Future Protocol Additions: Sync of DigiByte Core Protocol to BTC 0.12 core code.
1.   Libsecp256k1 Switch – This allows for a dramatic increase in the speed of validating ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) public/private keys.  This will only enhance the speed of DigiByte transactions while reducing bandwidth and network latency.

2.   Headers 1st Sync – One issue DigiByte is currently facing is our blockchain is almost at a height of 3 million blocks. Bitcoin is still at 300K.  By allowing headers 1st sync our simplified wallets (Android, iOS) will be able to sync with the network much quicker. As well as regular nodes.  This code has already been tested and implemented to BTC.

3.   Block Pruning – It is not necessary to retain all information sent and received in a block for everyone on the network.  By pruning some previous block data we can help DigiByte scale without overloading users hard drives.

4.   CheckLockTimeVerify  - This op function allows sending a transaction that cannot be re-spent until a certain point in the future. This unlocks the potentially for advanced smart contract applications to be built upon the DigiByte blockchain as well as advanced security authentication procedures with platforms such as Digi-ID.

5.   Other Adjustments – Several other slight improvements to the protocol can be found in the 0.12 core sync.  It is important however to note several conflicts may potentially arise with some of our current custom implementations in our UTXO protocol such as MultiAlgo, DigiShield, block timing etc that still need to be worked through and tested.  This should not require a hard fork though.

6.     Addition of Segregated Witness Code – “SegWit” for short essentially allows for nodes on a network to be a witness to a transaction without having the ability to alter a transaction.  Hence the segregated nature.  This allows for the establishment of what is know as “Micro Payment Channels.” This is better compared to the way the Internet itself works with the DNS system.  By implementing the SegWit code into DigiByte we are setting the foundation and ability for the “Lightning Network” to be implemented. This means potentially hundreds of thousands of transactions per second worldwide for DigiByte. We have the ability to pull this off before Bitcoin if we can get the right resources in time.

8.   Addition of Colored Coins Layer – This is a well establish layer that can be implemented on top of DigiByte to create a virtually unlimited amount of “Smart Contracts.” “The Blockchain of Things” brought the most impressive potential use case for adding the colored coins layer on top of DigiByte. By leveraging the headers of a transaction itself it is possible through an additional API layer to use DigiByte transactions not as we think of them today but more as a communications network that can contribute groundbreaking improvements to industries across the board in a decentralized manner all the while boosting DigiByte's real world utility around the globe.