware integration for the X1 miner with the X10 device. With each iteration, we’re steadily moving towards a more stable, performant, and modular network infrastructure that supports broad use cases, from efficient mining operations to smart contract-based applications and Web3 development.

To communicate and document the engineering progress made in blockchain optimization, DAG-EVM improvements, WebAssembly (WASM) integration, miner hardware compatibility, and explorer evolution. This release aims to ensure transparency with stakeholders and provide a roadmap for upcoming priorities.

• X30 devices tested in a real-world setup demonstrated significant reductions in block rejection rates, highlighting improvements in mining protocol compatibility.
• The core DAG blockchain engine is optimized for faster processing and reduced latency.
• WASM support integration documentation is completed for Cosmos-SDK-based DAG-EVM modules and is in review with all the stakeholders.
• Explorer will support NFT indexing and dynamic smart contract interaction tracing.
• UTXO layer officially removed from the Explorer, simplifying the codebase and reducing data overhead.
• The X1 design was adapted to integrate seamlessly with the X10 hardware, and physical prototyping and testing are in advanced stages.

These updates form the backbone of the next-generation BlockDAG network, making it:

• More efficient: Optimized block processing and reduced mining error rates.
• More developer-friendly: Through WASM support and better smart contract observability.
• Hardware-ready: Streamlined hardware design increases accessibility for home and professional miners.
• Ecosystem-aligned: NFTs and diverse contract types now function in sync with explorer services for complete lifecycle visibility.

X30 Multi-Device Testing

The X30 devices were tested under simulated production-level conditions in a distributed setup. Previously, these devices experienced a 10% rejection rate due to sync and validation discrepancies between the node and the pool server.

Improvements made:

• Protocol alignment between mining logic and block validation rules.
• Adjustment in the pool’s handling of incoming block submissions.
• Sync protocol tuning to avoid premature rejection of edge-case blocks.

The result is a marked improvement in mining acceptance rates, paving the way for more energy-efficient and consistent mining performance.

DAG Blockchain Optimization

In preparation for scale, multiple low-level enhancements were introduced into the DAG processing engine:

• Reduced block propagation delay through better protocol tuning.
• Streamlined DAG validation logic, removing redundant computation in sibling-edge validation.
• Improved memory handling to reduce node crashes during prolonged syncing or high-throughput scenarios.

These changes make the network more resilient and responsive, even under high concurrency.

WASM Integration Documentation

Our team is in a comprehensive internal review and draft of the WASM (WebAssembly) integration documentation into the DAG-EVM architecture via the Cosmos SDK. This document:

• Outlines how to enable smart contract execution in WASM containers.
• Defines interface hooks between DAG-EVM logic and WASM module loading.
• Provides security guidelines for sandboxing and resource restrictions.

This is a critical foundation for future integrations, including cross-chain deployments and language-agnostic smart contracts.

NFT Support

The BlockDAG Explorer now features first-class support for NFTs. Key capabilities:

• Token ID search and lookup by address.
• Metadata rendering via IPFS/Arweave links.
• Transfer and mint history visualization on token pages.

This lays the groundwork for integrating NFT marketplaces and dashboards directly into the ecosystem.

Smart Contract Transaction Types

The team is working on the explorer to give support for multiple transactions on the explorer frontend part:

• Contract creation events.
• Inter-contract message calls.
• Custom token transfer methods (ERC-20-like behavior on DAG-EVM).

With these enhancements, developers and users will be able to trace multiple contract executions, debug behaviors.

Removal of UTXO Code

As the ecosystem has transitioned away from the UTXO model in favor of account-based DAG-EVM, we’ve removed all redundant UTXO support from the explorer. This has:

• Simplified codebase by over 20%.
• Reduced server-side processing load.
• Made future maintenance easier and focused solely on account-model transactions.

X1 Design Changes for X10 Hardware

The X1 miner firmware and casing design have been adapted to fit into the newly defined X10 hardware, offering:

• Improved session management between the X1 mobile application and X10 hardware device.
• The connector design correction is in progress.

X10 Enclosure Finalization

We’ve reached the final stage in defining the X10 enclosure:

• Material: We’re designing and testing with different materials for heat dissipation and weight.
• Structural design: Compact, modular, and wall-mountable.
• EMI shielding: Improved for residential and small office environments.

Final manufacturing feedback and form factor testing are currently underway.

X10 Setup FAQ

To support smooth user onboarding, we've published an FAQ that covers:

• First-time setup for X10 with an X1 miner.
• Network connection guidelines.
• Troubleshooting common errors during sync and power-up.
• Firmware flashing and diagnostics.

This will be shipped with the initial X10 devices and hosted on our official site.

• Resolved high rejection rate issue for X30 miners by improving pool-side logic.
• Addressing contract visibility issues in Explorer when multiple internal calls were present.
• Eliminated UTXO-related bugs that were causing duplicate transaction listings.
• Improved DAG block consistency checks across synced nodes.

• WASM testnet is still pending full validator integration and contract deployment simulation.
• Smart contract gas estimation in DAG-EVM under heavy load remains inconsistent.
• Performance benchmarking for X10 units under sustained high-load conditions is in progress.
• NFT image previews sometimes fail to load on mobile devices, UI patch pending.

• Launch WASM-enabled DAG-EVM on public testnet for external developer testing.
• Finalize and plan the delivery of the X10 beta hardware shipment to early adopters.
• Extend the Explorer analytics dashboard to include DAG metrics (e.g., edge count, fork rate, miner reward history).
• Begin the development using the new DAG-EVM stack.

We value your input!
If you encounter issues, need support, or have suggestions for improvement, reach out to us at: [email protected]

We encourage community participation and welcome contributions to our documentation, bug tracking, and testnet activities.

With this release, BlockDAG continues to evolve as a next-gen decentralized protocol, blending performance, security, and hardware-level innovation. From foundational code improvements to real-world hardware integration and broader ecosystem compatibility, we're building a system that’s both technically advanced and practically usable.

Stay tuned for more updates, testnet launch dates, and a deeper dive into our WASM smart contract modules!