Blockchain project VeChain announced on Monday that it has revised its development roadmap in response to community concerns related to its token swap.
The project, which aims to create a business-friendly public blockchain, launched its mainnet last week. However, the technology is not yet live, and will only be active after VeChain migrates from the ethereum blockchain – where it exists as an ERC20 token – to a wholly independent network.
Yet the swap has also been a point of contention for some token holders, especially those with so-called 'X Node' status.
According to the VeChain Foundation, the X Node program rewards early project supporters who hold a set amount of tokens by giving them the opportunity to run a low-level node in the network. They also have the opportunity to upgrade to a more privileged node status in the future. To maintain their X Node status, users must continue to hold the necessary balance, which will be "monitored" by the VeChain foundation.
In order to transfer users' X Node status from ethereum to the VeChain mainnet, the foundation initially said in its wallet manual that eligible users must transfer their tokens to VeChain's mobile wallet app by August 1.
However, despite VeChain's assurances that the wallet is secure, users in community forums were concerned about its use, particularly about what would happen to their X Node status if they lost their phone.
Likewise, many expressed frustration that the available alternative to the mobile wallet, the VeChainThor Ledger app, would not be released until after the cut off date for X Node migration.
"This means everyone has to do it without Ledger support because that is not due until after that date," a Reddit user named _Neil_ wrote on the VeChain subreddit. "This is going to make people nervous...me included as a want to keep my tokens secure but definitely do not wish to lose X status."
Another user, spellboundaries, criticized the VeChain Foundation by saying:
"They could have been better about this, specially[sic] in a space like crypto where people place safety as a top priority and invest money in things like hardware wallets. Having to place tens of thousands of dollars on the line for a token swap is pretty dumb imo."
Fork in the roadmapOn Monday, the foundation announced that it would address the community's concerns by extending the X Node migration period for ten days after the VeChainThor Ledger app is available. It also said that X Node monitoring will start three weeks after the mobile token swap service becomes available – though it has not yet provided exact dates for these events.
Additionally, VeChain will introduce a "wallet observation function" that will allow users who create their VeChain private key addresses through alternative means (such as hardware wallets or desktop wallets) to manage and swap their X Node status through the mobile wallet.
The foundation also said it will "backdate and compensate VTHO to token holders" for the X Node migration and token swap period "as the entire migration timeline is completed," though it did not provide further details on when or how it will do so.
"Your voice has been heard," the foundation wrote. "We believe this is the best way to strike a balance between our desired security level and user functionality."
Users in community forums appear to be responding positively to the changes. While some Reddit users thanked the foundation and said they "admired" its "responsiveness," others were less impressed.
One user, identified as sevletor, wrote: "It's called professionalism."
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