Upgrade to version 1.9.0

This release updates the Flare (and Songbird) codebase to Avalanche 1.9.0. See more details in the Avalanche 1.9.0 release notes. Note, however, that AddPermissionlessValidatorTx, AddPermissionlessDelegatorTx and AddSubnetValidatorTx transactions are disabled (to disallow the use of subnets).

Additionally, this release adds the ability to sign P-chain transactions with the standard Ethereum prefix ("\x19Ethereum Signed Message:\n <message length>") to allow for compatibility with signing tools that automatically add this prefix (e.g. MetaMask).

All nodes should upgrade to this version before the following dates:

• Coston2 network: November 26, 2024 at 12:00:00 UTC
• Flare network: December 17, 2024 at 12:00:00 UTC
• Coston network: January 7, 2025 at 12:00:00 UTC
• Songbird network: January 28, 2025 at 12:00:00 UTC

The Flare nodes should report version avalanche/1.9.0 while The Songbird nodes should report version flare/0.7.0 after the upgrade.

Songbird network support

This release supports Songbird network and Coston testnet. It upgrades the coreth version to v0.8.16 and avalanchego version to v1.7.18 with Songbird (Flare) specific features.

All Songbird nodes should be upgraded to this version before October 29, 2024, 12:00:00 UTC.

Flare - Songbird code integration - Coston 1

Coston 1 fork for the process of the Songbird decentralization and code integration with the Flare network. Coston 1 nodes should upgrade before July 23, 2024 at 12:00:00 UTC. Staking can be performed from July 30, 2024 at 12:00:00 UTC.

Prioritised submission contract

Fork for prioritised handling of submission contract and new attestor addresses, starting Mar 26, 2024 at 12:00:00 UTC.

Prioritised submission contract - coston 2

Fork for prioritised handling of Submission contract on Coston 2 network, starting Mar 7, 12:00:00 UTC.

v1.7.1806: Merge pull request #24 from flare-foundation/mod-public-ip-auto-config

This hard fork for Flare coston2/mainnet changes staking parameters according to Flare phase 2 staking rules. Phase 2 staking starts on September 7, 2023 at 00:00:00 UTC on coston2 and on October 1, 2023 at 00:00:00 UTC on mainnet.

v1.7.1805

This hard fork for Flare mainnet adds inflation-based staking. The hard fork time is June 20th, 2023 at 15:00 UTC, please upgrade your Flare mainnet nodes before that time.

The added function

func (e *ProposalTxExecutor) getCurrentInflationSettings(currentTimestamp time.Time) (uint64, uint64, uint64, uint32, time.Duration, time.Duration, time.Duration, time.Time)
takes the current timestamp of the P-chain, and returns parameters:

• minValidatorStake: the minimum stake that a validator can have on the network. uint64
• maxValidatorStake: the maximum stake that a validator can have on the network. uint64
• minDelegatorStake: the minimum stake that a delegator can delegate to a validator. uint64
• minDelegationFee: the minimum delegation fee percentage that is paid from the validator to the delegator. This will be set to zero in practice because rewards are disabled on the P-chain. uint32
• minStakeDuration: the minimum length of time that a validator can be staked on the network. time.Duration
• maxStakeDuration: the maximum length of time that a validator can be staked on the network. time.Duration
• minFutureStartTimeOffset: the time delay between when a staking transaction is made and when a validator can become active. time.Duration
• minStakeStartTime: the earliest date that a validator can set for their staking period to begin. time.Time

This enables a way to have future hard forks that change these parameters over time as more inflation has occurred on the network. Avalanche staking was originally designed for a capped supply asset, so this added function enables the same staking mechanism to be used with an uncapped supply asset.

New Contributors

• @mboben made their first contribution in #13

Full Changelog: v1.7.1803...v1.7.1805

v1.7.1804 Inflation-Based Staking (Coston2 testnet)

This hard fork for the Coston2 testnet adds inflation-based staking. The hard fork time is May 25th, 2023 at 15:00 UTC, please upgrade your Coston2 testnet nodes before that time.

The added function

func (e *ProposalTxExecutor) getCurrentInflationSettings(currentTimestamp time.Time) (uint64, uint64, uint64, uint32, time.Duration, time.Duration, time.Duration, time.Time)
takes the current timestamp of the P-chain, and returns parameters:

• minValidatorStake: the minimum stake that a validator can have on the network. uint64
• maxValidatorStake: the maximum stake that a validator can have on the network. uint64
• minDelegatorStake: the minimum stake that a delegator can delegate to a validator. uint64
• minDelegationFee: the minimum delegation fee percentage that is paid from the validator to the delegator. This will be set to zero in practice because rewards are disabled on the P-chain. uint32
• minStakeDuration: the minimum length of time that a validator can be staked on the network. time.Duration
• maxStakeDuration: the maximum length of time that a validator can be staked on the network. time.Duration
• minFutureStartTimeOffset: the time delay between when a staking transaction is made and when a validator can become active. time.Duration
• minStakeStartTime: the earliest date that a validator can set for their staking period to begin. time.Time

This enables a way to have future hard forks that change these parameters over time as more inflation has occurred on the network. Avalanche staking was originally designed for a capped supply asset, so this added function enables the same staking mechanism to be used with an uncapped supply asset.

What's Changed

• v1.7.1804 Inflation-Based Staking in #11

Full Changelog: v1.7.1803...v1.7.1804

v1.7.1803

What's Changed

• Changed st.evm.Call to st.evm.DaemonCall in the state connector and governance settings code. This change improves the efficiency of the calls - in #10
• Added a hard fork executing on March 1st, 2023 at 15:00 UTC to shift the balance of the original distribution contract to a governance contract that will then pass the funds on to a new contract that conforms to the FIP.01 governance vote outcome. Hard fork announced on February 9th, 2023: https://twitter.com/JoshuaGEdwards/status/1623695363696648192
• Removed disabled code on the P-chain related to validator rewards.
• Updated versioning convention
• Updated Docker files and setup
• Updated unit tests

Full Changelog: v0.7.1...v1.7.1803

Code Audit

This code passed a full security audit conducted by FYEO with (1) informational finding that was resolved in #10.