AMA with Dmitry Gerasimov, September 26, 2024

Hello everyone! I'm Dmitry Gerasimov, CEO of Cellframe, and I am here with our AMA session. Let's begin with the questions you sent us in advance.

Could you please provide an update on the progress of the preparation for the launch of the two-way bridge? What stage is the external audit currently at?

So, the audit is somewhere in the middle of the process. Unfortunately, we had to change some of the teams that were auditing our project, and now we've gone back to our old partners, CyStack. They are working on it, and I believe that in about two weeks or so, we will run the beta test group, which will allow us to use the current bridge in two ways.

Right now, we are testing the two-way bridge mode with our QA team, and so far, the reporting is going well. So, I am very optimistic about the two-way bridge mode launch within the next three or four weeks for everyone, and about two or three weeks for a selected group.

Cellframe Dashboard and Cellframe Node have now been split into separate applications. What benefits does this separation provide?

We are currently working on reformatting our applications, such as Cellframe Dashboard, Cellframe Wallet, and Cellframe Node. Some components of the Cellframe Dashboard have merged, such as Cellframe UI and Cellframe Service. Cellframe Dashboard Service was part of the Cellframe application. You may have seen it running in the background if you have inspected your computer background.

The Cellframe Node can sometimes be launched as a standalone application, maybe on dedicated hardware or our own hardware solutions for Cellframe Node. We are now preparing Cellframe Dashboard to work with such a remote Cellframe Node, which is why we split the applications.

By the way, some people may decide to run a Cellframe Node as a masternode on something other than Linux. Until now, before this split, we had a standalone Cellframe Node only for Linux. But now it's ready to work as a standalone for macOS, Windows, and every other operating system, including an Android version.

Just a few days ago, I saw a standalone Cellframe Node running, and as I understand, it's already available on our server with public binary builds. I think we'll soon issue an article about this. So, that's why we split Dashboard and Node.

Are any other significant changes planned for Cellframe Dashboard in the future?

Yes, there is a really significant change. It's the merge of Cellframe Dashboard and Cellframe Wallet. They will be combined into a single application called Cellframe Wallet. Also, there are other plans, like expanding the Cellframe Dashboard extension ecosystem. But let's talk about that another time because it's a really long story.

In your opinion, what is the optimal number of masternodes for the Backbone network?

Usually, the security of the network doesn't depend on the number itself but on its score level. In proof-of-work, the score level depends on your computing power. In proof-of-stake, which is what Cellframe uses, we're talking about liquidity volume. And the volume is significant, but the number of masternodes is less important.

It matters if we have a really small number of masternodes, that's bad. But once you get into the hundreds or thousands, it doesn't matter anymore. Yes, for cypherpunks and enthusiasts, it's really important to have a more dedicated network. And I believe that once we reach a million devices in the network, it will be a really stable network with a wide consensus.

Is there a possibility that the network could have "too many" masternodes?

It depends on the cryptography. Maybe you heard about a new post-quantum signature called Chipmunk. Yes, really. They named it Chipmunk, and why we didn't think of that, I don't know. But they named it right! So, what does the Chipmunk signature mean? It's an aggregated signature that can roll up a lot of different signatures into one small block. It reduces the size of the signature and could allow us to return to previous versions of consensus that require every masternode to sign a new block.

Right now, we have a pseudo-random selection of voters, and the voters sign the block. We had to do this because post-quantum signatures are too big. But if we implement the Chipmunk signature and it works well, we can make it mandatory for all masternodes in a shard to sign each new block. In this case, we could have a situation where there are "too many" masternodes in one shard. Since we have a sharded network, this issue would only affect one shard or one CELL, as we call it.

The QEVM project is working on integrating smart contract support into the Cellframe ecosystem. Does this mean that the Cellframe team no longer needs to develop its own smart contract support?

Unfortunately, no, we still need to develop our own native smart contracts. They will be based on WASM, like other projects. The QEVM project is amazing, but unfortunately, it won't solve all our needs. We still have to develop our own native smart contracts, which will work similarly to those on Solana or Polkadot. Maybe we'll optimize our API to make migration from Polkadot and Solana to our smart contracts easier.

Does the Cellframe ecosystem need oracles? If so, are they currently in use, or is their implementation planned for the future?

Yes, the Cellframe ecosystem needs oracles. And we have a few that serve different purposes, like some oracles used for the bridge and others for Dotflat. We still don't have a universal oracle, but I don't think we need one.

Maybe we'll create a specific oracle API, but it will be very simple. Even with the current API, you can create your own oracle for your own purposes without much effort.

Many smaller projects face challenges during a "bear market." If such projects wish to join Cellframe, are you prepared to help them?

Big projects can also face challenges, although they may be less serious than for smaller projects. But if you have a really interesting project, feel free to contact me. Maybe we can figure something out.

Are you planning to develop new services based on blockchain? Perhaps L2 solutions?

Yes, we are planning.

In what cases is it more appropriate to create a separate network for a service, and when is it more beneficial to use an existing one?

When you develop a truly distributed application, you have different layers. One is the network layer. Maybe you just need to connect a lot of nodes, or if you're building something like an oracle or you have a lot of internal transactions, you may need your own token. It depends on your service.

For example, VPN requires a lot of specific transactions. Not all users or nodes in the Cellframe network want to process VPN transactions, so VPN has its own dedicated network and its own token because the service needs to be paid for.

Other services, like a decentralized exchange (DEX), don’t require a separate network and can work on any network. It’s better to use the Backbone, but it's not limited to that, and it doesn't need a native token.

So, whether you need a separate network or token depends on the specifics of your project.

Do you think quantum security will become one of the key issues in the next bull run?

I hope so. It’s a really serious threat, and I think the modern crypto community doesn’t fully understand just how serious it is.

When will you make a one-click node for total beginners?

For total beginners, we are preparing hardware solutions. It will be a zero-click node — you just plug it in and connect it to power, and that’s it. How to connect it to the Dashboard will be explained in a short instruction. This is especially for total beginners.

For now, there is an updated set of instructions for the masternode. You don’t need to be a hacker or use a terminal version; it's possible to use a UI-based version. So, check out the latest version of the Dashboard, maybe it will suit you. Anyway, we are also preparing a zero-click configuration node for state units.

Which firm is conducting the external code audit?

The audit is being carried out by Sizetech, the same firm as before. You can find their reports on their website, and we will be able to share the link.

What are the plans for the auction?

The auction was temporarily paused as we needed additional team resources to prepare for the relaunch. I expect it will be one of the first things we address after the launch of the two-way bridge. We have a lot of interest from participants, so resuming the auction is a priority.

That’s all the questions I have for now. Thank you for your time and attention. See you next time!