Tezos Blockchain: the proposals of the Paris protocol

After the successful activation of the Oxford 2 protocol on February 9th, the Tezos Blockchain community is once again buzzing.

This time it’s about the proposals of the Paris protocol – Paris A and Paris B – which each promise significant advancements to the Tezos protocol.

These proposals, identified by their hash keys, aim to introduce lower latency, faster finality, and crucial updates to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism.

Let’s delve into the complexity of these proposals and their significance for the future of Tezos.

Updates and important improvements of the Tezos blockchain

Both Paris A and Paris B offer substantial improvements to the Tezos protocol, including:

1. Lower latency and higher speed: By reducing block times to just 10 seconds, both proposals aim to improve transaction speed and network efficiency without compromising decentralization or security.
2. Activation of the Data Availability Layer (DAL): The introduction of DAL on Mainnet is set to revolutionize scalability, benefiting especially Smart Rollups like Etherlink, significantly increasing throughput and bandwidth.
3. Refinement of Tezos PoS: Both proposals include enhancements to Tezos PoS, with the aim of simplifying the acquisition and updating of baking rights, while also simplifying the calculation.

Paris B introduces Adaptive Issuance, Staking and Adaptive Slashing immediately after the activation of the protocol. These features represent a significant revision of the Tezos PoS mechanism, adapting it to real-world use and improving the security of the chain.

Paris A, instead, provides the possibility for bakers to vote for the activation of these features at a later time through a signaling mechanism on the chain. This mechanism allows for a more gradual adoption process, allowing bakers to assess the impact of these features before implementation.

Main features

1. Adaptive issuance: This mechanism regulates the issuance of tez by the protocol based on the ratio between the tez staked and the total supply, incentivizing participants to stake funds to maintain a target ratio defined by the protocol.
2. Episode: The proposals from Paris introduce a new role – the staker – which allows participants to contribute to a baker’s security deposit without giving up custody of their funds. The deposited funds are subject to slashing in case of misconduct.
3. Adaptive Slashing: this function enhances the slashing mechanism to distinguish between innocent errors and deliberate attacks, ensuring fair penalties based on the total stake of the attester.

Paris A offers a more deliberative approach, allowing the activation of the function through a voting mechanism. Paris B, on the other hand, activates Adaptive Issuance, Staking, and Adaptive Slashing immediately upon protocol activation, providing a faster implementation path.

Both proposals from Paris include further enhancements to Tezos’ PoS, independent from Adaptive Issuance, Staking, and Adaptive Slashing.

These changes simplify the calculation of batch rights and reduce various delays and grace periods, thus optimizing the efficiency of the network.

Conclusions

The proposals of the Paris protocol mark an exciting chapter in the evolution of the Tezos blockchain. With innovations aimed at improving speed, scalability, and security, Tezos continues to consolidate its position as a leading blockchain platform.

Whether it’s the gradual adoption offered by Paris A or the immediate implementation of Paris B, the future looks promising for Tezos and its vibrant community.

While we eagerly await the outcome of these proposals, we continue to collaborate and build together a brighter future for Tezos.

Join the conversation on Tezos Discord and stay tuned for further updates in the #baking-announcements channel. The journey ahead of us is full of possibilities and together we can shape the next phase of Tezos’ journey.