New Alpha Release: Optimization and Non-malleability

Today, we deployed a new alpha release of the Zcash reference implementation, v0.11.2.z8, to the testnet. The new release includes the following changes [1]:

  1. Equihash mining parameters have been adjusted to n=200, k=9 to reduce average solution search time to <45 seconds, and average time-to-first-solution to <30 seconds. (#856)
  2. The Equihash miner will now interrupt and cancel an existing solution search when a new valid block arrives. (#1055)
  3. The Equihash miner will now check solutions as soon as they are found. (#1143)
  4. Transaction malleability has been fixed so that valid transactions can not be modified in-flight. (#1144)
  5. The SIGHASH_SINGLE bug has been fixed. (#1078)
  6. Compilation flags have been updated to harden security. (#1064)

The zcraw* RPC commands are still available for use but will be deprecated in a future release.

This alpha release will reset our testnet, invalidating all previous coins and breaking backwards compatibility. To get connected to the new testnet, follow the instructions on the Public Alpha Guide.

To follow our progress, watch the github project and join the forum. To get an email announcement when Zcash Sprout is ready, put your email address in here.

[1] For more specific detail, view our z8 release github milestone.