IOTA network speed increases by 20x with key upgrade

The IOTA Foundation has announced the release of Hornet Node Software that reportedly improves performance and user experience of the network.

Hornet is a lightweight node written in Go. The new node software paves the way to IOTA 1.5 (also known as Chrysalis – a set of protocol enhancements that will lead to a substantial increase in network speed, performance, and usability.

The IOTA community conducted a stress test on the new release, with it being confirmed that 650 transactions were processed every second, marking a signifcant 20x increase.

Hornet also consumes 10 times less memory under normal operation compared to IOTA’s previous node software IRI.

With Hornet’s release, the IOTA community also officially begins the protocol upgrades that will culminate in removing the coordinator node from the network.

“Due to IOTA’s parallel architecture and feeless transaction model, developers can build real-world applications without the constraints imposed by traditional blockchain technology.” Said Luca Moser, Software Engineer at the IOTA Foundation.

“IOTA’s focus on regulatory compliance, standardisation, and industry collaboration are key pillars of its adoption strategy. Many of the upcoming protocol upgrades were developed in partnership with our community and network of partners in industry and academia.”

The project will be hoping that the improvements will help right the wrongs of events in February when hackers exploited a vulnerability to steal millions of tokens, prompting the company to shut down the entire network, which in turn prompted criticism from followers who lamented the lack of decentralisation.

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