The magic of MimbleWimble in Litecoin has finally begun

The MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Blocks) protocol was activated on the Litecoin network, when block 2,257,920 of its blockchain was accessed.

The Litecoin (LTC) team members live streamed the MWEB activation on May 19. Among them was its founder, Charlie Lee. Litecoin 0.21.2 software release was smooth After activating MimbleWimble.

However, since these are significant protocol changes, users need to be careful to avoid significant money losses when using LTC.

MWEB is activated in Litecoin with a soft fork or softfork. This means that nodes on the network that are not updated to the latest software version will remain compatible, just without the newly added improvements.

CriptoNoticias has reported MWEB progress in Litecoin since then Addition announced To the recently launched version, after years of announcing the intent to add this optimization to the network.

In the early hours of May 3, more than 75% of Litecoin contract showed its approval For the initiative to add MimbleWimble to this network’s protocol. In fact, in addition to MWEB, root It is also part of the new update. This protocol is already active in the network BitcoinSignificantly improves scalability and network privacy.

MimbleWimble and Extension Blocks could not access Litecoin separately

MimbleWimble is a solution originally designed to be implemented in Bitcoin. Its author, following in the footsteps of Satoshi Nakamoto, used a pseudonym in the protocol white paper, introducing himself as Tom Elvis Gidosor; which, besides the name Protocol itself, alluded to his fondness for the epic novels by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter.

The author himself explains that the name of his invention stems from the intent with which it was created. I named my creation MimbleWimble because of Used to prevent the blockchain from talking about all user information«. This is because Maple It is the name of the spell used in the above narration to bind the victim’s tongue so that he can no longer speak.

MimbleWimble owes its origin to two previous proposals on which its creator was based: CoinJoin, by Gregory Maxwell, and Blinding Factors, by Nicholas van Saberhagen. Its main focus, like Taproot, is on improving privacy and scalability. Bitcoin.

Spanning Blocks: The Link That Unified Litecoin and MimbleWimble

In the case of updating Litecoin, the implementation of MimbleWimble includes a modification that the original version did not have. These are extension blocks (EB), which work very similarly to those of the side chain. (side chain).

“These lips –Litecoin Improvement SuggestionOffers Extension Blocks (EB) as a way to implement new protocols for Litecoin without having to change the consensus rules. “

Litecoin GitHub Repository

Span blocks, as EB technology may be called, They can hold and transfer LTC to them from the main Litecoin chain and vice versa. This, according to its promoters, makes this network more private and effective.

The main goal of adding EB to Litecoin is to be able to execute MimbleWimble as a file Optional upgrade to its users, ie without the need to implement a hard fork Or a hard fork that will affect network security.

The combination of MimbleWimble, Extension Blocks, and Taproot, three improvements focused on scalability and privacy, is a major technical advance for Litecoin.

However, there are those who do not see that MimbleWimble is practical in all cases. One of them is the famous developer Adam Buckwhich is considered that This protocol will require a lot of work to integrate into Bitcoinwhile the advantages it offers are very few in his opinion.