COTI announces its first major hard fork, “Hydrogen,” set for October 19, 2025, introducing key protocol and security upgrades.COTI announces its first major hard fork, “Hydrogen,” set for October 19, 2025, introducing key protocol and security upgrades.

COTI undergoes ‘Hydrogen’ hard fork as it targets enterprise adoption

2025/10/20 17:33

Blockchain platform COTI will undergo a mainnet upgrade on Monday at 12:00 PM UTC through its first ever hard fork called “Hydrogen.” The update, according to the development team. Could improve its technical foundation, security, and performance for enterprise use.

According to the COTI Foundation’s insight on Medium, the process is automatic and requires no action from users or node operators for the transition of wallets, tokens, and network participants. The network developers reiterated the network’s architecture is being refined to meet more needs of developers, enterprise partners, and end users.

COTI upgrade to accommodate more features

The COTI network is a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph)-based blockchain optimized for payments and enterprise solutions. Much different from traditional blockchains like Ethereum Layer 1, it allows transactions to link directly to one another through parallel processing and high throughput.

The network’s consensus mechanism, known as Proof of Trust, powers a decentralized ledger called Trustchain, which is capable of processing more than 100,000 transactions per second, according to stats from crypto exchange Coinbase. 

The Hydrogen hard fork comes with several protocol-level improvements meant to boost COTI’s stability, cryptographic security, and long-term maintainability. COTI stated that the changes are on the backdrop of the comprehensive audit completed earlier in 2025, which identified several areas for optimization in the network’s Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and gcEVM components.

As reported by the Foundation, MPC framework’s new file-handling mechanisms have been implemented to improve safety, alongside secure cryptographic randomness and memory hygiene. After the hard fork, users will be able to wipe sensitive data from memory during cleanup for their privacy, and in-turn reduce security risks.

Connection handling under high-concurrency conditions has also been upgraded, improving stability when the network experiences heavy usage. 

“Enhancements to connection handling under high-concurrency conditions also make the network more robust in real-world usage scenarios,” the foundation wrote.

Refinements made to the gcEVM protocol 

Hydrogen is also making changes on the gcEVM protocol layer side, which will see protocol validation tightened, while error handling during opcode execution and streamlined block processing is improved. The company said the refinements will make COTI a more consistent and secure execution standard for all network participants.

“This is a foundational shift that increases trust and reliability across the ecosystem,” COTI stated in its announcement.

All node operators have already upgraded to the latest software release ahead of time. COTI confirmed there will be no expected disruption to network operations, and user assets will be secure throughout the transition.

COTI reward loyalty ecosystem expanded

The upgrade comes just three weeks after the launch of COTI Earn, the company’s new loyalty platform that rewards community participation. The platform debuted as Season 001: Genesis, featuring a pool of 12.5 million COTI tokens distributed as on-chain rewards, Cryptopolitan reported.

COTI Earn rewards engagement through a points-based system, where user interaction such as holding assets, trading and referrals, generates Token Points (TPs). The platform coined TPs “a new type of on-chain token” that is minted daily and automatically dropped to user wallets.

“COTI Earn is designed to recognize real users and real contributions to the ecosystem. As on-chain activity increases, loyalty platforms must evolve to be transparent, fair, and rewarding by design. Platforms running on vanity metrics simply won’t stand the test of time,” explained Shahaf Bar-Geffen, CEO of COTI.

According to the company, all TP rewards are liquid because they exist directly on-chain. Users can generate revenue and earn daily rewards by holding specific supported assets like wETH, wBTC, USDC-e, COTI, or gCOTI in the COTI Treasury. Interested participants are required to connect their wallets to earn.coti.io to begin accumulating rewards.

COTI’s token price climbed 6.94% in the past 24 hours, seemingly reacting to the mainnet upgrade news and outpacing the cryptocurrency market’s 4.15% gain. The token is trading at $0.03529 at the time of this publication, which has lifted its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) from 33.31 to 36.25 to exit oversold conditions.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.

Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.
Share Insights

You May Also Like

Xiao Feng: Ethereum is still the core of applications and is difficult to replace due to its first-mover advantage and continuous optimization

Xiao Feng: Ethereum is still the core of applications and is difficult to replace due to its first-mover advantage and continuous optimization

PANews reported on October 22nd that at the ETHShanghai 2025 main forum, Xiao Feng, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Wanxiang Holdings, Chairman of Wanxiang Blockchain, and Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, stated that blockchains can be broadly divided into two categories. One, represented by Bitcoin, is primarily a currency issuance system that achieves high-speed calculations through simple mathematical formulas and prohibits complex external deployment, allowing for rapid global consensus, hence its esteemed status as "digital gold." The other, represented by Ethereum, is application-centric and has gradually developed along the lines of the original white paper, currently holding 60%-70% of the application market share. Xiao Feng noted that there is no need to attempt to replace Ethereum, as it has a first-mover advantage and is continuously improving. Other blockchain projects need to demonstrate that their strategic positioning differs from Ethereum and that they offer differentiated value, making the possibility of challenging Ethereum very low. Xiao Feng also emphasized that the development of DeFi cannot be ignored, but it needs to take into account KYC and anti-money laundering requirements, as its philosophy differs from traditional finance. Through zero-knowledge identity authentication (ZK ID), users can verify their identity as qualified investors using information such as certificates, proof, and work experience, allowing them to trade securely around the world, allowing decentralized finance to better serve the global financial system.
Share
2025/10/22 11:14
Share
Coinbase Buys Echo Platform in $375m Deal

Coinbase Buys Echo Platform in $375m Deal

Coinbase has announced that it is acquiring Echo, an investment platform that is built on blockchain, at approximately $375M. This marks Coinbase’s eighth acquisition of 2025 and twelfth overall. The deal highlights the exchange giant’s commitment to democratizing access to early-stage crypto investing while enhancing its Base ecosystem. Partnership to Full Ownership Coinbase Ventures was awarded the position of Group Lead on the platform in March 2025. The collaboration focused on extending funding opportunities for projects based on Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 network. Coinbase Ventures invested in over 40 projects, including Aerodrome, Morpho, and Blackbird. Echo was launched in March 2024 by crypto thought leader Jordan Fish (known as “Cobie”) with the goal of democratizing early-stage blockchain financing. The platform allows accredited and qualified investors to construct web3 projects through transparent, on-chain transactions. This approach contrasts with traditional venture capital, where only wealthy investors obtain access to promising startups. The acquisition provides Coinbase with complete control over a platform that has facilitated fundraising for over 30 crypto projects, such as Ethena, Morph, Usual, and MegaETH. MegaETH completed two separates $10M raises through Echo in December 2024, with a round closing in just 56 seconds. Breaking Down Traditional Barriers in Crypto Funding The traditional venture capital approach in cryptocurrency has been chastised for providing exclusive access to privileged insiders who obtain early token allocations at significant discounts. These insiders often distribute their tokens to high-priced retail investors. Echo’s community-driven model reaffirms this trend since smart contracts are used to effectively manage funds. Shan Aggarwal, the Vice President of Corporate and Business Development for Coinbase, stated that on-chain investing is possible to engage accredited and qualified investors in a manner that it was previously not capable of doing. Jesse Pollak, the Head of Base and Coinbase Wallet, stated that it allows more dynamic capital base to founders. Through Web3, these collaborative efforts have been implemented in a similar way. The Coinbase-Echo merger is an example of strategic alliances that can increase the value of the customers and the developers. Empowering the Base Ecosystem and Industry Impact The purchase follows the Base network of Coinbase becoming the most successful Layer-2 solution of Ethereum in a range of significant aspects. With Echo’s integration, Coinbase will have the opportunity to distribute funds to Base builders, as well as provide community members with direct investment opportunities in network-shaping projects. The $375M price is based on Echo’s history of success and strategic significance of Coinbase in utilizing on-chain capital formation infrastructure. Echo has raised more than $100M within a year, which shows strong product-market presence and willingness to have advantageous opportunities to invest in cryptocurrencies. This transaction is at forefront of transparent blockchain-based fundraising, which overcomes information asymmetry and improves traditional venture financing. The deal also highlights how Coinbase plans to pursue an active M&A strategy in 2025, which indicates that it is the eighth deal of the year and shows that the company is optimistic about the future of crypto. Conclusion The acquisition of Echo by Coinbase of $375M signifies the breakthrough in fundraising of cryptocurrencies. The deal will merge Coinbase regulatory expertise and Base ecosystem with Echo’s democratized investing platform to create infrastructure that will transform early-stage crypto finance. The Base network is expanding, and it is focusing on transparent capital deployment techniques that are becoming essential for the long-term growth of the industry.
Share
2025/10/22 10:00
Share