key points

The upcoming ION hard fork introduces Version Two of the zerocoin protocol (xION v2).

  • During a transition period, all v1 xION functions will be temporarily paused, so please spend all your Version One zerocoin (xION v1) before you upgrade to the new wallet.

  • Before you upgrade, make a backup of your wallet.dat because your xION is stored in your wallet.dat.

Introducing xION v2: ION’s powerful privacy protocol

The ION blockchain includes an upgraded zerocoin protocol that makes transactional privacy easy. The user experience will be better than ever:

  • Ample Supply: Routine xION minting by the dev team will ensure a circulating supply making it more reliable and accessible. You can help, too! xION minting is turned off by default, but it’s easy to activate. Follow the guides for instructions. When users mint xION, they also support the xION supply, improving the transactional privacy across the network.

  • Earn Stakes! With xION v2, you will be able to earn stake rewards for xION.

  • Private voting: xION is great for transactional privacy. It also allows community masternode holders to cast their votes anonymously. Your input to governance can be free from associations with any transactions.

xION upgrade to occur in phases

  • Release. As of February 6th, the ION Coin Core Developer Team has released the new ION client. You’ll still be able to sync and receive ION, but unless you upgrade, you won’t be able to generate new transactions.

  • xION v1 paused. xION v1 has been placed into “maintenance mode.” During maintenance, you won’t be able to mint or spend v1 xION until the fork is complete and the network has stabilized.

  • xION v2 goes live. The hard fork is scheduled to occur on Feb 13th around midnight GMT. Once the fork is complete and the network is stabilized, users will be able to mint new v2 xION, spend v2 xION, and stake v2 xION.

Before you upgrade: Spend your xION

There are three things you can do before you upgrade to the new wallet:

Spend your xION now (click link for how-to guide)

Why spend xION now?

  • There will be a transition period when v1 functionality is temporarily disabled. If you spend your xION now, they will be available as regular ION. If you don’t, those coins will be inaccessible during the transition period.

  • The new v2 xION protocol uses a different protocol for recording and accessing your xION. In the v1 protocol, xION was associated with the wallet.dat file. Possession of your wallet.dat file ensured that you could recover your v1 xION. The v2 protocol introduces an xION seed which is a portable passphrase that proves you own unspent xION.

  • v1 xION cannot stake, but v2 xION earns staking rewards. Spend your xION v1 now, then mint xION v2 and enjoy the rewards.

  • If you upgrade when you have zero xION remaining, you’ll start with a clean slate for the smoothest upgrade path.

Make a backup of your wallet before you upgrade

Keep your backup in a different secure location so that you don't overwrite it when you update to the new wallet.

Stop minting any new xION now (instructions below)

Why stop minting? You’ll want to stop minting new xION because otherwise, your wallet will keep autominting, and you’ll have to start over spending your v1 xION.

How to stop minting on Desktop Qt Wallet

To prevent xION minting on the Qt wallet:

  • Turn off xION minting in your local wallet from the file menu > Settings > Options tab.
  • Make sure the box next to “Enable xION Automint” is unchecked.
  • Shutdown and restart wallet.
How to stop minting on ION Daemon

To prevent xION minting on the daemon:

  • Add this line to your ioncoin.conf file
  • enablezeromint=0
  • Shutdown and restart the wallet.

Note: This method of editing the ion.conf file can also be applied to the QT.

Stay tuned for further announcements about the ION fork and the new wallet.