Stellar Bell Upgrade: Critical Timeline and Technical Requirements
The Stellar Development Foundation has released an updated technical guide for the upcoming Bell upgrade, also known as Protocol 30. This document outlines the mandatory software updates required for wallets, exchanges, and infrastructure operators ahead of the decisive network vote scheduled for November.
Key Technical Changes: New Address Format and Enhanced Contracts
A central feature of Protocol 30 is the introduction of a new contract address format beginning with the letter 'W'. All applications interacting with smart contracts must adopt this new standard. To aid development, Stellar shipped JavaScript SDK v17.3.0 on October 21, which includes essential encoding, decoding, and validation tools for the new addresses.
Furthermore, upgraded contract addresses under Bell will support embedded client identifiers. This enhancement allows a single smart contract to receive payments on behalf of multiple clients while maintaining clear ownership records, unlocking more sophisticated DeFi use cases.
Infrastructure Adaptation: Indexers and Explorers Must Update
The upgrade modifies the ledger header format under Protocol 30, rendering previous decoders obsolete. Consequently, all indexers and blockchain explorers that parse ledger data must implement updates to continue functioning correctly post-upgrade.
New Security and Precision Features
On the security front, Bell introduces ML-DSA post-quantum digital signature verification, preparing the network for future cryptographic challenges. It's important to note that standard transactions will continue to use the existing Ed25519 signature scheme for now.
The upgrade also adds millisecond-precision timestamps to the ledger, increasing the granularity of transaction time recording. This change does not affect the network's block creation interval; transaction confirmation times remain unchanged.
Voting Timeline and Implementation Process
The upgrade's activation is contingent on successful community votes. Testnet validators are slated to vote first on November 3 at 17:00 UTC. Following a successful testnet vote, the mainnet validators will cast their decisive vote on November 23 at 17:00 UTC. The Bell upgrade will only go live on the mainnet after approval. The foundation notes that these dates are subject to change, advising all ecosystem participants to monitor official channels for the latest updates.