Global contract support in Nearcore 2.6, as highlighted by NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, aims to provide widespread compatibility for smart contracts worldwide.
On May 28, Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR, disclosed details of a significant network upgrade. The update, known as Nearcore 2.6, aims to resolve storage cost concerns associated with smart accounts. These accounts previously required sufficient balance to cover contract storage costs, which created hurdles for developers intending to duplicate contracts across shards. The upgrade, by introducing Global Contracts and reducing block times, seeks to streamline contract deployment and minimise operational intricacies for developers.
A community member, @slimedrgn, revealed early observations after testing the new NEAR Global Contracts. The results documented that sponsoring smart wallets for the initial 1 million wallets costs approximately 59 NEAR, with an additional 20 NEAR required as a one-time fee per update. This example indicated potential cost savings and efficiency gains across various shards, promising reduced expenses for developers. The practical figures offered valuable insights for developers planning upcoming integration work.
The Nearcore 2.6 upgrade introduces two primary improvements to the NEAR protocol - Global Contracts accessible across all network shards and block times reduced from 1 second to 600 milliseconds per block. The changes intend to boost efficiency and support more advanced application logic by alleviating deployment costs and expediting transactions. The Global Contracts function like universal libraries, simplifying code management by eliminating the need for developers to duplicate and manage contract copies across shards.
The Global Contracts cater to modular dApp development as they provide immutable code logic that all users can rely on. Consistent logic provides a stable foundation for decentralized applications, allowing developers to import and use standards or common modules across various protocols. In addition, the shared global contracts foster a uniform developer experience and create a more modular and maintainable ecosystem.
However, there remain concerns about governance over shared global contracts. Questions linger about which entities should deploy and maintain these network-wide resources, with community-reviewed processes or NEAR-native DAOs potentially offering transparent approval systems for updates. Security is crucial as a flaw in one contract could affect multiple applications. To safeguard against network-wide vulnerabilities, formal verification and rigorous code audits are indispensable.
The evolving blockchain landscape emphasizes accessibility for both developers and users. The introduction of Global Contracts is an example of this trend, offering a more inclusive and seamless experience for the blockchain community. Innovations like cross-shard access and reduced block times have signified a shift towards more accessible and user-friendly blockchain platforms. As blockchain technology evolves, it promises to create a more inclusive ecosystem that encourages broad adoption.
- With the introduction of Global Contracts in the Nearcore 2.6 upgrade, developers can eliminate the need to duplicate and manage contract copies across shards, making code management simpler.
- The shared global contracts in the NEAR network foster a uniform developer experience, encouraging modular and maintainable dApp development.
- As network-wide resources, concerns about the governance of shared global contracts persist, with potential solutions like community-reviewed processes or DAOs offering transparent approval systems.
- To ensure security and prevent network-wide vulnerabilities from a potential flaw in one contract, formal verification and rigorous code audits are indispensable in the decentralized blockchain technology landscape.
