February was a month of continued growth and refinement for the Sia ecosystem. We made notable strides in development, launched several major releases, and introduced new grant initiatives to further strengthen the network. Our work on renterd, walletd, and hostd brought key improvements in preparation for the upcoming hardfork, enhancing network stability and security. Additionally, we approved multiple new grants, supporting innovative projects that drive the ecosystem forward. As we move into the next phase of development, we remain committed to making decentralized storage more powerful, accessible, and resilient. In this update, we’ll take a closer look at the progress we’ve made, the challenges we’ve tackled, and what’s ahead for the Sia community.
Development Updates
renterd: Full v2 Support & Hardfork Preparations
The release of renterd v2.0.0 marked a major milestone, introducing full v2 support to align with the upcoming hardfork. This version introduced a substantial API refactor, streamlining functionality by replacing deprecated components like contract sets and event webhooks with a more efficient and simplified design. Validationfor S3 bucket names was added, and contract lifecycles are now independently managed.
One of the most impactful changes is full support for RHP4, the new protocol for renter-host communication, which improves efficiency and stability. Additional refinements include:
Automatic account drift resets, reducing inconsistencies over time.
Short-lived API authentication cookies, improving security.
Improved migration tools, reducing friction for renters upgrading to v2.
February saw the release of hostd v2.0.3, v2.0.4, and a pre-release of hostd v2.1.0-beta.1, each focusing on different aspects of stability, performance, and feature improvements.
hostd v2.0.3:
Resolved a critical concurrency issue affecting large-volume migrations.
The explored repository, which powers blockchain and host exploration tools, received notable updates to improve performance and data accuracy.
Geolocation services now use Maxmind instead of IP2Location, providing more precise host location data.
Host metrics calculations now use the median instead of the mean, ensuring more accurate pricing estimates.
A streamlined host querying API makes it easier for developers to retrieve host data.
Significant performance optimizations were made to the address events endpoint, improving response times.
A fix for contract-proof outputs ensures all relevant output sources are properly retrieved.
These improvements enhance the accuracy and efficiency of blockchain and host data retrieval, making explored a more reliable tool for users and developers alike.
Grant Program Updates
Newly Approved Grants
SAI — Sia AI: A Python framework integrating AI-powered interactions with Sia’s walletd. It enables users to manage Siacoin transactions and wallet operations via natural language commands.
Refurbishing of Sia Satellite: Aims to update and maintain the public Sia Satellite storage gateway, ensuring compatibility with v2 hosts and contracts while improving the UI and user experience.
Nydia — Passkey Holder (Chapter 2): This project introduces Ed25519 cryptography to WebAuthn authenticators and extends decentralized credential management to Safari.
Retroactive Grant for SiaFund Earnings: A website providing real-time insights into SiaFund claim amounts and network utilization, helping investors and users track network participation.
Progress Reports from Ongoing Grants
Lume Web: Significant progress was made on portal infrastructure, abuse reporting, and billing support. The goal for next month is to finalize the free portal infrastructure.
SiaGraph: The backend has been reworked to remove dependencies on SiaCentral, focusing on financial stats and host monitoring. Work continues on designing new financial reporting pages.
Dartsia Mobile App V2: Notifications functionality was implemented alongside a host scoring system. Next, the team will finalize the app’s website and begin working on backup functionality.
Tiri Vault: The project saw improvements in subscription stability and UI enhancements. Next month, work will focus on synchronization algorithms and wallet integration.
S5 Network: The team implemented key missing components in the TypeScript library and made solid progress on the web design components. Work will continue with testing and the first major release of Vup Web.
Sia Virtual Block Device (sia_vbd): A persistent caching layer was introduced, significantly boosting performance. The team is now focusing on implementing resizing, branching, and tagging features before the final release.
The past month has seen numerous crucial updates and exciting innovations in the Sia ecosystem. With the hardfork on the horizon, the core development team has been hard at work ensuring a smooth transition. The grants program continues to support new and existing projects that enhance Sia’s usability and adoption. We look forward to March as we continue to march toward the hardfork and further the decentralization of cloud storage.
That’s all folks!
Thanks for your continued support and dedication as we build the foundation of the decentralized future.
Want to be the first to read our latest blog posts? Subscribe or follow to receive instant updates the moment they’re published — no need to wait for social media announcements.
If you found this article insightful, share it with your network to help spread awareness about the importance of decentralized storage.
The State of Sia, February 2025 was originally published in The Sia Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Manage all your crypto, NFT and DeFi from one place