How Casper 1.5 will uplevel enterprise blockchain

Last month, the Casper Association announced the release of Casper 1.5, introducing key features that give enterprises even more control of the Casper blockchain and increase the utility of public blockchain. Incorporating feedback from existing customers, the Association's launch of Casper 1.5 marks the most significant update to the Casper Blockchain since mainnet launch. For Casper Labs, this means we’re in an even better position to offer best-in-class blockchain solutions for the enterprise.

Casper 1.5 further cements Casper as the ideal blockchain for large-scale organizations, especially those with sensitive data. Casper was already the only blockchain that enables upgradeable smart contracts; Casper 1.5 builds on this to offer enhanced controls and enable the debugging of live, composable smart contracts on mainnet. This makes the technology even more accessible, efficient and secure, all vital characteristics of blockchain for enterprise use.

Specific improvements for enterprises include:

• Fast-Sync Nodes: With Casper 1.5, new nodes no longer have to sync all the way back to the genesis block in order to participate in the network. This Fast-Join functionality will considerably reduce the time required to set up a new node, making it more efficient than ever to launch a node on the Casper Blockchain in addition to saving disk space for node operators, compared to previous versions. It also introduces a much more powerful disaster recovery functionality, ensuring that critical work is not lost due to any outage – traditionally, a common pain point with blockchain deployments.
• Redelegate without Unbonding: Users can now select their preferred validator while undelegating, or switching their staked tokens from an existing validator. The process will run during the unbonding period, which lasts for seven eras (generally about 14-16 hours), and will no longer require users to manually undelegate and subsequently redelegate tokens. 
• Multisig and Role-Based Security Enablement: A new function that will enable smart contracts to see which keys signed a transaction.  Along with action thresholds and weighted keys, developers now have an added layer of security by being able to see who signed past transactions – and to use those account hashes to configure different account capabilities. This enables multi-sig, role-based security functionality on Casper, further cementing it as the most secure and provisionable blockchain on the market.
• New Speculative Execution Endpoint: Developers can now test and debug smart contracts against the live network using real production data. This approach allows them to see how a given application will perform in the wild, without having to rely on test environments. This feature is unique to Casper and addresses a significant need for businesses and independent developers alike, allowing them to debug contracts without committing the changes to the blockchain. With this feature, you can confirm when your smart contract ran and how much it costs, all against a living network.  This better supports the same software development best practices, like CI/CD, that organizations use in non-blockchain environments.
• Enhanced Smart Contract Security: Smart contracts can now choose to access the list of authorized keys, which is beneficial for multi-signature contracts and role-based security. The maximum stack height, which impacts how contracts run, has been increased, providing more flexibility and compatibility with certain software packages. This provides developers with more tools and flexibility, ensuring that the Casper network can support a wider variety of applications and use cases.

To learn more about how Casper Labs is helping businesses across industries drive value with blockchain, check out our case studies.