Project Update July 2021

Introduction

The primary focus for July has been steps to recover from the exploits in June. The release of the fork v1.4.1 marks the start of the process, and much of the groundwork for recovery is now complete. We’ve overcome the largest hurdles, rolling back the chain, mitigating much of the exploit’s impact, and putting things right with exchanges and pools.

For the latest details on the recovery process see here: https://havenprotocol.org/2021/07/26/haven-protocol-fork-update-and-next-steps/

We now have no doubt that we’ll come out stronger, with a hardened codebase, whilst making sure the protocol is fully operational as soon as possible.

Codebase Updates

As a result of the recent exploits, we are undertaking an overhaul and update to the Haven codebase. We’re currently collaborating with multiple experts in Monero to help improve all aspects of the conversion code. This will include additional validations written by the Haven developers to prevent any future attempts at manipulating the asset conversion process. An overhaul of RingCT Proofs adds a 2nd layer to the conversion validation that blocks any attempt at manipulation of the fees or mint/burn data.

Rollback and Launch of Haven Protocol v1.4.1

On the 8th of July 2021, the community participated in a vote to decide the future of the protocol. A decision was made to roll back the chain to block 886575 by a decisive 95% majority. This has now gone live following on from a network rollback and hard fork carried out on 20th July.

You can read all the details here: https://havenprotocol.org/2021/07/20/haven-protocol-successfully-deploys-rollback-hard-fork/

Update to Fee Structure

Following on from the launch of the 2nd phase of xAssets to mainnet and with several weeks of network monitoring we have made the decision to update the fee structure for xUSD <> xAsset conversions. One of the reasons for the changes was an issue due to the price feed lag on xBTC conversions. This allowed users to effectively trade between xBTC and xUSD virtually risk free and as a result created unnatural inflation. 

To mitigate this we have now implemented a new fee structure as shown below:

• 48hr unlock time on xAsset conversions (xUSD <> xAssets)
• 0.5% fee and is split as below:
  • 80% (0.4%) gets burnt to reduce inflationary impact
  • 0.05% goes to miners
  • 0.05% goes to governance wallet

Vault Updates

Following on from the recent exploits we have now released updated vaults for all platforms. Version 1.4.1 includes the updated fee structures pending relaunch of xAsset conversions.
Links to all vaults can be found here: https://havenprotocol.org/products/

ThorChain Integration Update

Whilst THORChain integration remains an important step for the project it is currently on hold whilst the codebase undergoes significant updates and auditing. The integration is scheduled to continue once Haven has carried out the networks 2nd hard fork and re-instated xAsset conversions.

Haven Improvement Process

As we move forward with expanding the project’s scope and the number of eyes reviewing the code it will become increasingly important to create a more formal approach to recording and dealing with bugs. This is an ongoing process and will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is fit for purpose. We are in the process of finalising a new bug bounty program and this will be published as soon as it’s ready to go.

We will determine the most appropriate place to build out and maintain the project process documents and advise once this has been agreed and put in motion.

Community

After what has been a challenging few weeks for the team and community we are very pleased to have seen the phenomenal levels of support shown by many community members in providing assistance to the team in helping us get back on track. 

One of those is @dougiewatts, who, having launched a new network analysis tool has expanded his platform’s functionality to include an xAsset swap service. This will give users another option to change between assets whilst in-vault conversions are on hold.

You can try it out here: https://havex.io/ and can reach out with any questions on their Twitter at https://twitter.com/havex_io

We also have a quick start guide in the Haven knowledge base here.

Social media channels continue to grow strongly with us hitting 20k Twitter followers and over 8k Discord members.

We’re also pleased to have four further Discord community members come onboard as Community Managers to help out with guiding users and supporting and organizing the community’s views to help drive the project forward. So, welcome to @xS, @xIngloriouscrypto, @mash, and @Drayan and appreciate the help and input you guys give.