Genesis: a fair beginning
Verus launched with 15 minutes of notice and no premine, ICO, or developer fee. The first release included VerusHash 1.0, Verus Proof of Power consensus, and zk-SNARK privacy support.
Bitcointalk announcement thread
Major milestones over the years
Tracking the evolution of Verus from genesis to a comprehensive blockchain ecosystem.
StakeGuard solution and privacy upgrade
StakeGuard was added to address Nothing at Stake risks in proof-of-stake systems. The same period also brought Zcash's Sapling upgrade, improving shielded transaction performance on Verus.
Read how Verus fixed 'nothing-at-stake'
VerusHash 2.0: mining equality
VerusHash 2.0 reduced the mining efficiency gap between consumer computers and specialized hardware. The update made CPU mining more competitive and kept mining accessible to more participants.
VerusID and mining refinement
VerusID activated on mainnet, giving users blockchain-native identities with self-sovereign control. VerusHash 2.1 also refined mining behavior to keep participation balanced across hardware types.
Verus Vault and marketplace
Verus Vault added time-locking for funds held in VerusIDs. The VerusID Marketplace also went live, allowing users to trade VerusIDs and VRSC directly on-chain without a third party.
PBaaS and protocol DeFi
PBaaS support made it possible to launch connected blockchains and different currency types from the protocol. The update also added protocol-level DeFi features designed to reduce front-running and custom contract risk.
Verus-Ethereum bridge
The Verus-Ethereum Bridge connected Verus and Ethereum without a third-party custodian. Bridge.vETH launched with it as a basket currency using VRSC, ETH, DAI, and MKR for cross-chain conversions.
Auto-arbitrage
Auto-arbitrage connected the on-chain marketplace's limit orders with DeFi liquidity baskets. This helped route liquidity between order books and baskets inside the protocol.
Verus Storage
Verus Storage added native data storage across PBaaS chains. Users can store indexed, retrievable data on-chain with fees based on storage size.
DREAM application model
DREAM became possible as wallet-side GenericRequest and app-encryption work became available in Verus Mobile. Apps can now ask users to approve identity, payment, and encrypted data flows directly from the wallet.
The next phase of the journey
With the core protocol in place, the focus is on practical applications, developer tooling, and more ways for people to use Verus directly.