29.03.2024

The Firo (ZCoin) network will be updated. How to prepare for a hard fork?

The networks of popular cryptocurrencies are often faced with an update, which indicates the busyness of the project developers. For example, on August 5, the Ethereum blockchain went through the London update, which, among other things, introduced a more predictable formation of fees and a mechanism for burning them.

Now the Firo network is waiting for the update. Thanks to him, the cryptocurrency will change the mining algorithm.

Firo will be updated to version v0.14.9.0. This is a mandatory update that will introduce the FiroPoW mining algorithm and the so-called Instant Send function into the network.

When Firo’s hard fork

The update will take place on October 26 at 6:00 am UTC, that is, at 9 am Moscow time.

What is FiroPoW

FiroPoW is a new mining algorithm that will replace the current MTP or Merkle Tree Proof algorithm. It is well optimized for video cards while being protected from the possible impact of ASIC miners and FPGA cards. Accordingly, miners will not have to worry about the prospect of a sharp drop in mining profitability .

As noted by the representatives of Firo, they are fans of the proof-of-work algorithm. Here is a quote from the platform’s official website .

We have always been big fans of the Proof of Work algorithm’s ability to link the value of a virtual currency to what is happening in the real world. In addition, it allows the Firo coin supply to be distributed in an honest, decentralized manner, where there is no room for restrictions.

In fact, FiroPoW is the successor to ProgPoW version 0.9.4 with a small change. The latter will allow the algorithm to change in a random, unpredictable manner with each block.

Note that in 2019, ProgPoW was actively supported by representatives of the Ethereum community, who voted for its introduction into the network. In fact, ProgPoW promised to protect ASIC miners from mining ETH and thus protect the owners of video cards, in theory making the blockchain more decentralized. However, in the end, Ethereum never contacted this innovation. Read more about it in a separate article .

Some cryptocurrencies are already using ProgPoW. In particular, the current Ravencoin mining algorithm called KawPoW is also modified by ProgPoW.

The initial DAG file size will slightly exceed the 4 GB mark and grow by 8 megabytes every 1300 blocks, which is approximately 4.5 days. Thus, this DAG will be supported by most modern video cards.

Recall that a DAG file is a block of data that is loaded into the memory of the video card during the miner startup process. With the help of DAG, mining takes place, which means that miners are looking for solutions to create blocks and thus ensure the operability of the network. Over time, the size of the DAG file increases, which is why video cards no longer cope with the mining of certain cryptocurrencies – for this they simply do not have enough memory.

The size of each block in kilobytes in the FiroPoW algorithm, excluding transactions, is approximately 500 times smaller than the corresponding indicator of the previous MTP algorithm. Accordingly, in the future, the size of the blockchain will increase at a much slower pace, which, in addition, will have a good effect on the network bandwidth.

Why Instant Send is needed on the Firo network

The Instant Send function will allow you to finalize transactions – that is, consider them confirmed – in a matter of seconds, without even waiting for a block confirmation. It is combined with ChainLocks technology, which makes blocks finalized after just one confirmation. As a result, the developers believe that this is quite enough for using Firo to conduct day-to-day transactions on a regular basis.

After block 421150 is created on the Firo network, transactions using the Instant Send mechanism will be used by default. This applies to all wallet transactions, including Lelantus transactions. The developers promise to cooperate with crypto-exchanges and other platforms so that the latter quickly identify deposits in Firo.

How to prepare for a Firo upgrade

The 2Miners mining pool supports the Firo v0.14.9.0 update and the further transition of the cryptocurrency to FiroPoW. In this regard, the representatives of the pool have already updated their nodes to the corresponding version. If you have a Firo wallet with a full version of the blockchain, do not forget to update it using the link .

Mining pool 2miners

The Gminer team will not support the Firo update. Representatives of the NiceHash platform said that support is possible only if the daily mining profitability reaches “at least a few BTC”. Otherwise, there will be no coins on NiceHash.

This approach does not apply to the developers TeamRedMiner and T-Rex , who have already confirmed their agreement with the update.

Recall that T-Rex is suitable for Nvidia video cards, and TeamRedMiner is for AMD.

To mine Firo after the update, use the following bat file for T-Rex.

t-rex -a mtp -o stratum + tcp: //firo.2miners.com: 8181 -u aPGQDJrbcGGpThJ5xLT3SPhVftVsgqcvxR.RIG_ID -px -fork-at firopow = time: 2021-10-26T06: 00: 00

Please note that the bat file above supports automatic failover to FiroPoW. Accordingly, you won’t have to change anything after the update.

And this will be the bat-file after the fork.

t-rex -a firopow -o stratum + tcp: //firo.2miners.com: 8181 -u aPGQDJrbcGGpThJ5xLT3SPhVftVsgqcvxR.RIG_ID -px

FiroPoW support has been added in TeamRedMiner version 0.8.6. You can download it here . The mining bat file is as follows.

teamredminer.exe -a firopow -o stratum + tcp: //firo.2miners.com: 8181 -u aPGQDJrbcGGpThJ5xLT3SPhVftVsgqcvxR.RIG_ID -px

TeamRedMiner 0.8.6

Firo mining launch details are always available on the corresponding pool page . At the moment, the current settings for the MTP algorithm appear there, closer to the fork we will update this page. In fact, for 2Miners users in the bat-file after the fork, only the name of the algorithm will change – it was mtp, but it will become firopow. Nothing more. Server, port and other settings remain unchanged.

As a result, the Firo network is waiting for an important update, which, among other things, will affect the functionality of the cryptocurrency and its popularity among ordinary users. It is important for miners not to forget to update and change settings, as otherwise Firo mining will stop.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *