[Pool Update] Epoch 400 – 413

Hi people! 🙂

It’s pool update time. Let’s see what’s going on in the Cardano ecosystem and what the current pool performance looks like.

Scams

I have done that before but I would like to outline some basic security rules to keep your funds secure again:

  • Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Create strong and unique passwords for all your cryptocurrency-related accounts. Avoid using easily guessable information or reusing passwords across different platforms. Consider using a password manager for managing your passwords.
  • Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA wherever possible, especially for exchanges, wallets, mobile service provider and email provider. This extra layer of security helps protect your accounts from unauthorized access. Try to avoid using your phone or email as a second factor as this generally is the weakest option. Best option would be security keys like YubiKeys, Nitrokeys, Titan Security Keys etc.
  • Use a Secure Wallet: Choose a reputable wallet to store your ADA. Consider using a hardware wallet, as they provide an added layer of security by keeping your private keys offline.
  • Safeguard Private Keys and Seed Phrase: Keep your private keys and seed phrase offline and in a secure location. Avoid sharing them with anyone or storing them on internet-connected devices. If someone gains access to your private keys, they have full control over your ADA and native Tokens.
  • Securely Backup Your Wallet: Create secure backups of your wallet and store them in offline or encrypted formats. This way, if you lose your device or experience a technical issue, you can still recover your funds. Make sure to use a durable solution for long term storage and take measures to detect any tampering with your backup.
  • Double-Check Addresses: Before sending ADA to a specific address, double-check that it is correct. Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, so any mistakes could result in permanent loss of funds.
  • Be Cautious with Online Activities: Exercise caution when accessing websites or clicking on links related to Cardano and other Cryptocurrencies. Be aware of phishing attempts, where malicious actors may attempt to trick you into revealing your private keys or personal information. No officials, moderators or ambassadors will ever send you a private message! Scammers are copying those profiles and target people seeking help.
  • If it is too good to be true, it probably is. There are NEVER any giveaways. Even if it looks 100% real! Scammers are actively hacking big Youtube Channels, other Accounts and copying designs of well known dApps like DEXs. Do not fall for it.
  • Always download Software related to Cardano from trusted sources! Double and triple check URLs to make sure you are on the correct website.
  • Keep Software Up to Date: Regularly update your wallet software, operating system, and antivirus programs to ensure you have the latest security patches. This helps protect against known vulnerabilities.
  • Be Wary of Public Wi-Fi: Be cautious when accessing your ADA wallet or making transactions while connected to public Wi-Fi networks. Public networks may be insecure and could expose your information to potential threats.
  • Educate Yourself: Stay informed about the latest security practices and developments in the Cardano community. Regularly update your knowledge to stay ahead of potential risks and protect your investments.

Remember, no security measure can guarantee complete protection, but by following these best practices, you can significantly enhance the security of your Cardano ADA holdings.

Mainnet Reward Sharing Scheme: k and minPoolCost poll

In Cardano, the reward sharing scheme is designed to incentivize stake pool operators and participants by distributing rewards based on their stake in the network. Two parameters (among many others) that govern this scheme are “k” and “minPoolCost.”

  1. The “k” parameter represents the ideal number of active stake pools in the Cardano network. It determines the saturation point of a stake pool, beyond which the rewards earned by individual stakeholders start to decrease. For example, at the moment k is set to 500, it means that we should have 500 active stake pools that are fully saturated, at least that is what the system is designed for. If more stake is delegated to a saturated pool (oversaturation), the rewards for each participant decrease, providing an incentive for stakeholders to delegate to smaller, less saturated pools.
  2. The “minPoolCost” parameter is related to the minimum fixed cost that a stake pool operator can set for their pool. It represents the baseline cost that is deducted from a pools overall rewards, regardless of the pools size or performance, and goes directly to the pool operator. The purpose of the “minPoolCost” parameter is to ensure that stake pool operators have a minimum level of income to pay for their infrastructure. By setting a minimum fixed cost, it helps maintain the quality and reliability of stake pools within the Cardano network. It also has the effect of making small pools less attractive, because the rewards paid to delegators are lower in the long run than for large pools with a lot of stake, where these fixed costs are negligible.

There is currently a network-wide poll on the Cardano mainnet that is taking place as a test run for a possible change to these parameters and as the first on-chain government event under CIP-0094. The poll reads as follows:

Which setup would you prefer to be put in place from Q3 2023 onwards?
[0] Keep k at 500 and minPoolCost at 340 ada
[1] Keep k at 500 and halve minPoolCost to 170 ada
[2] Increase k to 1000 and keep minPoolCost at 340 ada
[3] Increase k to 1000 and halve minPoolCost to 170 ada
[4] I would prefer to abstain
[5] None of the provided options

FAIR decided to vote for [5] None of the provided options. Here is why:

None of the options provided have convinced us thus far of any real added value for the entire Cardano ecosystem. Numerous arguments exist both for and against an increase, particularly concerning “k”. On the positive side, there is the potential for improved decentralization (though this argument can be challenged when considering pool splitting). On the negative side, there are concerns about unforeseen effects on network performance, such as block propagation delays, missed blocks and future performance improvements. We frequently witness height battles that arise due to inadequate infrastructure of certain pools. Therefore, before we vote in favor of a “k” change, we require more comprehensive information about its impact to sway us towards one option or the other. We believe that any increase in this crucial parameter should be approached gradually and cautiously. By implementing a slow and gradual increase, it allows ample time for everyone to observe the effects and it provides an opportunity for delegators to transition from saturated pools to non-saturated pools.

However, we do recognize the challenges posed by the “minPoolCost” parameter for smaller pools. Consequently, we advocate for lowering this parameter value. Simultaneously, we firmly believe that the introduction of a minMargin is necessary as a compensatory measure. A minMargin would affect both small and large pools equally, while also ensuring that individual pool quality is maintained through adequate funding of the operating costs (when a pool accrued enough stake). This approach prevents significant disadvantages for smaller pools and facilitates their establishment in the early phase of existence.

You can check the results of the poll here:

If you are a delegator of FAIR and disagree with our vote, you have until the end of Epoch 415 to switch to a different pool. Your stake will then count towards the option chosen by the new pool. If you have any questions, concerns, or simply wish to discuss the poll or the option we voted for, please feel free to reach out to us through any of the official channels listed at the bottom of this page.

NOTE: This poll serves as a “test” or “temperature check” within the network participants and is unlikely to be immediately implemented.

FAIR is currently exploring different methods for conducting future polls. One possibility is to enhance the involvement of our delegators in the voting process. However, achieving this would necessitate the development of a decentralized and tamper-proof solution, which is not currently at our disposal. Ideally, this solution would be implemented as a decentralized application directly on the Cardano blockchain, allowing you to participate in the voting process using your own wallets.

New IOHK Blog posts

Dynamic P2P is available on mainnet

Former Symphony COO joins Cardano builder IOG as CEO of new Midnight blockchain project

Lace goes live! Let’s look at its mission and milestones

Cardano advances with Valentine upgrade and zippier nodes

Former Deloitte Blockchain Leader Joins IOG’s New Midnight Project

Atala PRISM: pioneering digital identity with decentralized solutions

IOHK Youtube

Cardano Technical Briefing: Dynamic Peer-to-Peer by Duncan Coutts

Building with the community: on-chain governance and CIP-1694

Hydra monthly meeting March 2023: Mainnet demo, Hydra for payments & more

Essential Cardano360: Community Contributions & Consensus

CIP-1694: An explainer

Essential Cardano360 April 2023

Creating Marlowe smart contracts using Blockly


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3995354.1897.82%95.98%53520100
4005252.499.24%99.24%52520000
4014755.1685.21%81.58%47450020
4046756.17119.28%115.72%67650020
4035756.14101.53%94.41%57530130
4045656.4599.2%95.66%56540020
4056456.89112.5%112.5%64640000
4066358.28108.1%102.95%63600030
4074758.4880.37%75.24%47440030
4087261.39117.28%114.03%72700110
4095962.494.55%92.95%59580010
4105761.9292.05%87.21%57540120
4116262.5899.07%94.28%62590120
4124961.6879.44%76.2%49470020
4137761.82124.56%
4147063.89109.56%

Average confirmed luck of the shown epochs is around 96%. We lost quite some blocks due to slot and height battles, but there is nothing we can do about that, as the outcome of those battles is determined randomly. Epochs 413 and 414 look very good in terms of assigned luck, so we’ll see how they play out.

That’s all I have for you today! Talk to you soon 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 388 – 399

Hi people! 🙂

Time for a pool update again, although it will be a short one, as there is not much to report. As always let’s start with the IOHK Blog posts published since the last pool update!

New IOHK Blog posts

Advancing node syncing time with Mithril

IOG launches a toolkit for developing custom sidechains on Cardano

New Cardano cryptographic primitives to bring greater interoperability and secure, cross-chain DApp development

IOG and MLabs cooperate to develop a reference implementation of an auction using Hydra protocols

Cardano Working Groups: how to get involved

Ouroboros Genesis: enhanced security in a dynamic environment

IOG Academy: The pathway to becoming a Cardano smart contract developer

Valentine upgrade FAQ

Cardano360 January 2023

Essential Cardano360: Driving Adoption and Interoperability


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3877857.11136.58%131.33%78750120
3885155.9491.17%91.17%51510000
3895255.7993.21%91.41%52510010
3905255.2994.05%90.43%52500020
3915255.3194.02%88.59%52490030
3925654.7102.38%95.06%56520220
3934850.7594.58%92.61%48470010
3944651.2789.72%89.72%46460000
3956052.37114.57%112.66%60590010
3966252.42118.28%108.74%62570140
3976252.29118.57%114.74%62600020
3985653.13105.4%105.4%56560000
3995354.1897.82%

Confirmed luck of the shown epochs is pretty much on point with 100.99%. So everything looks fine.

That’s all I have for you today! Talk to you soon 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 379 – 387

Hi people! 🙂

First pool Update of 2023. I hope all of you got into the new year happy and healthy!

Last year was tough for many people. The world is slithering from one catastrophe to the next and many can not find adequate relaxation. Especially when looking back at such years, it is nevertheless important to practice gratitude and to realize what is really important for you in life. What are my goals? What have I achieved? What am I grateful for? How can I make the world a better place?

Only when each of us makes a contribution, how small it may be, can we move forward as a human society. There is a division between people in many parts of the world. I think it would do everyone good to be respectful, compassionate and kind to each other, to be generous and give back, to listen to each other, to try to understand other views and opinions and not just surround yourself with people who have the same opinion as you. Take care of yourself, your environment and your fellow human beings. For a hopefully more peaceful future and a planet on which we can still live in the future.

I would also like to thank each and every delegator who supports this pool. FAIR is still a single pool and independent of any commitments to any entities. I am there to provide the best possible service to the network and the delegators. FAIR focuses on the technical and operational aspects, there is not much marketing here nor am I a big influencer. You guys are great and make the operation of this pool possible. Once again, every effort will be made to maintain the decentralization of the network and to ensure an all-time stable and proper operation of the pool.

Now as always, let’s take a short look at the IOG Blog post since our last pool update.

New IOHK Blog posts

Time handling on Cardano, part 1. About Ouroboros and the importance of determinism

Time handling on Cardano, part 2: use cases

IOG appoints talented individuals to 3 key positions

A Year of Community: Cardano in 2022


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3784734.07137.95%137.95%47470000
3793834.63109.73%109.73%38380000
3803135.2188.04%82.36%31290110
3813936.29107.47%104.71%39380010
3825043.84114.05%114.05%50500000
3834048.3782.7%82.7%40400000
3843852.7672.02%66.34%38350120
3855754.9103.83%100.18%57550020
3867357.54126.87%126.87%73730000
3877857.11136.58%

Looking back at those past few epochs we generally saw a pretty good performance. There weren’t overly many lost battles and our overall luck was also fine. Epoch 384 was a quite bad epoch with only 38 Slots assigned and in addition to that one ghosted and two stolen blocks. Epoch 386 on the other hand was a fantastic epoch with 73 produced blocks out of 73 assigned slots. The highest number of blocks FAIR ever produced in one epoch. But wait in Epoch 387 there are even more slots assigned (78). So the chances are not bad to break our previous blocks per epoch record again.

Big thanks again to all delegators and a warm welcome to all the new delegators that joined the pool recently. All of you are making the operation of this pool possible. Please contact me if you have any questions.

That’s all for now. Talk to you soon 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 368 – 378

Hi people! 🙂

Below are the new blog posts since the last pool update and of course the detailed performance of the last epochs. Apart from that, there is not much to report. The pool is running reliable and performant and there weren’t any issues. You can always check out the pools health status here: https://fairpool.statuspage.io/

New IOHK Blog posts

How IOG’s research spans the academic world

Staking parameters and network optimization – where next for k and min fee?

Repositioning Project Catalyst ahead of the next funding round

What is SECP and how it drives cross-chain development on Cardano

Announcing IO ScotFest: the age of Voltaire

Hydra for Payments – introducing developer tooling to unlock micropayments on Cardano

ZK-Lab – investigating the foundations of zero-knowledge proofs

What IOG has delivered for Cardano

The University of Edinburgh and IOG introduce the Edinburgh Decentralization Index

IOG announces new blockchain to protect data and safeguard technology freedoms

Cardano builder IOG and University of Edinburgh to create first ever index to provide industry standard metric for crypto decentralization

Cardano builder IOG and University of Edinburgh launch Zero-Knowledge Lab to drive greater blockchain scalability and security

Cardano builder Input Output Global invests in the future of blockchain with $4.5m research hub at University of Edinburgh

Cardano360 October 2022


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3674744.84104.82%102.59%47460100
3684744.85104.79%104.79%47470000
3693245.0771.0%71.0%32320000
3705246.76111.21%104.79%52490120
3715747.01121.25%117.0%57550110
3723946.6483.62%83.62%39390000
3733637.4796.08%93.41%36350010
3745435.5152.11%149.26%54530010
3753935.58109.61%106.80%39380100
3764736.25129.66%129.66%47470000
3774133.84121.16%118.20%41400010
3784734.07137.95%

As you can see, we had some lucky epochs lately. The overall luck of the above epochs is around 111.9% and we did not lose many blocks due to slot or height battles either. The ROA is therefor also very good. Epoch 378 is also looking great with an assigned luck of 137.95%.

If you have any questions or just want to talk, I always have an open ear for you just write me on any of the available channels in the footer.

That’s all I have for you today. Talk to you soon! 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 356 – 367

Hi people! 🙂

Let’s take a brief look at what’s currently going on in the Cardano Ecosystem and some Updates about the pool.

New Status Page

Since I was not 100% satisfied with the old status page, I have now switched to a new provider. You can now check the current pool status on https://fairpool.statuspage.io/. This page is always available even if the pool website is down. We are currently monitoring the status of the following components:

  • Website
  • Producer
  • Relay01 – Germany
  • Relay02 – Austria
  • Relay03 – Finland
  • Relay04 – United States
  • Cardano Submit API
  • Monitoring

You can see the current status of those components as well as the historical data. You will also find updates about current incidents or maintenance. So this is the first place to go if you suspect a problem. If an incident or maintenance event has already been reported here, work is already underway to resolve the issues. If not, never hesitate to contact me.

Main Producer Server Upgrade

In the past few weeks we saw some missed slot leader checks popping up in our monitoring. To explain: The producer has to check every slot (every second) if he is the leader for this slot and then produce a corresponding block. So if the producer misses a slot leader check, he would also not produce the corresponding block if he is the leader for the missed slot.

Of course, we absolutely want to avoid that. We have used servers based on AMD Epyc 7702P so far. This CPU has a very high core count, but does not offer a high CPU clock. Since the Cardano node cannot currently exploit the full potential of many cores, we switched to a server with an Intel Xeon 2356G processor. This offers less cores but higher clock speeds of up to 5 GHz and thus provides the necessary computing power for the Cardano node. Since the migration, we have not seen any missed slot leader checks during the epochs. This is exactly what we wanted to achieve. Note: Due to the missed slot leader checks we did not miss any blocks!

FreeLoaderz PSPO

Good news for you: FAIR is part of the FreeLoaderz PSPO (Promotional Stake Pool Offering). We are already a participating pool in the FreeLoaderz Loadbalancer for quite some time. Check out [Pool Update] Epoch 323, 324, 325 & 326 for more information why you may use our enpoint to submit your transactions, how to use it and what FreeLoaderz is.

The FreeLoaderz PSPO means that you can claim FLZ (the FreeLoaderz Governance Token) in addition to your ADA rewards by just delegating to FAIR (or one of the other participating pools). Read through their short medium article about the PSPO to get all the important information: FreeLoaderz PSPO Medium Article

Note that you can claim FLZ every epoch or let them accumulate and claim them at the end of the PSPO (approximately in December). Besides FLZ you can also claim HOSKY and CSST every epoch (those do not accumulate).

Have fun with your tokens. For those who do not wish to participate: You do not need to claim anything or do anything. You won’t get randomly sent any tokens you do not want from FAIR 🙂

New IOHK Blog posts

Introducing Ofelimos: a proof-of-useful-work consensus protocol

Ofelimos explained

Mithril proof of concept is now open-source

Input Output Global’s $4.5m blockchain research hub at Stanford University

Zk-SNARKs: updatable setups on the blockchain

Advancing digital identity through DID core specification

Vasil: what to expect

Cardano, 5 years on

Systematizing blockchain governance

Cardano360 September 2022

Happy 5th Birthday Cardano


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3554439.66110.94%105.90%44420020
3563639.9190.2%85.19%36340110
3573940.0297.45%92.45%39370110
3583939.9997.52%95.02%39380100
3593341.2979.92%77.50%33320010
3604540.28111.72%109.24%45440010
3613744.7982.61%75.91%37340120
3625446.25116.76%114.59%54530010
3635246.25112.43%105.95%52490030
3645545.95119.7%117.52%55540100
3654844.74107.29%107.29%48480000
3663944.6987.27%78.31 %39350220
3674744.84104.82%

If we calculated the mean luck over the shown epochs we had a confirmed luck of ~97.08% while our assigned luck is ~101.15%. We saw quite some stolen and ghosted blocks. However, after the successful Vasil hardfork, some improvements are now active that also enhance the block propagation times. We should see significantly less height battles and therefore significantly less ghosted blocks in the future. This is not only good for the pool and rewards, but also for the overall network health.

If you have any questions, criticism or just want to talk don’t hesitate to contact me (all contact details in the footer). That’s all I have for you today! Talk to you soon 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 344 – 355

Hi people! 🙂

It’s a bit quieter here at the moment, but you can be sure that everything is going on as usual in the background. Cardano doesn’t stop, the development doesn’t stop and the innovations don’t stop. So let us start with the new IOHK blog posts since the last pool update and then we take a brief overview over the performance of the pool.

New IOHK Blog posts

DISH launches decentralized identification and loyalty coin system built on Input Output Global (IOG) technology

Plutus Community Docs: a new documentation site for devs, by devs

Lace: speed, simplicity, and seamless flow

Cardano’s foundational research overview

Overview of the research enabling smart contract support on Cardano

Cardano data on BigQuery

Cardano’s approaching Vasil upgrade: what to expect

Introducing the Cardano EVM sidechain

Research overview part 3: tokens, stablecoins, and fees

Bridges and sidechains: Wanchain making Cardano interoperable

An analysis of the research underpinning Cardano’s scalability

Staking is the bedrock of Cardano

Layer 1 & Layer 2: all you need to know

Kachina: privacy-preserving smart contracts

Cardano360 June 2022

Cardano360 July 2022

Babel fees via limited liabilities

In this video Polina Vinogradova, IOG’s research engineer walks us through the Babel Fees – a novel mechanism that allows the payment of transaction fees in user-defined tokens on Cardano.

Building together: the Story of Cardano

Want to introduce someone to Cardano who has no Idea what Cardano is. Send them this video to tell them the story of Cardano.

Advances in Ouroboros: Scaling for Future Growth

Chief Scientist of IOG Aggelos Kiayias breaks down new advances in the Ouroboros consensus algorithm.


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3443839.2396.86%91.77%38360110
3453438.887.63%87.63%34340000
3464938.84126.16%121.01%49470110
3473538.6490.58%87.99%35340010
3483138.7879.94%77.36%31300010
3493139.0279.45%79.45%31310000
3504139.51103.77%103.77%41410000
3515239.59131.35%118.72%52470320
3524839.59121.24%121.24%48480000
3533939.5998.51%93.46%39370110
3545139.55128.95%121.37%51480030
3554439.66110.94%

We had some pretty good epochs recently but also some unluckier ones. Let’s hope our luck continues. Otherwise, there were no special occurrences with regard to the pool. Everything runs stable and reliable.

If you have any questions, criticism or just want to talk don’t hesitate to contact me (all contact details in the footer). That’s all I have for you today! Talk to you soon 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 336 – 343

Hi people! 🙂

Updates are currently released a bit more irregularly than usual, but still contain all the important performance data of the pool as usual. So let’s see what we have.

New IOHK Blog posts

Guest blog: collaborating on Cardano interoperability

Interoperability is key to blockchain growth

Atala SCAN: Blockchain-based product authentication

Project Catalyst – A virtuous cycle of Cardano ecosystem development

Learn how to create low-code, low-cost financial smart contracts in the Marlowe Pioneers Program

Everything you always wanted to know about impermanent loss and were afraid to ask

Fund9 Catalyst Natives Cardashift challenge: demonstrating and monetizing impact

From Classic to Chronos: the implementations of Ouroboros explained

Cardano360 April 2022

Cardano360 May 2022


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3354551.6487.14%71.65%45370530
3364147.885.77%81.59%41390020
3374748.1997.53%89.23%47430220
3384647.4297.01%90.68%46430210
3394344.0797.57%88.5%43390220
3405242.65121.92%121.92%52520000
3414842.59112.7%110.35%48470100
3423740.9490.38%
3433440.9683.01%

As usual there are unfortunately quite some ghosted and stolen blocks. We already improved our infrastructure to keep propagation times and therefore ghosted blocks as low as possible but we are still dependent on other pools infrastructure and some pool operators just don’t really care enough even though they are hurting the network with it. Let’s see which protocol changes we will see in the near future and what effect they will have.

That’s all I have for you today. Talk to you soon! 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 327 – 335

Hi people! 🙂

Long time no see. I was on vacation and took a break from the digital world. I think it’s always good to distance yourself from the things you deal with every day and take some time out to clear your mind. It is remarkable how new impressions, nature and exciting experiences can stimulate you and how much energy can be gained from them.

But let’s go back to topic: Although I was not active the pool was monitored at all times and there were no problems.

Maintenance & Pool Upgrades

As announced in the last Pool Update several parts of the Pools infrastructure were upgraded:

  • There are now four relays spread across different countries to provide good interconnection within the network as well as resilience in case of disaster.
  • The main block producer as well as the backup block producer were upgraded to more powerful servers.
  • The high availibility solution including the automatic failover was tested and the system works as intended.
  • The Monitoring solution was moved to a fully managed system to reduce maintenance effort for that part of the infrastructure
  • Existing alerts were adjusted and the incident response system was improved.

New IOHK Blog posts

Increasing the transaction throughput of Cardano

The critical role of AI / blockchain synergy in humanity’s future

Wave Financial launches ada yield fund to support Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem growth

Project Catalyst launches incubator for Africa

Introducing the Concept of Delegate Representatives (dReps)

Boosting Cardano’s throughput with script referencing

Introducing the new command line interface tool for Marlowe

Cardano360 – March 2022

Mid Month Development Update – April 2022


Performance and assigned slots

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3264148.9183.83%77.69%41380300
3276756.4118.79%108.16%67610410
3286157.45106.18%104.44%61600010
3295550.16109.65%105.66%55530110
3305049.03101.98%99.94%50490100
3315148.69104.74%102.69%51500010
3324048.7182.12%80.07%40390100
3334848.7498.48%92.33%48450120
3344751.5791.14%81.44%47420230
3354551.6487.14%

Nothing special occurring during the shown epochs. Some were luckier, some were a little less lucky. Overall everything is in the expected range and we only see the usual ghosted and stolen blocks due to slot and height battles.

That’s all I have for you today. Talk to you soon! 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 323, 324, 325 & 326

Hi people! 🙂

First of all I want to thank each and everyone one of you for returning after the Sundae RISO or staying with me in the first place! We saw a quite big hit in stake after the ISO but quickly recovered afterwards. I really appreciate that.

SundaeSwap ISO and RISO

SundaeSwap ISO and RISO are over and it is possible to claim your ISO rewards via https://dripdropz.io/ now. Claiming your ISO rewards via DripDropz will come with a small fee of around ~1.6 ADA (plus ~0.18 ADA TX Fee). If you want to avoid this ~1.6 ADA fee you can wait for SundaeSwap to implement their own claiming solution which should not come with this fee. If you participated in the RISO your rewards are not claimable via DripDropz, you’ll need to wait for the SundaeSwap claiming solution. I’ll let you know if I have any more information about this. Don’t worry the rewards will be claimable for at least one year (so something around Q1/2023).

Cardano Submit-API and FreeLoaderz.io

As many Wallets already offer the option to use a custom submit endpoint for transactions instead of using their endpoints, I setup a Submit Endpoint for you:

  • https://submit.fairpool.eu/api/submit/tx

That endpoint uses an infrastructure of dedicated distribution relays connected to many peers inside the Cardano network to get your transactions onto the chain. The performance should be significantly better than the public options during high congestion times (e.g. highly anticipated NFT drops) as there are likely less users on this submit endpoint than on the endpoints of the wallet providers. If you need any help setting your wallet don’t hesitate to contact me.

I also joined https://www.freeloaderz.io/ a coalition of Cardano Stake Pools offering access to their submit APIs to help improve transaction speeds and spread the load among the network. Several submit APIs are sitting behind an HAProxy load balancer that you can also use to submit your transactions depending on your location:

  • https://usa.freeloaderz.io/api/submit/tx
  • https://europe.freeloaderz.io/api/submit/tx

Also stop by at their Discord (or contact me directly) if you have any questions about the project. Want to help? Then it would be appreciated if you’d check out the FreeLoaderz Catalyst proposals https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/403911 (Load Balancer) and https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/403924 (Reward Distribution).

Upcoming Maintenance and Hardware Upgrades

During the next few weeks I’ll upgrade several parts of the pools infrastructure. If you are subscribed to any notification bots you may see alerts about some relays being occasionally down. I assure you that there is enough redundancy in place that there will be no influence on the block production of the pool whatsoever.

The goal of these upgrades is to make the pool more future proof and have enough spare resources in place. I will also add a fourth relay and spread out the relays to even more different countries to be prepared for any eventuality and to be well interconnected within the network.

New IOHK Blog posts

From node enhancement to block leadership… Cardano’s February release

Project Catalyst, Cardano’s innovation engine, launches Fund8!

Diving deeper into the Marlowe Playground

Cardano360 – February 2022


Performance and assigned slot

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3226263.198.26%90.33%62570500
3233933.91115.01%112.06%39380100
3243732.27114.66%111.56%37360100
3254734.8135.06%126.44%47440120
3264148.9183.83%

Looking at the past epochs we saw a great performance during the 323 – 325 with each over 110% confirmed luck. 322 could have been a good one too but unfortunately we saw 5 ghosted blocks due to nearby other slots. 326 will end as a rather unlucky one as we were assigned only 41 slots which is way under the expected 49 slots.

That’s all I have for you today. Talk to you soon! 🙂

[Pool Update] Epoch 319, 320, 321 & 322

Hi people! 🙂

Some interesting epochs are behind us, the SundaeSwap ISO is over, the SundaeSwap RISO is starting, the congestion has decreased but is is still noticeable. Let’s get straight into it.

SundaeSwap ISO and RISO

The last Snapshot for the inital SundaeSwap ISO was taken 14th February and thus the initial ISO has ended. Sundae ISO Rewards will be available through DripDropz March 1st or later this year through a SundaeSwap faucet (if you want to avoid the DripDropz fee). Rewards will be claimable for at least one year, so no reason to stress about it. Please take a look at the ISO Dashboard for all the important dates for the ISO as well as a reward estimation. Also take a look at their Twitter and medium page where all major updates will be posted.

The initial SundaeSwap ISO led to a lot of criticism and concern about decentralization, as a huge amount of stake was accumulated in the pools of the 30 voted Pool Operators. Many of those were Multi Pool Operators which also led to a decrease of the minimum attack vector (MAV). To mitigate this development the Reverse ISO (RISO) was introduced to the Community and approved by a community vote. Please check out the linked article for all informations about the ISO and the Reverse ISO Dashboard for all participating pools and important dates.

While it is still up to debate within the community whether the RISO was a good or bad idea, it certainly reached it’s goal to move stake from the initial ISO pools to those of the RISO and also increase the MAV again.

New IOHK Blog posts

Implementing Hydra Heads: the first step towards the full Hydra vision

The knowledge base for Cardano is growing: Cardano Stack Exchange graduates from Beta version

Mid Month Technical Development Update – February 2022


Performance and assigned slot

EpochLeaderIdealLuckConfirmed LuckProducedConfirmedMissedGhostedStolenInvalid
3187463.34116.83%107.36%74680510
3195762.2891.52%80.28%57500610
3207063.44110.34%94.58%70600550
3216263.5397.59%89.72%62570410
3226263.198.26%

Take the current quite crowded network, add to that the recent parameter changes and the long existing bug that causes a degraded propagation times of the blocks within the network during reward calculation and you get many ghosted blocks. Those ghosted blocks are due to height battles which are resolved by the protocol and which outcome we can’t influence. I still hope we see that issue resolved in the future; otherwise we will have to live with a bigger amount of ghosted blocks.

That’s all I have for you today. Talk to you soon! 🙂