meeting notes sig-chain #33

sig-chain/meetings/033-2026-03-10.md

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+# Akash Network - Chain Special Interest Group (SIG) - Meeting #33
+
+## Agenda
+
+* Network Upgrade Review — Mainnet 16
+* Upcoming Network Upgrade — Mainnet 17 (v2.0)
+* Burn Mint Equilibrium (BME) and Smart Contracts Integration
+* Incentivized Testnet Review and Outcomes
+* Validator Experience and Upgrade Observations
+* Chain-Level Improvements and Telemetry Updates
+* Open Discussion and Technical Questions
+
+## Meeting Details
+
+* Date: March 10, 2026
+* Time: 08:00 AM PST
+* Recording: Coming Soon
+* [Transcript](#transcript)
+
+## Participants
+
+* Tyler Wright
+* Scott Carruthers
+* Zeke Ezagui
+* Fenil Modi
+* Rodri R
+* Sandeep
+
+## Meeting Notes
+
+### Opening Remarks & SIG Chain Overview
+
+* Tyler Wright opened the session and welcomed participants to the SIG Chain monthly meeting
+* Clarified that SIG Chain focuses on blockchain-level discussions including network upgrades, validator relations, and core protocol changes
+* Highlighted overlap with SIG Support for node-related issues and operational discussions
+* Noted absence of usual meeting lead and presence of core contributors to support updates
+
+### Network Upgrade — Mainnet 16
+
+* Recent network upgrade to Akash Mainnet 16 completed successfully
+* Upgrade was executed through an expedited on-chain governance proposal
+* Proposal passed quickly and upgrade occurred on March 4, 2026
+* Validators experienced varied upgrade durations
+* Some validators completed upgrade within approximately 20–25 minutes
+* Others experienced delays due to issues such as improper documentation handling or memory constraints
+* Network reached consensus within approximately two hours and resumed block production
+
+### Mainnet 16 — Feature Update
+
+* Primary feature introduced was lease close reason telemetry
+* Feature enables deployers to understand why a lease was terminated
+* Provides improved visibility into deployment issues
+* Example scenarios include unstable deployments due to incorrect image configurations
+* Helps identify whether closure originated from provider-side instability or other causes
+* Fix included resolution of a minor bug from earlier implementation
+
+### Upcoming Network Upgrade — Mainnet 17 (v2.0)
+
+* New network upgrade proposal currently active on-chain
+* Upgrade scheduled for March 23, 2026 at approximately 14:00 UTC
+* Timing aligned with previous upgrades to minimize disruption across global validators
+* Mainnet 17 introduces major functionality upgrades
+
+### Burn Mint Equilibrium (BME) & Smart Contracts
+
+* Introduction of Burn Mint Equilibrium mechanism
+* Integration of smart contracts using Cosmos Wasm
+* Inclusion of pricing oracle functionality
+* Represents a significant upgrade to network economic and execution capabilities
+* Expected to have major impact compared to previous upgrades
+
+### Incentivized Testnet — BME
+
+* Incentivized testnet conducted prior to Mainnet 17 upgrade
+* Testnet ran for approximately two weeks
+* Over 200 submissions received from community participants
+* Participants were able to submit across multiple testing categories
+* Objective was to stress test BME implementation and identify vulnerabilities
+* Testnet successfully validated key components of the system
+
+### Testnet Results & Feedback
+
+* Strong participation and engagement from community contributors
+* Positive feedback on responsiveness of core team during testing
+* High confidence established ahead of mainnet deployment
+* Minor bugs identified and resolved quickly during testing cycle
+
+### Circuit Breaker & Safety Mechanisms
+
+* BME system includes circuit breaker mechanism for extreme market conditions
+* Designed to handle scenarios such as sudden AKT price drops
+* Prevents imbalance when vault cannot sustain burn requirements
+* Dedicated testing sessions conducted for warning and halt states
+* Identified bug where system incorrectly triggered halt instead of warning state
+* Issue resolved within 24 hours with patch release
+* Subsequent testing confirmed correct behavior
+
+### Controlled Testnet — Cosmos Wasm & Oracle
+
+* Additional non-public testnet ongoing with selected community members
+* Focus on Cosmos Wasm smart contracts and oracle functionality
+* Designed as controlled testing environment to complement prior testnet
+* Aims to finalize readiness ahead of mainnet upgrade
+
+### Validator Experience & Binary Update
+
+* Discussion on new binary version release (v1.2.1)
+* Update applies primarily to public nodes
+* Not required for validators as it does not impact consensus
+* Addresses query-related improvements only
+* Validators may upgrade optionally but not necessary
+
+### Technical Discussion — BME Architecture
+
+* Question raised regarding implementation of BME as a module rather than purely smart contracts
+* Clarification provided that architecture decisions were made by core protocol architect
+* Further explanation to be provided offline after internal follow-up
+* Commitment to share insights with community if relevant
+
+### Documentation & Upgrade Preparation
+
+* Emphasis on preparing documentation ahead of Mainnet 17 upgrade
+* Goal to ensure validators have clear instructions and infrastructure requirements
+* Focus on improving upgrade speed and reducing operational issues
+* Encouragement for validators to monitor announcements and documentation releases
+
+### Closing Remarks
+
+* Appreciation expressed to validators and community testers for contributions
+* Recognition of strong community involvement in BME testing
+* Confidence expressed in readiness for upcoming network upgrade
+* Encouragement to continue discussions via SIG Chain channels
+* Meeting concluded with reminder to follow announcements for upgrade preparation
+
+## Action Items
+
+### Core Team
+
+* Finalize documentation for Mainnet 17 upgrade
+* Share validator upgrade instructions and requirements early
+* Complete controlled testing for Cosmos Wasm and oracle integration
+* Follow up on BME architecture decision explanation
+
+### Validators
+
+* Review upcoming upgrade documentation once released
+* Prepare infrastructure for Mainnet 17 upgrade
+* Monitor announcements and upgrade timelines
+
+### Community Contributors
+
+* Continue participation in testing and feedback processes
+* Engage in SIG Chain discussions for technical clarifications
+* Review outcomes of incentivized testnet
+
+### Scott Carruthers
+
+* Follow up on BME module vs smart contract architecture question
+* Provide clarification to Sandeep and potentially broader community
+
+## **Transcript**
+
+Tyler Wright: All right, welcome everybody to SIG Chain monthly meeting. It is Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. During the special interest group for chain or blockchain, the group comes together to talk about all things related to again the network blockchain items related to network upgrades, validator relations, etc.  We also have again another meeting special interest group that features a number of people from the core engineering team called six support where the group goes over active issues that are in the node or the provider repo. so again we talk about some items blockchain related during that sick support if it's again the support support ticket related to the node.
+
+Tyler Wright: I know who usually leads these meetings is handling some stuff on the personal front. we do have a couple other folks Scott and Zeke from the core team that are here as well. Since our last meeting we have actually completed the Akos core team and the community has completed a network upgrade to Akos mainet 16. It was an expedited proposal that went on chain on March 3rd. believe the network upgrade passed within a short amount of time. and again that network upgrade happened last Wednesday. the network upgrade did take a little bit longer than the initial tests from the core team.
+
+Tyler Wright: there were some Akash validators that were able to upgrade and complete the upgrade I think in 20 25 minutes. But there were also a number of other validators that it took longer or they might have run into some issues with not following documentation and had some memory issues. but after about two hours there was enough consensus and again blocks were being produced. Again there's also a planned network upgrade that is onchain for vote. Again appreciate all the validators that have already voted on this proposal but there's a proposal to get to Akash mainet 17 version 2.0.
+
+Tyler Wright: This version brings BME and smart contracts via cosmos wasm to the Akash network. again that network upgrade is scheduled for March 23rd, 2026 around 1,400 UTC. It's around the same time we've been doing the last couple of network upgrades and it seems like that time works for validators all across the world with minimal disruption to again of customers and people that are using the network.  So again, we just completed a network upgrade last week, again, an expedited proposal went on chain March 2nd and had the necessary votes to pass within one day. The network upgrade happened on March 4th to Akash mainet 16. and again on March 23rd, so a little bit over one week from now.
+
+Tyler Wright: closer to two weeks there is a planned network upgrade to Akash mainet 17 version 2.0 that'll bring BME and Oracle and smart contracts via Cosmos to the Akash network. Over the last week and since our last meeting there has been a fair amount of folks in the community that have been participating in a BME incentivized test the goal of this test net was to again test out a lot of the functionality around burn mint equilibrium on the Akash network. try to break the implementation and just make sure that the product is really strong and well tested prior to the network upgrade on March 23rd. that BME incentivized test net has closed.
+
+Tyler Wright: and right now we're in the process of reviewing all these submissions. There will be some followup later today for those that have won and we'll go from there. But again, big shout out to everybody that participated in that incentivized test net. There was over 200 I think submissions. again some testers could submit multiple times for different categories but the products and all tests as a part of the test net plan were all well tested by members of the community and just members of the web3 ecosystem looking to test out BME on a cash.  This week there is a small group of folks from the community a number of insiders that will be tasked with continuing to test cosmos wasm Oracle as a part of this network upgrade on March 23rd.
+
+
+### 00:05:00
+
+Tyler Wright: but again that's not a public incentivized test net. That's just a small controlled test net to support a lot of the testing that the core team has already been doing around again BME Oracle and smart contracts on Kosh network. I know that's a lot of information, a lot of blabbering. Scott, Zeke, I just want to see if there's anything else that maybe I missed out on or misspoke about that you would like to chime in and add.
+
+Scott Carruthers: I think that pretty well covers it. So I don't want to regurgitate everything that Tower I think he gave a good synopsis. so yeah, obviously last week we did the main U 16 upgrade and the primary focus of that upgrade was to introduce lease closed reasons which gives us better telemetry and better knowledge to deployers on why their lease may have been closed. It was actually a function that was introduced in the past but there was a minor bug so we rectified that during this network upgrade.
+
+Scott Carruthers: So for lease close reason I mean if a deployer sees their lease closed and if they query the lease status they can now see a lease close reason for something like unstable which would mean possibly there was a improper image name used in the SDL and u the provider was unable to download the image or for some other reason the pod was unstable and
+
+Scott Carruthers: provider closed it again because of instability. so obviously that gives us great telemetry knowing if the provider closed the lease or if the lease was closed for some other reason. So that was a rather minor upgrade based on features introduced mainet 17 is obviously going to be much more substantial and impactful as Tyrus said and mainet 17 will As Tower mentioned,…
+
+Fenil Modi: way.
+
+Scott Carruthers: in mainet 17, we're going to introduce, the burn mint equilibrium. and also, as Tyler mentioned, we had an incentivized test net, that ended mid last week. It went on for two weeks and it was very robust and substantial. so Rodri and some other members on the call are very familiar.
+
+Scott Carruthers: we got a very good feedback by the community for the thoroughess and also their response from the team during that test net. So we're very confident now heading into the network upgrade that we'll be a little under two weeks from yesterday.  So during that incentivized test net we did not only testing of the pricing oracle and the smart contracts but we also did dedicated so a circuit breaker is introduced if there's a sudden drop in AKT price and the BME vault doesn't have enough to burn ACT against.
+
+Scott Carruthers: so we obviously need some safeguards in place during volto events which we believe would be incredibly rare events but those safety mechanisms are in place and again not only were the main components of BME tested but we had entire days dedicated to circuit breaker warning and halt states. it had a couple of minor issues.  The primary issue and bug that was identified during test net was when the BME status should have gone into a warning state. It was actually going into a halt state. and this is where we were getting really great feedback from the community on the response time. We recognized that issue rectified an encode and had a patch version within 24 hours and then went into another dedicated window where it was successfully tested with that rectified version.
+
+Scott Carruthers: So yeah, again I think Tyler went through a lot of this, but et 16 upgrade last week for mainet 17 coming up in a little under two weeks for BME. and great success in the associated incentivized test net recently. so I don't think I have anything other than that. Obviously, if there's any questions in the community,
+
+
+### 00:10:00
+
+Scott Carruthers: happy to answer.
+
+Tyler Wright: Thank you,…
+
+Tyler Wright: Go ahead, Cindy.
+
+Sandeep: Yeah. So Scott …
+
+Sandeep: when we go to the mainet 17 so if we find any unexpected bug in the mainet 17 as we didn't implemented this BME on cosmos as per my knowledge maybe please I want to know hear from you but if we find any bug how much as it is on cosmos so to solve this issue it might take some time to again go to the implementation part and voting proposal so why didn't we implemented this BME on cosmos as it is it's easy to deploy and…
+
+Sandeep: go faster way so yeah So yeah the question is simple …
+
+Scott Carruthers: So maybe you could help me understand the question a little bit more precisely.
+
+Scott Carruthers: So these smart contracts that will be deployed are cosmos contracts. so I'm not sure that I fully understand the question.
+
+Sandeep: why did we deploy on…
+
+Sandeep: why did we write the BME as a module instead why didn't we go with the cosmos contracts
+
+Scott Carruthers: …
+
+Scott Carruthers: yeah, honestly, I don't. Artur was the lead architect behind that. Sandeep, if you would like to, DM me and I can definitely get an answer to that and if the community is curious as well, we can definitely provide an answer. I actually wasn't the architect that made that decision.
+
+Scott Carruthers: I'm sure there were considerations that were behind that decision, but I actually don't know that myself. but yeah, we can definitely follow up. feel free to DM me and I'll get you a satisfactory answer. And again, if we think it's valuable to community, we can also provide it to the community. Sure.
+
+Sandeep: good. Thank you.
+
+Tyler Wright: Any other questions around the upcoming mainet upgrade to Akash mainet 17 or any other questions about anything  Sick cham related. Go ahead, Rodri.
+
+Rodri R: Hey so just I saw there's a new version of the binary B1.2.1 which is only recommended for public nodes. just wondering I know it's not needed for validators but is it recommended to upgrade or…
+
+Scott Carruthers: No.
+
+Zeke Ezagui: or just the …
+
+Rodri R: just stay on  All right, cool.
+
+Zeke Ezagui: it just fixes a query. So, nothing to do with consensus or anything like that.  You're more than welcome to, but no need at
+
+Tyler Wright: Any other questions around anything kos network blockchain All right. Yeah. stand deep. please feel free to again reach out to Scott, if we could put maybe an answer if the committee wants to know in the sick chain channel, that would be great. but we'll follow up. again, we'll have another network upgrade to Akash mainet 17 before our next sick chain meeting, we'll have a postmortem of this next network upgrade.
+
+Tyler Wright: but big shout out to again everybody that's been involved in testing of BME and then again the smaller group that's going to be doing some additional testing this week. as Scott mentioned again the huge community effort and helps to feel really confident going into the network upgrade on March 23rd. If anybody has any questions feel free to drop them in SIG chain. please look out for documentation.  And we'll make sure that documentation as a core team is out as early as possible for this next network upgrade. So our validators have all of the items that they need all the infrastructure requirements etc. to make sure this network next upgrade is extremely fast and efficient for All right everybody again thank you for the time today.
+
+Tyler Wright: Thank you Scott and Zeke for answering some questions. I hope everyone has a great rest of their day. big shout out to all the validators, all the people in the community that helped test BME. yeah, and we will again talk to you online and see you at the next network upgrade. Look out for announcements in Discord and other channels as we prepare leading up to the next network upgrade again.
+
+
+### 00:15:00
+
+Scott Carruthers: Thanks everyone.
+
+Tyler Wright: And then providers will look out for announcements on instructions from the core team. Thank you everybody. Have a great day.
+
+Rodri R: Thank you to you guys.
+
+
+### Meeting ended after 00:15:50 👋
+