HC1: HyperQube SIG FAQ
WIP
Frequently Asked Questions
What is hyperqube?
HyperQube is a HyperCore One initiative to create an ecosystem of community-driven extension chains for Zenon the Network of Momentum.
How can I participate?
Community-driven is a foundational principle. Decisions will be made via community governance, provable on-chain whenever possible.
Efforts are coordinated at https://matrix.to/#/#sig-hyperqube:hc1.chat and https://forum.hypercore.one/c/hyperqube/13
What is an extension chain?
"Extension chain" is the term that Mr Kaine and the founding devs used to describe another blockchain which provides additional utility to the Zenon ecosystem and the ZNN+QSR tokens. Extension chains may provide scalability and/or new functionality. Extension chains can be considered as part of a layered architecture, although terms such as L2 may mean different things to different people.
One follow-up question that many have is "why do we need extension chains?" or "why can't we do everything on mainnet"? While technology is always improving, we have to design and operate within its current limits. This means that developing a protocol is about choosing between the trade-offs that make sense for its use case. One famous set of trade-offs is the blockchain trilemma of security, scalability, and decentralization. Improving one aspect often hinders the others. Likewise for new feature development, a community must choose between velocity and stability.
Extension chains allow us to choose a set of trade-offs that make sense for mainnet while allowing us to choose other trade-offs for other use cases.
What is hyperqube_z?
hyperqube_z is the flagship HyperQube extension chain which uses the same architecture as mainnet Zenon. It prioritizes participation and development velocity. One of its primary use cases will be an incubator for mainnet AZ served through a set of dedicated smart contracts. Because of its shared architecture, hyperqube_z can also be used to deploy experimental contracts and see them perform in closer-to-prod conditions, before easily porting them to mainnet.
In the future, the HyperQube initiative may include other extension chains for other use cases or to explore different architectures.
Is hyperqube_z a testnet?
While hyperqube_z will have experimental features, it is not a testnet. First and foremost, it will serve as a production incubator. Integration features will also be developed that will allow for real value ZNN and QSR to benefit from hyperqube_z specific contracts as they are refined and before they are deployed to mainnet. With a testnet, we can safely reset the chain whenever there are issues. With hyperqube_z, we will need to ensure that real value balances are preserved across any upgrades or fixes.
Some community members have compared hyperqube_z to Kusama for Polkdadot.
Is hyperqube a replacement for Zenon?
No. HyperQube aims to elevate the developer experience and bring NoM into the next dimension.
One question that people have asked is "Is HyperQube a fork of NoM?"
A fork means different things in different contexts.
hyperqube_z will use a fork of the go-zenon node codebase to develop off a shared architecture.
hyperqube_z will NOT fork the mainnet chain. Node operators will NOT need to choose which chain to validate. At launch, hyperqube_z will be an independent chain with its own genesis and set of validators. Through future development, features such as on-chain oracles will allow us to strengthen the integration between mainnet and extension chains. For example, we could make it so that dismantling a mainnet pillar also dismantles their hyperqube_z pillar.
hyperqube_z does NOT seek to fork the Zenon community. It seeks to create a platform that makes it easier for new contributors to join. For example, the incubator functionality will provide developers a menu of smaller work items that they can pick up and get paid for.
Will hyperqube have smart contracts?
NoM currently uses embedded smart contracts to provide efficient implementations of core network logic. hyperqube_z will likely continue to develop some functionality using the embedded architecture. It will also seek to add a generic smart contract runtime, such as an EVM, based on demand from its developer community.
What does success look like for hyperqube?
In accordance with the HyperCore One Core Values, hyperqube assumes user sovereignty and seeks to use civil and collaborate processes to create greater shared prosperity.
Simply put, success for hyperqube looks like community members coming together to work together for personal reward and the improvement of our network/community. One can argue that this is what success for decentralized protocols overall should look like.