Filecoin recently announced the completion of its Watermelon Upgrade (nv21). The announcement was made on one of the official X/Twitter accounts of Filecoin.
The tweet read that nv21 (network version 21) will deliver FVM improvements, protocol enhancements, and new features to simplify SP operations.
Two of the most major changes that will improve data onboarding on the platform are:
- Increased maximum sector commitment to 3.5 years
- Adding Synthetic PoReps
The proposal FIP-0052 stated that Filecoin will increase the maximum sector commitment from 1.5 years to 3.5 years. Before the upgrade, SPs were required only to commit sectors for 1.5 years.
The restriction discouraged them from making long-term commitments despite significant demand. The storage capability improvement will be better and cheaper for clients. It can also result in increased marginal net demand.
The proposal FIP-0059 introduced the Synthetic PoRep (proof-of-replication) to Filecoin. Before the upgrade, the PoRep protocol was needed to keep and seal a buffer of 12 layers between PreCommit and ProveCommit.
With the new system, Filecoin has reduced the size of temporarily stored data from 400 GiB to 25 GiB. This has been done without affecting the security of the protocol.
It is crucial to note that the development can allow an extra 25% sealing throughput. Overall, the modification means Filecoin can save more costs while sealing CC sectors. Filecoin (FIL) has been trading at 4.70 dollars for a while, with no major improvement for the coin.
The coin has lost almost 4% of its value in the past month and is in a dire situation. However, traders expect the new upgrade to boost the coin’s price.
