triangles_v5/MODERNIZATION_ROADMAP.md

Triangles Modernization Roadmap

Goal: Make TRI faster to sync, safer for wallets, and more useful as a currency — without breaking consensus.

Invariant: Any change that modifies block validation, stake modifier computation, transaction format, or signature verification MUST preserve exact consensus with existing v5.x nodes. When in doubt, test against a synced v5.8.1 node.

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Priority 1: Faster Syncing (High Impact, Low Risk)

1.1 Update Checkpoints (Easy, Immediate)

Problem: Last hardcoded checkpoint is at block 2,186,940. IsInitialBlockDownload() returns false past this point, causing orphan limit to drop from 4000 to 750 — exactly what caused the fork deadlock.

Fix: Add checkpoints every ~50,000 blocks up to current height (~2,207,000+).

// src/checkpoints.cpp - add recent checkpoints
{2190000, uint256("...")},
{2195000, uint256("...")},
{2200000, uint256("...")},
{2205000, uint256("...")},
{2210000, uint256("...")},

Risk: None — checkpoints are only used for IBD detection and quick rejection of clearly wrong chains.

1.2 Increase Post-Checkpoint Orphan Limit (Easy)

Problem: 750 orphans after IBD is too low for a low-peer network. During the fork incident, 750 orphans filled up and the node deadlocked.

Fix:

// src/main.h
static const unsigned int MAX_ORPHAN_BLOCKS = 2000;  // was 750

Risk: Slightly more memory usage during forks. Worth it for resilience.

1.3 Parallel Block Download (Medium Effort)

Problem: Current implementation downloads blocks sequentially from one peer at a time during IBD.

Fix: Increase batch sizes and allow concurrent block downloads from multiple peers:

// src/main.cpp
// During IBD, request blocks from multiple peers simultaneously
unsigned int nGetDataBatchSize = IsInitialBlockDownload() ? 8000 : 1000;  // was 4000

Risk: Low — larger batch sizes are already proven in Bitcoin forks.

1.4 Header-First Sync (Medium Effort)

Problem: Node downloads full blocks before validating headers. A bad peer can waste bandwidth.

Fix: Download and validate all headers first (compact ~80 bytes each), then download full blocks only for the best chain.

• Separate getheaders/headers message handling
• Download blocks only for the best header chain
• Reduces wasted bandwidth during forks by 95%+

1.5 Bootstrap Over HTTPS with Resume (Easy)

Problem: Built-in bootstrap (-bootstrap) uses raw TCP and can't resume interrupted downloads.

Fix: The existing bootstrap.cpp already supports downloading. Add:

• Resume support (Range headers)
• SHA256 verification of downloaded archive
• Better progress reporting
• Fallback mirrors

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Priority 2: Wallet Safety (Critical)

2.1 Automatic Wallet Backup Before Dangerous Operations (Easy)

Problem: Corrupt wallet = lost funds. No automatic backup before risky operations.

Fix: In walletdb.cpp, before any rewrite:

// Before wallet.dat rewrite, copy to wallet.dat.bak
if (boost::filesystem::exists(pathWallet)) {
    boost::filesystem::copy_file(pathWallet, pathWallet + ".bak",
        boost::filesystem::copy_option::overwrite_if_exists);
}

2.2 Detect and Report BDB Corruption (Easy)

Problem: BDB corruption silently corrupts wallet. User doesn't know until it's too late.

Fix: Add wallet integrity check on load:

// In CWallet::LoadWallet()
// After opening, verify BDB environment is healthy
// If DB_RUNRECOVERY, auto-salvage and warn user

2.3 Wallet.dat Versioning (Medium Effort)

Problem: Single wallet.dat file. If it corrupts during write, funds are lost.

Fix: Implement copy-on-write wallet saves:

• Write new wallet data to wallet.dat.new
• Atomically rename wallet.dat → wallet.dat.old, wallet.dat.new → wallet.dat
• Keep last 3 wallet revisions
• On load, try wallet.dat first, fall back to wallet.dat.old if corrupt

2.4 Seed Phrase / HD Wallet (High Effort, High Impact)

Problem: Losing wallet.dat = losing everything. No recovery mechanism.

Fix: Implement BIP39/BIP44 HD wallet as optional upgrade:

• Generate 12/24-word seed phrase on new wallet creation
• Derive all keys from seed deterministically
• Import seed on any device to recover wallet
• Keep backward compatibility with existing non-HD wallets

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Priority 3: Network Resilience (Medium Impact)

3.1 Better Peer Management (Medium Effort)

Problem: Low peer counts (2-6) lead to fork divergence. No prioritization of reliable peers.

Fix:

• Peer reliability scoring (track which peers provide valid blocks)
• Prefer peers that are ahead and on the same chain
• Automatic disconnection of stale/forked peers
• Increase default maxconnections from 64 to 128

3.2 Compact Block Relay (High Effort)

Problem: Full blocks are sent even when the receiver likely already has most transactions.

Fix: Implement BIP 152 compact blocks:

• Send block header + short transaction IDs
• Receiver fills in from mempool, only requests missing transactions
• Reduces bandwidth by ~90% during normal operation

3.3 DNS Seed Infrastructure (Easy)

Problem: dnsseed=0 when Tor-only means no automatic peer discovery.

Fix: Run a DNS seed server that resolves to known reliable onion addresses:

seed.cryptographic-triangles.org → returns onion addresses of healthy nodes

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Priority 4: User Experience (Medium Impact)

4.1 Progress Reporting for IBD (Easy)

Problem: Users see "downloading blocks..." with no useful progress indicator.

Fix:

• Report headers vs blocks progress separately
• Show estimated time remaining based on download speed
• Log progress every 1000 blocks (currently every 5000)
• Qt wallet: update progress bar more frequently

4.2 Staking Dashboard Improvements (Easy)

Problem: Qt wallet shows staking info but not clearly.

Fix:

• Show expected time to stake more prominently
• Display staking weight as percentage of network
• Notify when stake is found (system notification)
• Show "staking" indicator in system tray

4.3 Transaction Fee Estimation (Medium Effort)

Problem: No fee estimation. Users guess.

Fix: Track recent block inclusion rates by fee level, provide fee recommendations.

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Priority 5: Code Modernization (Low Urgency, Good Hygiene)

5.1 C++17/20 Features

• Replace raw pointers with smart pointers where safe
• Use std::optional, std::string_view, std::filesystem
• Replace boost::filesystem with std::filesystem (C++17)

5.2 Build System

• CMake is already in place (good)
• Add sanitizers (ASAN, UBSAN) to CI
• Static analysis with clang-tidy

5.3 Testing

• Current test coverage is thin
• Add unit tests for:
  • Checkpoint validation
  • Stake modifier computation
  • Bootstrap download/resume
  • Wallet BDB recovery
  • Orphan block handling

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What NOT to Change

These are consensus-critical and must remain identical:

• Block validation rules
• Stake modifier computation (ComputeNextStakeModifier)
• Transaction signature verification
• Block reward schedule
• PoW/PoS target computation
• Chain trust / difficulty adjustment
• Message serialization format
• Protocol version handshaking

Any change to these requires a coordinated network upgrade (hard fork).

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Implementation Order

1. This week: Update checkpoints (1.1), increase orphan limit (1.2), wallet backup before save (2.1)
2. Next week: Better progress reporting (4.1), increase batch size (1.3)
3. Month 1: Wallet versioning (2.3), bootstrap resume (1.5)
4. Month 2: Header-first sync (1.4), peer reliability (3.1)
5. Month 3+: HD wallet (2.4), compact blocks (3.2)