Latest Ice Network News: ION Explorer Upgrade as Online+ Nears

Layer-1 blockchain platform, Ice Open Network (ION), continues to make significant progress towards launching its flagship decentralized social media application, Online+. Recent updates shared through the Online+ Beta Bulletin and posts on X reveal a steady stream of feature enhancements, bug fixes, and strategic partnerships aimed at refining the platform ahead of its public release. 

As the team builds on its Q1 progress, its focus remains on stabilizing core functionalities and enhancing the user experience.

Key Feature Updates for Online+ in April 2025

The latest Online+ Beta Bulletin, spearheaded by ION’s Product Lead Yuliia, outlines significant progress in stabilizing the app’s core components: Wallet, Chat, and Feed. 

“There’s something especially rewarding about the kind of week we just had — not full of fanfare, but packed with progress,” Yuliia wrote, emphasizing the team’s commitment to delivering a polished product.

Here are some of the key details from the long list of updates:

Chat Enhancements: Users can now send “Request funds” messages, streamlining peer-to-peer transactions. The Chat interface has also been upgraded to better display multiple media files, with fixed layouts ensuring images open correctly in full screen.

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Feed Improvements: The Feed now supports editing for published articles, a long-requested feature that adds flexibility for content creators. A pull-to-refresh option on individual post pages with comments enhances usability, while parent posts are displayed when accessed via notifications for better context.

Wallet Optimization: The Wallet module saw fixes for issues like stuck loaders and duplicated balances. Additionally, syncing has been optimized to include only wallets holding coins, reducing unnecessary requests and improving efficiency.

System-Wide Upgrades: A Force Update mechanism ensures users stay on the latest app version, while performance tuning has reduced the Android app size, making it leaner and faster.

Yuliia highlighted the impact of these changes: “We smoothed out key Wallet flows, polished up media layouts in Chat, and made the overall experience feel cleaner and more connected across the board.” These updates reflect ION’s goal of creating a seamless, user-driven social platform.

Bug Fixes Enhance Stability

Like every other bulletin update, the latest also detailed a robust set of bug fixes addressing user-reported issues. 

In the Feed, issues such as notifications triggered by users’ interactions and misaligned image counters were resolved. The swipe-to-go-back gesture now works reliably on post pages, and empty post creation has been prevented. 

In Chat, users can remove reactions, and media layout glitches have been corrected. Profile UI inconsistencies were resolved, ensuring a cohesive look across all input fields.

These fixes align with ION’s stabilization efforts as the launch nears. “These are the weeks that quietly level up the product — where everything clicks a little better, looks a little sharper, and just works the way it should,” Yuliia noted, underscoring the team’s focus on quality.

Strategic Partnerships Bolster the ICE Ecosystem

Beyond technical updates, Ice Open Network is expanding its ecosystem through high-profile partnerships. The bulletin highlighted three important integrations with Web3 projects:

HyperGPT: This AI-powered decentralized application (dApp) combines large language models with blockchain technology to enhance content creation, automation, and decentralization on Online+.

Aark: Aark introduces 1000x leverage and gasless perpetual trading to the platform, alongside a community hub on the ION Framework to make Decentralized Finance (DeFi) trading more accessible and social.

XO: Focused on gamification, XO’s social dApp aims to make Web3 interactions interactive and engaging.

These partnerships bring the total to over 60 Web3 projects and 600 creators already integrated with Online+. The protocol is already building up momentum ahead of the product’s mainnet launch. Most recently, precisely on April 13, ION invited 100 users to join the final closed beta, signaling that Online+ and the DApp Framework are in the final stages of testing, and the launch is closer than anyone thinks. 

New ION Explorer: Enhanced Transparency and Features

On April 17, 2025, the platform announced a major upgrade to the ION Explorer, the network’s official blockchain explorer, designed to improve transparency and user interaction. 

“We’ve launched a major upgrade to our official blockchain explorer — now with new features, improved usability, and a refreshed UI for a better experience across the board,” the X announcement stated.

Key additions to the explorer, accessible at explorer.ice.io, include:

• Improved Homepage Layout: A cleaner design enhances navigation.
• NFT and Token Support: Users can now track non-fungible tokens and other assets, reflecting Web3’s growing digital asset focus.
• Config Details Visibility: Developers gain access to network configurations, simplifying dApp integration.
• Whales Page: A new feature displays top token holders, catering to community interest in influential investors.
• News Section: Latest ION announcements are integrated, keeping users informed directly on the platform.
• Enhanced UI and Readability: The refreshed interface addresses common explorer usability complaints.

This upgrade aims to improve accessibility, making blockchain data clear for developers, traders, and newcomers alike. The explorer’s enhancements complement Online+ by providing a robust tool for tracking transactions and assets within the ecosystem.

Preparing for Launch: Unique Usernames and Performance Focus

Looking ahead, the ION team is prioritizing complex yet critical features, such as unique usernames, which will enable users to “truly own their identity in-app,” according to Yuliia. This represents the protocol’s mission to empower users with control over their digital presence. Additional performance enhancements are planned to ensure the app runs smoothly across devices.

With Easter weekend approaching, the team is making a strong pre-holiday push to complete the remaining tasks. The next bulletin, scheduled for April 22 due to the holiday, will provide further updates. Yuliia encouraged community feedback, urging users to keep them coming and help the team build the “social media platform of the New Internet.”

Closing Words

Online+ is a cornerstone of Ice Open Network’s vision to redefine digital interactions through decentralization. Built on a high-performance blockchain capable of processing millions of transactions per second, its upcoming flagship product aims to offer a censorship-resistant, privacy-focused alternative to traditional social media. Features like secure identity management (ION ID), decentralized storage (ION Vault), and community-driven governance make it a versatile platform for creators, developers, and users.

The recent updates and partnerships underscore ION’s commitment to delivering a robust product. As the Web3 space grows, Online+ is positioning itself as a hub for decentralized social engagement, with the ICE token driving utility and community participation.

As Ice Open Network nears the launch of Online+, its focus on user experience, technical stability, and ecosystem growth is clear. The Online+ Beta Bulletin updates reveal a project in its final refinement stages, setting the stage for a competitive entry into the Web3 social media landscape.