diff --git a/build_msvc/palladium_config.h b/build_msvc/palladium_config.h
index 00172fe..bd18ca8 100644
--- a/build_msvc/palladium_config.h
+++ b/build_msvc/palladium_config.h
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 #define CLIENT_VERSION_MAJOR 1
 
 /* Minor version */
-#define CLIENT_VERSION_MINOR 4
+#define CLIENT_VERSION_MINOR 5
 
 /* Build revision */
 #define CLIENT_VERSION_REVISION 0
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@
 #define PACKAGE_NAME "Palladium Core"
 
 /* Define to the full name and version of this package. */
-#define PACKAGE_STRING "Palladium Core 1.4.1"
+#define PACKAGE_STRING "Palladium Core 1.5.0"
 
 /* Define to the one symbol short name of this package. */
 #define PACKAGE_TARNAME "palladium"
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@
 #define PACKAGE_URL "https://palladiumblockchain.net/"
 
 /* Define to the version of this package. */
-#define PACKAGE_VERSION "1.4.1"
+#define PACKAGE_VERSION "1.5.0"
 
 /* Define to necessary symbol if this constant uses a non-standard name on
    your system. */
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 450e27d..b5d07ee 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 AC_PREREQ([2.69])
 define(_CLIENT_VERSION_MAJOR, 1)
-define(_CLIENT_VERSION_MINOR, 4)
-define(_CLIENT_VERSION_REVISION, 1)
+define(_CLIENT_VERSION_MINOR, 5)
+define(_CLIENT_VERSION_REVISION, 0)
 define(_CLIENT_VERSION_BUILD, 0)
 define(_CLIENT_VERSION_RC, 0)
 define(_CLIENT_VERSION_IS_RELEASE, true)
diff --git a/doc/man/palladium-cli.1 b/doc/man/palladium-cli.1
index c29f7dc..84f46d1 100644
--- a/doc/man/palladium-cli.1
+++ b/doc/man/palladium-cli.1
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.47.13.
-.TH PALLADIUM-CLI "1" "April 2024" "palladium-cli v1.4.1" "User Commands"
+.TH PALLADIUM-CLI "1" "April 2024" "palladium-cli v1.5.0" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
-palladium-cli \- manual page for palladium-cli v1.4.1
+palladium-cli \- manual page for palladium-cli v1.5.0
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B palladium-cli
 [\fI\,options\/\fR] \fI\,<command> \/\fR[\fI\,params\/\fR]  \fI\,Send command to Palladium Core\/\fR
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ palladium-cli \- manual page for palladium-cli v1.4.1
 .B palladium-cli
 [\fI\,options\/\fR] \fI\,help <command>      Get help for a command\/\fR
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-Palladium Core RPC client version v1.4.1
+Palladium Core RPC client version v1.5.0
 .SH OPTIONS
 .HP
 \-?
diff --git a/doc/man/palladium-qt.1 b/doc/man/palladium-qt.1
index 6448a42..46f8ced 100644
--- a/doc/man/palladium-qt.1
+++ b/doc/man/palladium-qt.1
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.47.13.
-.TH PALLADIUM-QT "1" "April 2024" "palladium-qt v1.4.1" "User Commands"
+.TH PALLADIUM-QT "1" "April 2024" "palladium-qt v1.5.0" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
-palladium-qt \- manual page for palladium-qt v1.4.1
+palladium-qt \- manual page for palladium-qt v1.5.0
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B palladium-qt
 [\fI\,command-line options\/\fR]
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-Palladium Core version v1.4.1
+Palladium Core version v1.5.0
 .SH OPTIONS
 .HP
 \-?
diff --git a/doc/man/palladium-tx.1 b/doc/man/palladium-tx.1
index 394958d..2a0a30a 100644
--- a/doc/man/palladium-tx.1
+++ b/doc/man/palladium-tx.1
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.47.13.
-.TH PALLADIUM-TX "1" "April 2024" "palladium-tx v1.4.1" "User Commands"
+.TH PALLADIUM-TX "1" "April 2024" "palladium-tx v1.5.0" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
-palladium-tx \- manual page for palladium-tx v1.4.1
+palladium-tx \- manual page for palladium-tx v1.5.0
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B palladium-tx
 [\fI\,options\/\fR] \fI\,<hex-tx> \/\fR[\fI\,commands\/\fR]  \fI\,Update hex-encoded palladium transaction\/\fR
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ palladium-tx \- manual page for palladium-tx v1.4.1
 .B palladium-tx
 [\fI\,options\/\fR] \fI\,-create \/\fR[\fI\,commands\/\fR]   \fI\,Create hex-encoded palladium transaction\/\fR
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-Palladium Core palladium\-tx utility version v1.4.1
+Palladium Core palladium\-tx utility version v1.5.0
 .SH OPTIONS
 .HP
 \-?
diff --git a/doc/man/palladium-wallet.1 b/doc/man/palladium-wallet.1
index 443fb40..ac66a3c 100644
--- a/doc/man/palladium-wallet.1
+++ b/doc/man/palladium-wallet.1
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.47.13.
-.TH PALLADIUM-WALLET "1" "April 2024" "palladium-wallet v1.4.1" "User Commands"
+.TH PALLADIUM-WALLET "1" "April 2024" "palladium-wallet v1.5.0" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
-palladium-wallet \- manual page for palladium-wallet v1.4.1
+palladium-wallet \- manual page for palladium-wallet v1.5.0
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-Palladium Core palladium\-wallet version v1.4.1
+Palladium Core palladium\-wallet version v1.5.0
 .PP
 palladium\-wallet is an offline tool for creating and interacting with Palladium Core wallet files.
 By default palladium\-wallet will act on wallets in the default mainnet wallet directory in the datadir.
diff --git a/doc/man/palladiumd.1 b/doc/man/palladiumd.1
index df44731..b225a0f 100644
--- a/doc/man/palladiumd.1
+++ b/doc/man/palladiumd.1
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.47.13.
-.TH PALLADIUMD "1" "April 2024" "palladiumd v1.4.1" "User Commands"
+.TH PALLADIUMD "1" "April 2024" "palladiumd v1.5.0" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
-palladiumd \- manual page for palladiumd v1.4.1
+palladiumd \- manual page for palladiumd v1.5.0
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B palladiumd
 [\fI\,options\/\fR]                     \fI\,Start Palladium Core\/\fR
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-Palladium Core version v1.4.1
+Palladium Core version v1.5.0
 .SH OPTIONS
 .HP
 \-?
diff --git a/src/chainparams.cpp b/src/chainparams.cpp
index c367c8b..4bfa4c9 100644
--- a/src/chainparams.cpp
+++ b/src/chainparams.cpp
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ public:
 };
 
 /**
- * Testnet (v3)
+ * Testnet
  */
 class CTestNetParams : public CChainParams {
 public:
@@ -185,7 +185,8 @@ public:
         strNetworkID = CBaseChainParams::TESTNET;
         consensus.nSubsidyHalvingInterval = 210000;
        
-        consensus.BIP34Height = 0;
+        consensus.BIP34Height = 1700;
+        consensus.BIP34Hash = uint256();
         consensus.BIP65Height = 0;
         consensus.BIP66Height = 0;
         consensus.CSVHeight = 0;
@@ -195,19 +196,20 @@ public:
 
         
         // The best chain should have at least this much work.
-        consensus.nMinimumChainWork = uint256S("0x00");
+        consensus.nMinimumChainWork = uint256S("0x00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000003077e5d4c957"); // Current testnet chainwork
 
         // By default assume that the signatures in ancestors of this block are valid.
-        consensus.defaultAssumeValid = uint256S("0x00");
+        consensus.defaultAssumeValid = uint256S("0x0000000000f8470a0cc0f6210b23bbeba248bf937205e34588aa84596b72c3bd"); // Current best block hash
 
 
         consensus.powLimit = uint256S("00000000ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff");
-        consensus.nPowTargetTimespan = 24 * 60 * 60;
+        consensus.nPowTargetTimespan = 14 * 24 * 60 * 60;
         consensus.nPowTargetSpacing = 2 * 60;
-        consensus.fPowAllowMinDifficultyBlocks = true;
+        consensus.nPowTargetSpacingV2 = 2 * 60;
+        consensus.fPowAllowMinDifficultyBlocks = true; // Enable minimum difficulty after 20 minutes of inactivity
         consensus.fPowNoRetargeting = false;
-        consensus.nRuleChangeActivationThreshold = 720;
-        consensus.nMinerConfirmationWindow = 540;
+        consensus.nRuleChangeActivationThreshold = 540;
+        consensus.nMinerConfirmationWindow = 720;
         consensus.vDeployments[Consensus::DEPLOYMENT_TESTDUMMY].bit = 28;
         consensus.vDeployments[Consensus::DEPLOYMENT_TESTDUMMY].nStartTime = 0;
         consensus.vDeployments[Consensus::DEPLOYMENT_TESTDUMMY].nTimeout = Consensus::BIP9Deployment::NO_TIMEOUT;
diff --git a/src/clientversion.cpp b/src/clientversion.cpp
index 637e7c6..6034a85 100644
--- a/src/clientversion.cpp
+++ b/src/clientversion.cpp
@@ -81,8 +81,8 @@ std::string FormatFullVersion()
 {
     // Display a simplified semantic version: omit trailing ".0" and git suffix
     // by reusing FormatVersion on the aggregated CLIENT_VERSION.
-    // This yields e.g. "v1.4.1" when CLIENT_VERSION_BUILD == 0,
-    // or "v1.4.1.1" if a non-zero build number is used.
+    // This yields e.g. "v1.5.0" when CLIENT_VERSION_BUILD == 0,
+    // or "v1.5.0.1" if a non-zero build number is used.
     return std::string("v") + FormatVersion(CLIENT_VERSION);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/pow.cpp b/src/pow.cpp
index 29dfb97..cd01e1e 100644
--- a/src/pow.cpp
+++ b/src/pow.cpp
@@ -19,6 +19,15 @@ unsigned int GetNextWorkRequired(const CBlockIndex* pindexLast, const CBlockHead
     if ((pindexLast->nHeight >= 28930) && (pindexLast->nHeight <= 28999))
         return nProofOfWorkLimit;
 
+    // Special difficulty rule for testnet: If the new block's timestamp is more than 20 minutes
+    // then allow mining of a min-difficulty block. This rule has priority over LWMA.
+    if (params.fPowAllowMinDifficultyBlocks && pblock->GetBlockTime() > pindexLast->GetBlockTime() + 20 * 60)
+        return nProofOfWorkLimit;
+
+    // For testnet, use LWMA from beginning to recalculate every block like mainnet
+    if (params.fPowAllowMinDifficultyBlocks && pindexLast->nHeight >= 0)
+        return LwmaCalculateNextWorkRequired(pindexLast, params);
+
     if (pindexLast->nHeight >= 29000)
         return LwmaCalculateNextWorkRequired(pindexLast, params);
 
@@ -27,19 +36,11 @@ unsigned int GetNextWorkRequired(const CBlockIndex* pindexLast, const CBlockHead
     {
         if (params.fPowAllowMinDifficultyBlocks)
         {
-            // Special difficulty rule for testnet:
-            // If the new block's timestamp is more than 2* 10 minutes
-            // then allow mining of a min-difficulty block.
-            if (pblock->GetBlockTime() > pindexLast->GetBlockTime() + params.nPowTargetSpacing*2)
-                return nProofOfWorkLimit;
-            else
-            {
-                // Return the last non-special-min-difficulty-rules-block
-                const CBlockIndex* pindex = pindexLast;
-                while (pindex->pprev && pindex->nHeight % params.DifficultyAdjustmentInterval() != 0 && pindex->nBits == nProofOfWorkLimit)
-                    pindex = pindex->pprev;
-                return pindex->nBits;
-            }
+            // Return the last non-special-min-difficulty-rules-block
+            const CBlockIndex* pindex = pindexLast;
+            while (pindex->pprev && pindex->nHeight % params.DifficultyAdjustmentInterval() != 0 && pindex->nBits == nProofOfWorkLimit)
+                pindex = pindex->pprev;
+            return pindex->nBits;
         }
         return pindexLast->nBits;
     }
diff --git a/src/rpc/mining.cpp b/src/rpc/mining.cpp
index 90114af..e1a5a6d 100644
--- a/src/rpc/mining.cpp
+++ b/src/rpc/mining.cpp
@@ -491,8 +491,10 @@ static UniValue getblocktemplate(const JSONRPCRequest& request)
     if (g_rpc_node->connman->GetNodeCount(CConnman::CONNECTIONS_ALL) == 0)
         throw JSONRPCError(RPC_CLIENT_NOT_CONNECTED, PACKAGE_NAME " is not connected!");
 
-    if (::ChainstateActive().IsInitialBlockDownload())
+    // Block getblocktemplate during initial block download for security
+    if (::ChainstateActive().IsInitialBlockDownload()) {
         throw JSONRPCError(RPC_CLIENT_IN_INITIAL_DOWNLOAD, PACKAGE_NAME " is in initial sync and waiting for blocks...");
+    }
 
     static unsigned int nTransactionsUpdatedLast;
     const CTxMemPool& mempool = EnsureMemPool();
diff --git a/src/validation.cpp b/src/validation.cpp
index 0ffb495..879ffe0 100644
--- a/src/validation.cpp
+++ b/src/validation.cpp
@@ -3437,7 +3437,16 @@ static bool ContextualCheckBlockHeader(const CBlockHeader& block, BlockValidatio
 
     // Check proof of work
     const Consensus::Params& consensusParams = params.GetConsensus();
-    if (block.nBits != GetNextWorkRequired(pindexPrev, &block, consensusParams))
+    
+    // For testnet, allow min difficulty blocks after 20 minutes of inactivity
+    bool skipPowCheck = false;
+    if (params.NetworkIDString() == "test" && consensusParams.fPowAllowMinDifficultyBlocks) {
+        if (pindexPrev && block.GetBlockTime() > pindexPrev->GetBlockTime() + consensusParams.nPowTargetSpacing * 2) {
+            skipPowCheck = true; // Allow min difficulty after 20 min inactivity
+        }
+    }
+    
+    if (!skipPowCheck && block.nBits != GetNextWorkRequired(pindexPrev, &block, consensusParams))
         return state.Invalid(BlockValidationResult::BLOCK_INVALID_HEADER, "bad-diffbits", "incorrect proof of work");
 
     // Check against checkpoints