Roadmap Update (1/17/23)
Our team has recently identified tasks and requirements in milestones that require additional effort, such as certain aspects of the indexer and advanced order implementation.
This blog post provides an update on the anticipated delivery timeline for v4. Now that the team has done more work scoping out later milestones, we have a better understanding of when we can ship v4. We plan to release our mainnet open-source software in H2 2023 and are pleased to share the following estimates for individual milestones:
- M3 (Private Testnet) - end of March
- M4 (Public Testnet) - end of July
- M5 (Public Mainnet) - end of September
We will follow up with more concrete details and increased granularity when we finish Milestone 3. Meanwhile, happy trading!
Introduction
As part of providing periodic updates on our progress building out the dYdX v4 open-source blockchain software (“dYdX Chain”), we are excited to announce the completion of our second of five milestones.
We now have two working internal blockchain networks running in perpetuity. One serves as a developer playground, and the other serves as a general testnet. Functionally, the blockchain allows for core trading functionality, with leverage, fees, oracle price updates, hourly funding rates, and liquidations.
We are now in the middle of working on Milestone 3, and will release another update after completion. This will include the launch of an external testnet with an initial small group of validators. The completion of Milestone 4 will include the launch of a public testnet, and Milestone 5 will include the release of the mainnet open-source software.
A Recap of Milestone 2
The purpose of Milestone 2 was to complete all of the basic functionality needed to run the core product of the exchange. The main technical features of this milestone were:
- Trading Fees
- Liquidations
- Oracle Price Updates
- Static Funding Rates
- Token Transfers
- Indexing and API Service
We also created a more stable internal testnet with a larger number of validator nodes. This testnet remains internal to dYdX, but allows for robust testing by our developers.
We have also built out more robust developer tooling to maintain and test the network, including:
- A tool to quickly reset all validators from genesis
- A faucet to onboard new accounts
- Mock trading-bots that add liquidity and load-test the nodes
What’s Next in Milestone 3?
This milestone is the completion of advanced features. The main features of this milestone are:
- Advanced Order Types (e.g. Post-Only, Stop-Limit, and Reduce-Only)
- Dynamic Funding Rates
- Using the Latest Features of Cosmos-SDK to Propose and Validate Blocks
- Key-Permissioning & Access Management
- Web Trading Interface
- Documentation for Validators
After we complete the technical implementation of the milestone, we plan to launch an external testnet with a limited number of validators of the testnet. As part of this effort, we plan to provide documentation for running full-nodes and validator-nodes.
If you are interested in participating as a validator in this testnet, please fill out this form.
What about Milestones 4 and 5?
Milestones 4 and 5 will be focused on non-core software features such as governance, the process of adding or removing new trading pairs, and IBC connections to other chains.
Milestone 4 will see the launch of a fully public testnet, and the completion of Milestone 5 will include the release of mainnet open-source software.
Recent Events and Decentralized Finance
The events of the last few weeks have re-highlighted the importance of building open, transparent, and fair financial products. We are excited for dYdX v4 to further the dYdX vision of democratizing access to financial opportunity.