Nakamoto Activation: Hard Fork Block Selection Expected This Week, Signer Handoff Update
Hey Stackers, if you’re closely following the Nakamoto Activation sequence, you know the ‘handoff’ from Cycle 92 to 93 was an important milestone the core devs were watching. As noted in the overview post, they wanted to observe Signers change sets successfully on mainnet before moving on to the next steps. This cycle transition successfully happened in the last 24 hours, so this post will give an update on the remaining steps of the sequence.
Hard fork block selection this week!
First, Nakamoto activation is on track with the previously shared Activation sequence, and core devs plan to make the selection of a hard fork block in the next 7 days! This aligns with the projection that they would select a block during the reward phase of Cycle 93, the Cycle we’ve just entered. They currently project the hard fork block, the block where all Nakamoto rules and features go live, will come during Cycle 94.
Signer handoff successful
Congratulations and thank you to Stacks Signers! Those running the latest release validated the technical aspect of the handoff. While these signers demonstrated a successful handoff, there were some Signers that did not successfully participate, likely due to these Signers not having a chance to upgrade to the latest release which included some minor bug fixes. These Signers are encouraged to upgrade, but given a successful handoff was observed core developers are comfortable moving on to the next steps. They note they would like to see more than 70% of the signing power successfully mock signing before the hard fork block arrives.
Core devs need your help
While contact is easy with big-name Stacks signers, other Signers are anonymous and/or typically slower to upgrade. We celebrate genuine decentralization and core devs request that the community urge these Signers to tune in and upgrade asap. If you are a Signer or know a Signer that isn’t running the latest release, please send them this post. Direct support is available to those who would like it!
Other wins, updates, and progress
- Approximately 60% of signing power has participated in mock signing, a number they have high confidence will increase going forward
- Alongside various configuration updates, minor fixes, and logging improvements, core devs identified and resolved some other bugs:
- Deleting Unused Slots During Creation/Reconfiguration in Mock Signing: Fixed an issue related to the deletion of unused slots when creating or reconfiguring during mock signing. PR #5178
- Signer Block Rejection in Multi-Miner Setup: Resolved a problem where the signer would reject blocks in a multi-miner setup. Issue #5132
- Core devs are continuing to test the hardfork sequence on multiple testnets!
What’s Next?
Core developers will select the hard fork block! Stay tuned by following @stacksorg or @stacks.
Nakamoto rules are the logic that makes Nakamoto different than the version before it called Stacks 2.4, and they are what enable faster blocks, Bitcoin finality, and the other network improvements associated with Nakamoto. When we reach the hard fork block for Nakamoto, the network will switch to running these Nakamoto rules and all the features we’re excited about go live for everybody.
Reminders: Factors that could affect timelines
As always, core developers are committed to a safe, secure launch. As such, several factors could warrant additional time added to the Nakamoto activation sequence:
- Bugs found in testing
- Signer needs
- Miner adoption