Project Update January 2021

Introduction

It’s been a busy start to 2021 for the Haven developers and team with lots going on in the background in preparation for the next major project milestones. It’s shaping up to be a very productive Q1 for the project and we look forward to sharing more soon. 

For now here’s a quick look at what’s been going on so far this past month.

ThorChain Integration

On the Haven side, development work on the ThorChain integration is now complete. We’re continuing to work with the ThorChain team to fully complete the process of integration. This will bring several benefits to Haven and ThorChain users by providing a cross-chain liquidity network so that anyone can swap between XHV (and other xAssets) and other chains including BTC and ETH. It also offers XHV and xAsset holders the opportunity to provide liquidity to the ThorChain pools and in return earn a yield on their coins.

In return it gives Thor users direct and simple access to Haven’s ecosystem of private assets.

xAsset Integration

Coding work for the multi-asset integration is progressing well and we expect to be on course to have xCNY, xEUR, xGold and xSilver on mainnet in Q1. There will initially be a closed testnet using the CLI Vault to confirm functionality before opening up to a wider base for additional testing.

Alongside this work, the devs will be tying the backend for the xAssets into the web and desktop vaults. The majority of the UX/UI is already complete for this. 

Updated Fee Structure

Final details are being ironed out for an updated fee structure before being integrated into the codebase. This new structure will be tested alongside the xAsset integration. The updated fee structure is planned to go live on mainnet at the same time as the xAsset hard fork.

As a result of many discussions with the community and amongst the team, there have been some key changes made to the way the fees work to provide a high level of network security whilst balancing improved usability and flexibility for users.

More details on this will be shared after testnet integration has been finalised.

Desktop Vault upgrade

We now have a fully updated version of the Haven Desktop Vault (v1.2.2) live on mainnet. The Desktop Vault has undergone several major upgrades and improvements to the UX/UI. The latest versions for Windows, MacOS and Linux can be downloaded here: https://havenprotocol.org/products/

These upgrades also mean that the Web and Desktop Vaults now share much of the same backend architecture to make future updates much easier to manage across multiple platforms.

New features include:

User selectable restore height to allow users to rescan the blockchain from any block number. This improves sync times where a user does not need to rescan the whole chain. 

A short guide on this can be found here: https://havenprotocol.org/knowledge/vault-restore-height/

Local node support The app now gives users the ability to run their own node to help secure the network as well as provide the most secure method for validating transactions. 

Improved sync information gives users more details on the sync status as well as the option to refresh the vault to update any stuck/pending transactions in the network.

A new Linux version is also available for those users on that OS. 

Polarity Listing

We are very pleased to have been added to the Polarity Exchange with the trading pair XHV/USDT now live. Polarity brings many user benefits over fully centralised exchanges including:

• No KYC 
• USDT base currency 
• Fast exchanges 
• Your keys, Your coins 
• Very low fixed fees – $0.01 per trade
• Hybrid on-chain/off-chain security design 
• Low min and high max limits 
• On-chain 2fa multi-sig 

You can trade XHV here: https://polarity.exchange/ 

We will continue to look for partnerships with projects and teams who we feel can offer benefits to both parties as well as helping bring financial privacy to all.

Knowledge Base

Work is ongoing to build out a comprehensive knowledge base for all things Haven and we’re constantly adding new and updated content. Please reach out if you’d like to contribute or have any ideas for useful information that we could include to help spread the word about financial privacy. 

Find out more here: https://havenprotocol.org/knowledge/

WooCommerce Integration

Integration work for the WooCommerce plugin is back in progress after being paused during Desktop Vault redevelopment. Once complete this will allow online stores a simple way to integrate Haven payments into their site. All supported xAssets are planned to be integrated allowing for global payments with a high degree of privacy for users and businesses.