# Vac Monthly Report - August 2023

## vsu::P2P

### Achievements
- Improved gossipsub DDoS resistance
- Implemented and tested Perf protocol
- Progress on WebRTC integration
- Worked on becoming a Validator in the Nimbus Consensus client
- Addressed issues with IWANT replies in pubsub

### Key PRs and Issues
- [Improve gossipsub DDoS resistance](https://github.com/status-im/nim-libp2p/pull/920)
- [Perf protocol implementation](https://github.com/status-im/nim-libp2p/pull/925)
- [IWANT replies size issue](https://github.com/status-im/nim-libp2p/issues/887)

## vsu::Tokenomics

### Projects
- Codex: Economic analysis, including Filecoin comparison and miner perspectives
- Status: SNT-staking contract development and debugging
- Nomos: Focused on quantifying bribery attacks and assessing delegated staking risks
- Waku: Discussions on RLN and potential solutions

### Key Activities
- Analyzed Filecoin's economic structure and timeline vs competitors
- Debugged and verified Multiplier Points calculation for SNT-staking
- Engaged with project teams to align on economic models and incentives

## vsu::Distributed Systems Testing (DST)

### Achievements
- Completed Wakurtosis Tech Report v2 and started on v2.5
- Developed basic Shadow simulation of gossipsub nodes
- Improved analysis tools for Nomos simulations
- Advanced Waku protocol analysis and topology studies

### Key Deliverables
- [Wakurtosis Research Blog draft](https://github.com/vacp2p/vac.dev/pull/123)
- Nomos simulation analysis CLI supporting 10k nodes
- Waku protocols topology analysis improvements

## vsu::Smart Contracts (SC)

### Projects
- Status: Community contracts (ERC721 and ERC20)
- Ongoing upskilling through Secureum courses

### Key Activities
- Delivered ERC721 community contracts
- Started work on ERC20 community contracts
- Moved community contracts to new foundry-template
- Progressed through Secureum slots, focusing on various smart contract concepts

### Maintenance
- Introduced Vac's own `foundry-template` for smart contract projects

## vsu::Applied Cryptography & ZK (ACZ)

### Projects
- RLN-relay enhancements for Waku
- Zerokit maintenance and v0.4 development

### Key Achievements
- Multiple improvements and fixes for RLN-relay in nwaku
- Released zerokit v0.3.1 and v0.3.2
- Progress on RLN-v2 implementation
- Developed `rln_keystore_generator` tool

### Notable PRs
- [RPC handler for waku rln relay](https://github.com/waku-org/nwaku/pull/1852)
- [Exposed `seq_atomic_operation` FFI API](https://github.com/vacp2p/zerokit/pull/206)

## vip::zkVM

### Research
- Conducted in-depth research on various proof systems including Nova, Sangria, HyperNova, and Plonky2
- Started work on ProtoStar and Nova alternatives
- Drafted Nova Benchmarks document

### Documentation
- Updated the Nova questions document
- Prepared Plonky2 research document
- Started work on a blog post to explain findings and alternatives

## vc::Deep Research

### Validator Privacy (ValPriv)
- Continued development and refinement of Tor-push PoC
- Enhanced the research paper with theoretical analysis and attack scenarios

### GossipSub Scaling
- Conducted literature study on scalability and overlay design in P2P networks
- Executed various gossipsub simulations using shadow simulator
- Started writing a survey report on efficient broadcast in large-scale P2P networks

### Consensus (Nomos/Carnot)
- Progressed on the article about bribery attacks, PoS, and Carnot
- Began work on a Carnot variant that aggregates the majority of votes
- Analyzed Carnot test results, focusing on latency variations

## vc::RFC

- Updated RFC spec for Community History Archive protocol
- Started porting `/spec/6/PAYLOADS` to Vac

## Challenges and Next Steps

1. Continue refining and optimizing the Tor-push method for validator privacy
2. Further development and testing of RLN-relay enhancements for Waku
3. Advance the research and benchmarking of various proof systems for zkVM
4. Progress on scaling solutions for gossipsub and large-scale P2P networks
5. Finalize and publish various research reports and articles in progress

The Vac team has made significant strides across multiple domains in August, with notable progress in P2P networking, cryptography, distributed systems testing, and blockchain research. The team continues to balance cutting-edge research with practical implementations and improvements to existing systems.