October 13, 2017

Product Development Update

We are well into Q4 and wish to share the progress on our exciting Q4 Product Development Roadmap. There have been great strides made since our last update and below is an insight into the key milestones achieved in our development so far.
Breeze Wallet
The upcoming Breeze Alpha 1.2 release enables running both Stratis and Bitcoin networks in parallel all while operating in full block SPV mode. Breeze being able to operate on multiple blockchains was one of the last tasks we had to complete before we could release the Breeze MasterNodes. This release will contain the MasterNode registration and discovery protocol, allowing:

Stratis and Bitcoin running side by side in Full Block SPV mode
Improved transaction details including confirmations
Improved privacy, randomized input selection
Fee estimation

The Breeze Alpha 1.2 release is scheduled for 23^rd October.

Stratis MasterNodes
The Breeze Node (MasterNode) alpha will be released on the 30^th October, which utilizes Stratis Blockchain technology to host secure, resilient and distributed services.
The MasterNodes allow operators to advertise the services they offer on the blockchain – which in turn are discoverable and consumed by clients such as the Breeze Wallet.
The release will include the first such service which is the Breeze Privacy Protocol (powered by TumbleBit). In order to allow a wide audience for the release, this test version will have no collateral lock down requirement.
The Stratis Breeze nodes will be the first MasterNodes that allow operators to earn Bitcoin, we are very excited about this release.

Stratis Full Node GUI

We have carried major updates to the Stratis Full Node and nStratis framework. Below are a few of the key developments undertaken by our Full Node team:

Proof of Stake code has been extensively tested and improved ensuring it is more robust and efficient
Interoperability testing with the soon to be legacy QT based StratisX wallet
Significant performance enhancements
Increased stability
Extending the test coverage

The Alpha release is on schedule for our Q4 deliverable.

Stratis Academy
The Stratis academy development process is nearing a MVP.
Our selection of a hybrid ‘Learning and Community’ management system will create a nurturing environment based on the education of blockchain, introduction of real world tech solutions and development of blockchain projects.
Stratis technology will be the base for developers to get introduced to and get involved with the blockchain. Content and course work is currently being compiled, further developed and produced.

September 29, 2017

Stratis Roadmap 2017-2018

Today we would like to share with you our Stratis Roadmap 2017-2018.
We are excited to highlight our achievements during the current year and wish to provide an insight into our future product roadmap. Among those completed milestones in our product development cycle are as follows:

Stratis Full Node
Breeze Wallet with Breeze Privacy Protocol (Bitcoin Alpha testnet)
Breeze Wallet with Tumblebit (Bitcoin alpha Testnet)
Stratis Identity App

We will continue to communicate updates of the roadmap deliverables via a series of blogposts. The roadmap provides a good insight into the bright future of Stratis as we move into Q4 and we look forward to a successful 2018.
Thanks for your support.

September 29, 2017

Stratis Mobile App Update

We are happy to announce an experimental update on the Stratis App. In this new release we have made available the exchange capability between BTC/STRAT pairs provided by Changelly.
The update is available for both iOS and Android devices. As of today you should have received an update message from the corresponding app store:
iOS Users: should receive an update notification. Just accept the update and proceed to the app.
Android users: If you haven’t received the notification, visit the Google Play app store and find the Stratis app. You should have the “Update” option active. Follow the prompts to update the app.

In order to buy/sell cryptocurrencies you need to enter your information in the provided fields.

Note:
Exchange capabilities are provided by Changelly
Stratis Group is not responsible for use of the Changelly functionality, any lost of funds or other issues with your transactions, and we do not provide support for transactions provided by Changelly. We recommend you make sure the addresses are correct and make sure you are operating with the correct currencies.
We would like to thank Stratis community member @alifar (Twitter: @AlifarSEO ) for this great update. As usual we welcome any feedback to further improve the user experience in our mobile app.

September 26, 2017

Stratis Roadmap: Work in Progress

Dear Stratis community,
We are very aware of the urgency for the updated Stratis roadmap, and it is indeed THE priority for Stratis. But it’s proven to be the most challenging task as an organization.
We have top experts working on it, cause the idea is that when we release it, we want to be certain to have our developers on board with it, considering all the implications and complications of developing new tech, that the milestones and the expectations will be realistic, and that are not going to change (as much) midway. Also we have to balance not revealing too much of our business strategies, and finally we have to show this data in a professional manner.
The process is advancing and we apologize for how long it’s taking to get this right. Today we will continue the review process and we expect to have by the end of this week, at minimum, a public high-level roadmap update from the developer side, that we all are comfortable with.
As you can see by following the corresponding channels, our development team continues to make great progress in all fronts and we expect to maintain a healthy pace with new updates and tech releases.
Thanks for your patience!

September 20, 2017

Breeze Wallet with Breeze Privacy Protocol (Dev. Update)

Breeze Wallet with Breeze Privacy Protocol Released

(Powered by TumbleBit and Stratis Blockchain Technology)

Breeze Wallet with TumbleBit has a new name: Breeze Wallet with Breeze Privacy Protocol. Breeze Wallet will be the first wallet of its kind that will not only provide a fully featured crypto wallet, it will also include a unique coin shuffling and swapping technology. The protocol takes small denominations of bitcoins from a source wallet in Breeze, shuffles and swaps the coins with others, and then transfers those coins to a destination wallet.
The process is powered internally by TumbleBit to add privacy to your coins. It is likely to be used by discerning individuals and businesses that accept cryptocurrencies and do not want to leave traces that may reveal their customer and supplier lists.

Alpha Available Now

Stratis Internal and select community testing of Breeze Wallet with Breeze Privacy Protocol is complete and we’d like to offer you, our community, the opportunity to take a look, download and try the Alpha. The new wallet is available now for Windows, Mac and Ubuntu. Download details are available here: (https://github.com/BreezeHub/Breeze/blob/tumblebit-alpha/Breeze.Documentation/alpha/option1.md ). This release runs only on testnet and is an alpha/experimental release.
The work has focused on developing a smooth user experience as well as deep integration into the Stratis Blockchain Technology. There is no longer a need to run BitCoin Core alongside Breeze Wallet when using the protocol to shuffle and swap coins. That functionality is now completely provided by Stratis Blockchain technologies. This work moves us closer to our vision where MasterNodes provide discoverable services – such as the privacy protocol – to the Stratis network in a decentralized, scalable, trustless way.
We’d like to point out that the Breeze Privacy Protocol is a CPU intensive service and although we will be providing a test server, places on the server are limited and part of the goal of the community alpha is to stress the server. Please do not be disappointed if you cannot get on this server – we are working with our community to add more server power. If you are interested in running a server please get in touch.
We’d like to also extend a warm thank you to our dedicated community testing team who have done an excellent job helping to get Breeze and the core NTumbleBit technology to a solid alpha release state. A special mention to badass, zomertje, sigma, demon and kabbie. And lastly to all our capable development team across all functions. Last but not least thanks to Nicolas Dorier and the TumbleBit dev team from MIT. This was a team effort and you guys are awesome.

September 15, 2017

Stratis Identity Proof of Concept Public Beta Release

Today we are proud to release the first Stratis Platform Proof of Concept – The Stratis Identity App. In a joined effort between Stratis and the Escalate Group, we have assembled the first building blocks of many possible applications on the Stratis blockchain.
Built on top of the Stratis Platform infrastructure this proof of concept showcases personal and corporate identity management capabilities on the Stratis blockchain to deliver a real use case for users to attest their identity on an immutable ledger and share that data with others via social networks.
With the Stratis Identity app, you can validate an identity, or other documents, once. After that, you just share the attestation, not the document itself. This feature can help shorten business processes and avoid exposing customer data.
Proof of the information you confirmed with a social login provider, like Microsoft, will be written to The Stratis Blockchain. No actual personal information will be exposed without your explicit permission.

Leveraging Microsoft’s Enterprise Solutions

On this initial beta-release, the Stratis Identity app tightly integrates into Microsoft’s Identity and Cloud Management solutions (Azure B2C Active Directory) and the Xamarin framework to provide an additional blockchain layer of trust to identity certification. For the first time, a blockchain project showcases this deeply integration with key enterprise tools such as Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory B2C which provides unparalleled customer identity and access management in the cloud.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2014/10/14/success-with-enterprise-mobility-identity/

By integrating in Azure Active Directory we open the doors for the Stratis Platform to be the blockchain of choice when implementing blockchain based identity solutions for large companies and enterprises. Among the benefits from such integration, we can mention:
• Use social accounts, emails, custom IdPs
• Support all platforms and open standards
• Customize your customers’ identity experience
• Integrate with CRM and marketing databases
• Use a white label solution, promote your brand
• Meet your security, scalability, and compliance needs
The development with the Xamarin platform, provides a great opportunity to demonstrate versatility for multi-platform deployment when developing blockchain apps in the Microsoft environment.
Additionally we have combined Graph API, Application Insights, Microsoft Teams and Visual Studio Team Services to dramatically improve the development and deployment cycle towards a fully functional application.
In summary the Stratis Identity App will be a great first experience for developers to learn about integrating existing enterprise tools with the different Stratis modules that could help them bring enhanced trust to social interactions with the help of blockchain technology.

How it Works

For this Beta release, the App is Android only, with an iOS version to be released shortly. After you download the App, sign up to Stratis Identity Alpha using your existing social logins. Currently, supported providers include Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Google. More sign-up options are already in development. You can find a full How to Guide here:
For developers, we are providing documentation and access to our Github page (eventually the project will be fully open-sourced).

About Stratis Proofs of Concept (PoC)

A key element of our strategy is the development and release of proof-of-concept apps that can be customized into full blown products and used as building blocks for developers in the C#/Net environment. The idea is to show and tell how simple it is to build blockchain apps using the Stratis Platform, while providing basic elements to get projects started fast.
One key element in this vision, is to also establish alliances with technology oriented business entities in different verticals, that can provide their market expertise and help refine our solutions for different business activities, co-develop licensable technologies and provide customer support.
On this line of thought, we think the Stratis Identity PoC could become a key element in developing opportunities through Microsoft channels, partners and customers that are currently exploring the different blockchain options available in the market. Also, this will become an invaluable tool to show and tell to potential clients how actual decentralized blockchain apps work and how they can improve existing business processes.
We expect to continue delivering several proof of concept apps, like the one announced above in partnership with Earth Twine and other organizations that are finalizing the onboarding process.

Calling Up Developers

We want to extend a particular invitation to C#/.Net developers to get access to the tools and share their experiences with us. If you are interested in furthering your learning in blockchain, we want to invite you to join the Stratis Academy.
You can contribute to the Stratis identity project on GitHub and also you are more than welcome to propose new ideas or concepts you would like to test.
We look forward to help you solve any issues and provide you with tips to get you started developing your own blockchain based apps on the Stratis Blockchain.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Cesar castro and the escalate Group, our developers and all the testers that helped during the process. Also thanks to a stratis community member for this great walk through video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LpW_eqdm1g

September 1, 2017

Breeze Wallet Alpha Release Postponed

We have just got word that the Breeze Wallet Alpha Release had to be postponed due to the fact that the development team has hit several issues running final tests. We apologize for the delay and want to share with you the official statement from the Breeze Wallet team:
As you know we are hard at work on the latest alpha release of Breeze. We are fortunate to be working with some of the leading cryptographers and developers in the crypto-currency space and occasionally their work and reviews surface integration delays and issues such as the one below. Rest assured that this is a normal part of our software development process and is designed to produce a high quality and secure product.
Please bear with us and look out for a new super-secure version of Breeze. Alpha coming soon.

A second bug we are currently addressing:

Thanks for your patience!
The Stratis Team

August 31, 2017

Stratis CTO’s Developer Update

Development Team Update: ( Dan Gershony / Stratis CTO )
I am happy to report that Stratis has grown quite a lot these last two months, with many new exciting projects and technical challenges. Today I want to share with you some details on how we are organizing to make Stratis the leading blockchain platform.
We have hired several developers (full/part time), product managers and we are actively seeking for experienced testers and QA specialists to review our products and processes. To accommodate our growing team, we have relocated to our new office in WeWork Moorgate London (please, come say hi!).

We have implemented Agile and Scrum methodologies across all our teams, and I encourage autonomous and self-managing teams working towards sprint goals. We operate as a decentralized company as the team members are from all around the globe (setting meetings can be sometimes tricky, and I really appreciate the devs that stay out to participate in meetings at really late hours! Also I want to thank all collaborators for your valuable contributions). At this point we have dedicated teams in the following areas:

Full Node

Dev Leader: Jeremy Bokobza (@jeremy)
Developers: Pieterjan Vanhoof (@dev0tion), Robert Carr (@robertcarr), @aprogenia, @fassadir, @mikedennis and @someguy

Breeze Wallet

Dev Leader: Carlton Pringle (@carlton)
Developers: Jeremy Bokobza (@jeremy), Pieterjan Vanhoof (@dev0tion), Kevin Loubser (@zeptin), Dan Gould (@dangould) and just joined Adam Ficsor (@nopara73)
UI: Benoît Philibert (@bep42)

Stratis PoC

Project Leader: Cesar Castro
Developers: Alexei Kogtev (@kogot) and Igor Goldobin (@fenix2222)
UI: Benoît Philibert (@bep42)

What we’ve been busy on?

Stratis Full Node

Achieving higher code quality and getting to production ready (for enterprise standard). We have been conducting extensive testing, but we still need to have a larger percent of unit tests coverage.
Extensive documentation and refactoring of code (improve internal node components).
Improve the node performance (this may not be a big deal for new blockchains).
Extending the Stratis test network to run a network of C# nodes for a period of time.
Ideally we need to get our C# node on an exchange (how and what currency is not yet clear) and on a block explorer.

Breeze Wallet

We have been putting a lot of time and resources into achieve higher code quality for the Breeze Wallet and its underlying technology – Tumblebit – integration in order to get it production ready for enterprise standards. Soon we will be publishing a full update from the Breeze Wallet team itself with all the details. At this point I will ask your support in helping us conduct extensive testing of the upcoming Breeze Wallet with Tumblebit Alpha release and share your experience with us. The sooner we have Breeze wallet sufficiently tested, the earlier we can release with full functionality on the mainnet.

Stratis Identity

Our Proof of Concept team has been working in creating our first proof of concept application – Stratis Identity. Soon to be released on the app stores it will provide a working app, and most important, the building blocks for developers to start creating applications around identity management and provenance utilizing the Stratis blockchain.

Sidechains and Smart Contracts

The end goal for the fullnode is to make it THE blockchain framework where all C# developers go to when they need to build a blockchain. It is becoming evident that in the near future there will be countless blockchains (analogues to websites, but maybe not at that scale) and developers will need easy to use frameworks to develop blockchains on them. Stratis aims to provide such a platform, we will create out of the box templates of a Stratis hybrid sidechain. Next, I will be publishing a paper on our sidechains approach and unique features.
For smart-contracts I have joined with Jean Lehmann (https://www.cybercapitalhq.com/team.html) a cyber security academic to help with writing a paper on how we can securely deliver smart-contracts on the Stratis node. This is a work on progress.
Smart contracts enable applying logic over ownership of assets on the blockchain, we will need to change some core components of our fullnode to support smarter logic over assets, the node is built mainly on top of Bitcoin with a limited smart-contract support. We may need to change NBitcoin and the way the Bitcoin protocol stores UTXO (the UTXO set will need to be extended to allow contracts access to a key value pair storage among other things).
We are also exploring executing C# scripts directly in a node environment (smart contract scripts in C#) using the Roslyn compiler.
Last but not least, it is very important to notice that we have streamlined the development planning process with the addition of a Agile Project Manager – Paul Aderonmu (@paul_stratis). With his help we have been putting together a fresh roadmap that can provide better visibility and tracking to the community and all interested in our tech development process. We will shortly be releasing a reviewed roadmap and improved tracking tools for all to use.
With the Breeze Wallet and our first PoC release around the corner these are indeed very exciting times for Stratis. Stay tuned for the upcoming news!
These are exciting times to be a developer!
Dan Gershony

August 17, 2017

World’s first seafood dedicated blockchain

Earth Twine partners with Stratis!
The first implementation of blockchain technology for the seafood industry, the second largest traded commodity on Earth! “The global fish & seafood market had total revenues of $158.1bn in 2015 …” – Wise Guy Reports
This partnership creates the first dedicated blockchain system for origin data and tracking for the international seafood industry –The Earth Twine-Stratis Platform. This platform combines collaborative technologies (Earth Twine, SPARKL, Stratis), and will provide the means for tracking mandatory data for IUU compliance. (Info below)
As seafood industry professionals, the EARTH TWINE team has created a solution born of the industry itself. In collaboration with The Association of International Seafood Professionals (AISP), Earth Twine has established the means for inclusive representation of all sectors of seafood professionals. Earth Twine’s comprehensive understanding of the unique seafood supply chain, and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR’s) has led to the development of its solution that provides a product for all stakeholders of the supply chain, small and large.
SPARKL enables our multiple tracking applications and systems to work collaboratively within legacy environments. This fuels the platform to orchestrate multiple structures and will reduce complexities in the seafood supply chain.
Stratis will establish distinct, dedicated blockchains, tokens and applications to integrate Earth Twine’s global seafood tracking solution onto the blockchain. This rapid innovation and development will transform the seafood industry by introducing unprecedented levels of trust, collaboration and settlement, in turn, increasing productivity and sustainability.
Starting January 2018, the Seafood Import Monitoring Program requires specific data related to seafood imports to be provided electronically to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. For many years, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and/or misrepresented seafood have affected global seafood markets. The Earth Twine-Stratis Platform will significantly help solve the NOAA Compliance Standards (who, what, when, where) that will confirm and validate the information as proof positive.
A fundamental partnership for Earth Twine is Greenberg Traurig Law, the largest law firm in the USA. The Earth Twine team benefits from Greenberg Traurig Law’s international presence, industry specific knowledge of blockchain innovation, and its evolution and emerging regulations around cryptocurrencies by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Our goal is confirmation and compliance of product”
-Earth Twine
“We Make BlockChain Easy For You”
– Stratis Platform
For enquiries contact:
Earth Twine, Inc.
[email protected]
Stratis Group Ltd.
[email protected]

August 10, 2017

Bitcoin Privacy is a Breeze: TumbleBit Successfully Integrated Into Breeze

Development Update

This week the Breeze development team reached the final major milestone in their development of the Breeze Privacy Protocol, which is the Breeze implementation of TumbleBit.
This development has allowed us to start seeing considerable volume of transactions protected by Breeze’s Privacy Protocol, the architecture developed by Stratis, which provides a safe way to anonymize cryptocurrencies.

The Breeze Wallet is now fully capable of providing enhanced privacy to bitcoin transactions through a secure connection. Utilising Breeze Servers that are pre registered on the network using a secure, trustless registration mechanism that is resistant to manipulation and censorship.
Breeze Tumbler is expected to be utilized in commercial scenarios including businesses that do not wish to reveal their customer or sensitive data for competitive reasons.
Finally, we want to share with you the latest progress on the Breeze wallet UI, so that you can start getting a feeling of the great things to come from our team.

Follow and contribute to the Breeze Wallet project: BreezeHub and look out for an alpha release of this exciting product coming soon.

Product Development Update

Stratis Roadmap 2017-2018

Stratis Mobile App Update

Stratis Roadmap: Work in Progress

Breeze Wallet with Breeze Privacy Protocol (Dev. Update)