Stacks Tech Update 12/04/24

Hey Stackers,

This week’s updates include the release of version 3.0.0.0.3, which completes the "Predictable latency and additional goodies" milestone, and version 3.0.0.0.4, which addresses a block production delay issue caused by inconsistencies between block validation and processing for signers. Future work will focus on fixing this issue for miners, wrapping up work on the Tenure Extend milestone, and preparing for SIP-029.

The Latest:

With respect to the ongoing optimizations for Stacks’ Nakamoto Upgrade (see Bitcoin L2 Labs article)

• Milestone: Predictable latency and additional goodies has been completed and released in 3.0.0.0.3.

• Point release 3.0.0.0.4 includes a short-term fix to an issue that caused a delay in block production on November 27.

  • The issue was caused by signers and miners having an inconsistent view between block validation and block processing.

  • The release fixes the issue for signers.

  • A next point release will include the miner-side fix.

What’s Ahead:

As planned, core developers will continue to work on:

• the Tenure Extend milestone

• the preparation for SIP-029

• the miner-side of the fix included in 3.0.0.0.4

Helpful Resources & Timeline Reminders

• sBTC Rollout: An Overview for Builders

  • ✅ Phase 0: Testnet

    • Status: Completed (November 22, 2024)

  • Phase 1: Mainnet - Bitcoin Deposits

    • Estimated Launch Date: December 16, 2024

  • Phase 2: Mainnet - Bitcoin Withdrawals

    • Estimated Timeline: 6-8 weeks after Phase 1

  • Phase 3: Open Signer Set + Optimization

    • Estimated Timeline: Following Phase 2

• Nakamoto Upgrade optimizations overview

  • Targeting December 16, Stacks will:

    • Increase up to 5x in bandwidth and decrease up to 5x latency by enabling “Tenure Extend”.

    • Improve latency predictability, by ensuring that transactions can be consistently included within the next few blocks, instead of having to wait for the beginning next tenure.

    • Introduce additional fixes and optimizations: today, a new miner that fails to come online at the beginning of a tenure will fail to create blocks for 10 minutes; instead, the previous miner will continue their tenure.