Unique double-layer security, annual network update, the latest features of Komodo Wallet 0.8, and new integrations – all these and more were in an episode of #LetsTalkCrypto with Charles, the business development manager at Komodo, and Nadine, the head of business development at LetsExchange. Here are the takeaways from this epic AMA session.
Mark from LetsExchange: Today, we have someone joining from the Komodo team. Charles, how is it going at Komodo?
Charles: Pretty good! We had a very busy past few weeks. We have been all hands on deck, working on our annual update. It's a lot of work! Most of the team focused on that, but everything went off without a hitch, and the blockchain has been updated.
Mark from LetsExchange: You said it's a yearly update. Does it have a specific date, or is it something that you do only during autumn?
Charles: Every year, we elect new candidates to secure the network. We have two security layers, and one of them is called the notary node network. It anchors the Komodo's blockchain onto a different chain with a higher hash rate. So, it's like a double security layer, and every year we elect new people who run the nodes based on multiple things. We don't have an exact time, we guesstimate the time, but we have an exact block where we push out the updates. It usually takes around two to three days for the update to complete; then, the network stabilizes, and we resume trading and deposits.
Mark from LetsExchange: You're talking about the validators, right? What is the process of choosing the validators? I think you have many companies, many people, trying to launch their nodes. How do you select those validators?
Charles: To become a notary node operator, you don't need anything special. You must propose to the community and the community votes. They get one vote per KMD, which they hold in their wallets. Some candidates get re-elected depending on their performance in the past season. The majority has to be re-elected, or new candidates get elected every season.
Mark from LetsExchange: Notary node operator, it’s an interesting name. I think you have some differences with a validator.
Charles: Yeah, it's definitely different because it's not necessarily processing transactions in the way you would as a validator. They mine blocks, but the importance of the notary nodes is to anchor the Komodo's blockchain onto a different chain that has a higher hash rate, so it's a double security layer. I don't know if there are other blockchains doing it, but it provides a little extra security. So, if you were to do a 51% attack on Komodo, you would not only need to attack the main Komodo network but also the notary network.
Mark from LetsExchange: Can you tell us about Komodo smart chains? How does it work? What are the general advantages of multi-chain architecture?
Charles: When we developed Komodo in 2014-2015, the idea was built around the freedom of launching your own blockchain, not tied to a main chain. The idea was to create a system where people could launch their own chains with their own specifications that weren't tied to the main Komodo blockchain if they didn't want to. The benefit of launching your own blockchain on Komodo is that it becomes your own chain. You still are part of the ecosystem, but you basically have your own coin that pays its own fees in that coin. You don't have to rely on Komodo to process your blocks. The multi-chain architecture has been built with that sense of freedom.
Mark from LetsExchange: Can you tell us what the Komodo vision for the future is? Especially as we are moving towards the bull run; most people think it is already here or should be just around the corner after the new year. So, what are the Komodo goals for this bull run?
Charles: I don't think we have goals for the bull run, as we don't plan around bull runs. We plan our annual roadmap and currently are working on Cosmos and Solana integration on the Komodo DEX. We have something called the Komodo DEX and the Komodo Wallet. The Komodo DEX is a protocol very similar to the idea of freedom, where you have a DEX that doesn't depend on one blockchain. The Komodo DEX doesn't actually depend on Komodo at all; it is a network run by many of the Komodo operators, and it is a decentralized trading network that relies on cross-chain atomic swaps. You can trade coins like Litecoin to Ethereum or Litecoin to an ERC-20 token with no centralized liquidity pools, with no centralized points. Our short-term goal is to integrate some of the major protocols we're missing, like Cosmos and Solana. We're also looking at Tron. At least for the short term, that's our main goal; whether it plays into the bull run or not, time will tell.
Mark from LetsExchange: Some say Cosmos is one of the most difficult to integrate. Has your team had any issues with integrating other platforms?
Charles: No. Most platforms are compatible. With Cosmos, we actually launched a DEX called MoonFi. It runs on the Komodo Dexus Core, but it's built for the Cosmos community. So, integration for us is mostly time and resources. Some blockchains are more complex than others because they have different parameters and architecture that we might need to build around, but it's just time. If a blockchain wants to be supported on our DEX network, it's just a matter of us sitting down and figuring out what resources are needed to get it done.
Mark from LetsExchange: One of the recent updates that you guys had to Komodo Wallet was version 0.8. Is this the final preparation for version 1.0? And what are the key improvements in Komodo Wallet?
Charles: Yes, that particular update is the Komodo Web Wallet 0.8. A new thing we've added to it is the market maker bot, so you can automate trading and manage trading pairs and orders a little bit easier. We also added the portfolio growth tracking. It is a way to track the portfolio's growth and profit loss insights. We also added some UX/UI enhancements, updated the application's visuals, and improved load times. We also added new security features in the backend for the API, so people who want to use the API to either build their own DEX or integrate it into their wallet also have a bit more security. The last two things we added were real-time coin updates and a feature for open-source contributions.
Mark from LetsExchange: Nadine, can you tell our audience what they can do on LetsExchange with Komodo?
Nadine: Certainly! You can swap over 5,000 assets that we support to Komodo. I also would like to talk about our bridge function and how you can swap-bridge Komodo on LetsExchange. Please, visit our website, open our exchange widget, select the bridge mode, and choose Komodo as your coin to swap. It's a great function, and I recommend anyone try it. We are especially happy that we have integrated Komodo on our bridge.
Mark from LetsExchange: Charles, is there anything we didn't talk about today that you would like to share with us?
Charles: I think we covered most of the important things. But keep an eye on the project. If you want to check the Komodo ecosystem out, you can go to komodoplatform.com, and you'll get the link if you want to check out the Cosmos app that we built on the Komodo DEX. You can go to MoonFi on app.moonfi.com and see what the DEX looks like when we build it around a particular coin. Keep an eye on the project. A lot of cool things are coming, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.