Stratis Academy has now been updated with extensive update on the existing Stratis Full Node documentation. We start off with a useful document that breaks down the output of the Full Node.
The next stop shows how you can customize the Full Node’s features; it’s a document both for someone who wants to create a custom Full Node build, by swapping out a couple of existing features, and for someone who wants to go further and create their own custom feature. The ‘feature’ document is also a great grounding for the later topics, which discuss some of the out-of-the-box features of the Full Node.
The Full Node supports Proof-of-Stake (PoS), Proof-of-Work (PoW), and Proof-of-Authority (PoA) algorithms. Although documentation on the PoW algorithm is widely available, we realised there was not much information on how PoW and PoA algorithms work. For developers, we take the explanation of PoS right down to the code level and look at the individual calculations involved. Those interested in our sidechain and DLT solution will find the discussion on PoA ideal for gaining a deeper understanding on why this algorithm is so well-suited to these technologies. More can be read here.
Following on with the customization theme, the possibilities provided by Full Node’s consensus feature are explored. First, consensus is viewed from the component level, and the route blocks and headers take through the code on their way to validation is explained. Next the validation rule sets and the individual rules for each consensus algorithm are looked at in detail; this comes from the perspective that you want to create and integrate your own existing rules. Although modifications might, in many cases, involve minor adjustments to existing consensus algorithms, you could, with the knowledge provided here, also create your own unique consensus algorithm.
Our implementation of proven headers provides an interesting discussion and shows (right down at the code level) how an existing Bitcoin feature has been adapted for a PoS blockchain. It is also a good example of how Stratis’ architecture can facilitate new feature development with, for example, the clean introduction of new consensus rules.
Another example of Stratis’ commitment to PoS was the release of the Cold Staking feature which is detailed in the following section.
Stratis’ DLT solution is given an illuminating overview showing how it can serve enterprise clients.
Numerous other updates have been made to the existing material, and the smart contracts documentation comes with a new piece on how to use the Account Abstraction Layer to more easily develop and interact with smart contracts.
This release is a precursor to a future Academy update which will cover the Smart Contract Sidechain. Importantly, the material here covers some of the theory, design, and code that make this innovation possible.
The Stratis Academy can be found from our Developers page.

Stratis is pleased to announce the production release of the Stratis Core wallet, which comes with additional functionality and an improved user experience overall. This production release of Stratis Core runs with the latest version of the Stratis Full Node as the back end, which means this release is the most stable and secure so far.
Several new features have been added to the Stratis Core wallet since the previous version, this includes but is not limited to.

• Ability to Resync
• Address Book Feature
• Cold-Staking
• ExtPubKey Retrieval
• Large-Scale Address Generation
• Node Statistics
• Pagination

For added security, Stratis Core also allows an optional passphrase to be used in conjunction with the mnemonic to generate your wallet’s private seed adding further security to your funds.
Stratis Core is immediately available for download and installation from the wallets page.
In addition, a guide has been put together to aid existing users of StratisX in migrating to Stratis Core, this guide can be viewed here.

Stratis is proud to announce the production release of the Stratis C# Full Node on Mainnet. The Stratis Full Node uses the Microsoft .NET Core platform and is a C# port of Bitcoin Core. While StratisX nodes were limited to the Stratis blockchain network, the Stratis Full Node is capable of functioning as a peer on either the Stratis or Bitcoin network.
The Stratis Full Node replaces StratisX as the engine powering the Stratis blockchain network. Stratis Smart Contracts in C# and Sidechains have been built on top of this new technology. Future advancements in the Stratis blockchain will also be built on this solid foundation, and therefore this production release marks a significant point on the Stratis roadmap.
A future-proof and environmentally stable Proof-of-Stake algorithm drives Stratis nodes, and this release of the Full Node is suitable for staking STRAT on Mainnet. Cold staking is also included as part of this production release, and this feature will be activated when 95% of stakers have adopted this release.
One of the aims when designing the Stratis Full Node was to make it component-based using a clean and customizable architecture. For example, Proof-of-Stake, Proof-of-Work, and Proof-of-Authority algorithms are all supported, and a Stratis Full Node can be set up to run with any of these. While a reference implementation is provided, this can easily be swapped out to work with an implementation that has been customized to work with a different database. At a more granular level, consensus rules can be added or removed as required.
Including and excluding individual components to create a Full Node tailored to a specific purpose is simple, and the Stratis Full Node can also be easily extended to include custom features. Future developments will adhere to the existing philosophy and follow a modular design.
As the Stratis Full Node has been built from the ground up in C# on the .NET Framework, Stratis has been able to incorporate optimizations. For example, when it comes to downloading the complete Stratis blockchain, the Stratis Full Node can do this significantly faster than a StratisX node, without compromising on security.
Despite the innovations made when designing the Stratis Full Node, the Full Node still uses, out-of-the-box, a protocol that is very similar to the Bitcoin protocol, and therefore familiar to those who know Bitcoin.
Migrating from StratisX to the Stratis Full Node is a straightforward process, and full documentation on how to do this is available here.
The production release of the Stratis Full Node is immediately available from the official GitHub repository or can be seamlessly deployed to Azure via the Azure Marketplace.