Winter Solstice 2025: The 2nd Samuel Epoch Brings Taproot Back to Lotus

The Winter Solstice arrives this year with more than just the longest night. On December 21, 2025 at 15:03:00 UTC, the Lotus network activates its tenth epoch upgrade: 2nd Samuel. Version 10.4.9 brings substantial improvements to privacy, flexibility, and mining performance.

Taproot Returns to Lotus

The centerpiece of this upgrade is the return of Taproot and SIGHASH_LOTUS to the Lotus protocol. During a recent review of the protocol's history, we discovered that these features had been disabled during the Numbers epoch back in 2022. The original reasoning for disabling them is unclear from the historical record. Our best assessment is that they were disabled simply because no one was using them at the time, likely due to the lack of proper tooling and SDK support.

Now we're bringing Taproot back. The migration from outdated bitcore-lib-xpi to the modern lotus-lib SDK let us implement fully-compliant Taproot support from scratch. With proper developer tools available, Taproot can finally fulfill its potential to bolster ecosystem growth.

What does this mean in practice? Taproot makes smart contracts and payment channels look identical to regular transactions. Complex multi-signature setups, time locks, and advanced features become indistinguishable from standard payments. When sophisticated transactions blend seamlessly with everyday activity, everyone benefits from enhanced privacy.

Our technical implementation preserves Lotus's unique characteristics. Unlike Bitcoin's BIP-341, we use 33-byte compressed keys (not x-only 32-byte), encode internal key parity in the control block's first bit, and require SIGHASH_LOTUS for key path spending. These choices maintain compatibility with existing infrastructure while enabling Taproot's full power.

For developers, this opens genuine possibilities: payment channels with sophisticated fallbacks, covenant-style scripts, and advanced token systems. The lotus-lib SDK includes comprehensive Taproot support with working examples.

From bitcore-lib-xpi to lotus-lib

The Taproot reactivation coincides with a major milestone: completing the migration from aging bitcore-lib-xpi to the new lotus-lib SDK. This wasn't a rename—it was a complete modernization.

The old modules were forked from Bitcoin libraries years ago and became increasingly outdated. Maintaining ancient dependencies while implementing modern features was holding us back. The new lotus-lib is built from scratch with TypeScript, modern tooling, and Lotus-specific features.

The timing was intentional. Why reactivate Taproot without proper SDK support? By building fully-compliant Taproot directly into lotus-lib, developers get production-ready tools from day one. Enabling features at the protocol level means nothing without making them genuinely accessible.

Better Addresses, Smoother Operations

Version 10.4.8 introduced proper Taproot address support throughout the RPC interface. Before this, nodes could validate Taproot outputs but couldn't convert them to addresses, causing frustrating "Invalid address" errors.

The new TaprootDestination type integrates with our XAddress format (type 2) and works seamlessly with getaddressinfo and validateaddress. We also fixed edge cases where Lotus QT would crash decoding certain Taproot addresses.

One deliberate decision: we don't support Taproot in CashAddr format. CashAddr wasn't designed for this, and forcing it would create confusion. Use XAddress format for Taproot.

Mining Gets Major Upgrades

While protocol improvements grab headlines, miners keep the network running. The 9.4.4 release brought substantial mining improvements, with contributions from Alexandre Guillioud (our Hash Turtle) and the broader community.

The GPU miner now features "zero-stall architecture." Traditional mining software leaves GPUs idle while waiting for work or submitting shares. Our implementation prefetches work in a background thread, submits shares asynchronously, and manages nonce ranges intelligently. Result: continuous mining without pauses.

Hashrate reporting is now stabilized with a 60-second moving average and 15-second warm-up. Early versions showed wildly optimistic estimates that would plummet to realistic values. The new system transitions smoothly, giving accurate data without the emotional rollercoaster.

For Docker setups (recommended), we provide NVIDIA and AMD-specific images. The one-click Ubuntu 24.04 script detects your GPU, installs dependencies, and generates a ready-to-use configuration:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LotusiaStewardship/lotusd/master/gpuminer/oneclick-gpu-mining-setup.sh | sudo bash
MINER_ADDRESS=your_lotus_address $HOME/lotus-gpu-miner/start-mining.sh

The miner includes embedded OpenCL kernels optimized for different architectures. Default lotus_og works best for modern GPUs; poclbm can perform better on older hardware. Switch between them with a command-line flag.

What This Means for the Ecosystem

For Application Developers

Taproot expands your design space considerably:

• Payment channels with complex dispute resolution
• Multi-signature wallets indistinguishable from regular addresses
• Time-locked vaults with conditional spending
• Covenants that restrict future spending

The lotus-lib TypeScript SDK provides high-level functions for script trees, control blocks, and verification. No cryptographic expertise required.

For Miners

Higher effective hashrates from existing hardware. Zero-stall eliminates idle time, stabilized reporting gives accurate data, one-click setup lowers barriers.

Currently CPU mining? A mid-range GPU delivers 50-100x the hashrate of a high-end CPU while using less electricity. Docker makes deployment straightforward.

For Node Operators

Upgrade before December 21, 2025 to maintain consensus. Download 10.4.9, stop your node, install, restart. No configuration changes needed.

Post-activation, your node accepts Taproot transactions in mempool and blocks. The RPC interface recognizes and decodes Taproot addresses automatically.

For Exchanges and Payment Processors

Address changes are backward compatible—P2PKH addresses work as before. To support receiving Taproot payments, update parsing code to handle type 2 XAddresses. See src/addresses/xaddress.cpp for reference.

For smooth transition: keep generating P2PKH for receive addresses, but be ready to send to Taproot. Users get Taproot benefits without requiring immediate wallet changes.

The Road Ahead

This release demonstrates our willingness to revisit past decisions. Discovering Taproot had been disabled, combined with the lotus-lib migration, created the right moment to bring it back. Sometimes the best path forward comes from asking "why did we make that choice?"

The biannual cycle continues with 1st Kings on June 21, 2026. Replay protection for that epoch is already in this release, ensuring smooth transitions. This forward-looking approach gives users confidence their transactions won't replay after upgrades.

The broader ecosystem is growing. BigVase mobile wallet launched on iOS and Android. The Lotusia extension brings on-chain reputation to social media via RANK. The lotus-explorer keeps adding transparency features.

Getting Started

Download: Get version 10.4.9 for your platform. Installers for Windows/macOS, binaries for Linux.

Technical Details: See doc/upgrades/2025-winter-solstice.md for activation timestamps, consensus changes, and testing procedures.

Explore Taproot: Check lotus-lib examples. The examples/taproot- files demonstrate key path, script path, and complex trees.

Start Mining: Use the one-click Ubuntu script or download GPU miner binaries. See gpuminer/README.md for full documentation.

Join the Community: The Lotusia ecosystem thrives on authentic connections. Whether mining, building, or using Lotus, you're part of our citizenry. The giving economy depends on human relationships, not just technology.

A Note on Philosophy

Technology is a means to an end, not an end itself. Taproot's privacy features matter only if they help real people transact more effectively. Mining improvements matter because they distribute the network across more independent operators.

Taproot's return illustrates our governance approach. We're not afraid to say "we're not entirely sure why this was decided" when examining history. The honest answer beats a convenient narrative. With better tools and clearer use cases, we're giving Taproot another chance. Lotus is multi-generational, which means revisiting decisions as understanding evolves.

The 2nd Samuel epoch is another step on this long journey. We're excited to see what the community builds.

Stay safe, mine responsibly, and remember: don't hoard tokens, hoard and foster human relationships.

Release Timeline:

• v9.4.2 - Summer Solstice 2025 (1st Samuel)
• v9.4.4 - Mining improvements (September 2025)
• v10.4.2 - Winter Solstice base upgrade (October 2025)
• v10.4.8 - Taproot address support (October 2025)
• v10.4.9 - Final pre-activation release (October 2025)
• Activation - December 21, 2025 at 15:03:00 UTC

Key Links:

• Download: github.com/LotusiaStewardship/lotusd/releases
• Developer SDK: github.com/LotusiaStewardship/lotus-lib
• Documentation: lotusia.org/docs
• Mining Guide: lotusd/gpuminer/README.md