Beam Warp Development Update #1: An innovative dPoS implementation
Beam Warp integrates full dPoS logic with staking, bonding, and rewards handled in a smart contract, anchored to the Beam mainchain via a secure two-way bridge.
We are excited to announce a major milestone for Beam Warp, our super-fast PoS sidechain designed for sub-second transactions (>1000 transactions-per-second) and instant finality.
Following the initial pBFT (practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) devnet, the lead dev has completed a significant refactor, successfully integrating the full dPoS (delegated Proof of Stake) logic.
A key architectural decision moved the dPoS management logic (staking, bonding, rewards, commissions) into a smart contract rather than the native node code. This streamlines the node for optimal performance (handling only consensus communication natively), while allowing delegators to manage stakes directly via a standard dApp. The system remains transparent (staking weights are visible in explorers) while preserving users’ privacy.
Beam Warp will use BEAM for transaction fees and BEAMX for staking. Users stake $BEAMX through validators to earn a share of the sidechain $BEAM fees. Users may also register and become a validator themselves by locking a minimum $BEAMX amount (TBD). Both $BEAM and $BEAMX are bridged from the mainchain, creating a robust link between both chains. The bridge is managed by smart contracts and secured by the sidechain validators, who monitor and sign transactions on both chains.
This ensures the sidechain is anchored by the mainchain’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) security. Conversely, using $BEAM and $BEAMX on the sidechain brings value back to the mainchain rather than competing with it.
The bridge design ensures security without altering the mainchain. In the backend, the process looks like:
- From mainchain to sidechain: Funds are locked on the mainchain, then mirrored assets are minted on the siedchain upon validator approval (and the bridged assets conveniently keep the same token id!).
- From sidechain back to mainchain: Assets are burned on the sidechain, then unlocked on the mainchain via a transaction signed by a quorum of sidechain validators (multisig via SBBS).
In super simple words, Think of the two blockchains (Beam and Beam Warp), as two seamlessly connected ledgers. When a token amount moves from one ledger (Beam) to the other ledger (Beam Warp), the token amount is frozen on the main ledger and minted on the second ledger. Then when it is time for the token amount to move back to the first ledger, it is burned on the second ledger (Beam Warp) and unfrozen on the first ledger (Beam). This automatic mechanism ensures there is no double-spend and all tokens are accounted for. The true beauty of the untamperable blockchain technology. All of this happens in the backend. In the mainend, users can enjoy significantly faster transaction speeds and developers may build new dApps with cutting-edge tx speed in a private-by-default environment.
The smart contract architecture of Beam Warp will also allow anyone to fork the code to permisionlessly launch their own custom private sidechain on Beam!
With the dPoS implementation now feature-complete (including dynamic validator sets, slashing, and jailing) the dappnet2 and test2 devnet have been redeployed. The team is currently testing speed and throughput, bringing the vision of a scalable, private, and ultra-fast sidechain closer to reality!
More news to come as tests and development move forward!