Hard Fork Upgrades

Coordinating Hard Fork Upgrades on BitNet

While traditional governance proposals allow BitNet to schedule upgrades in a decentralized way, they require a full voting period. For critical updates, such as emergency patches or security fixes, BitNet supports Hard Fork Upgrades to ensure faster execution.

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What is a Hard Fork Upgrade?

A Hard Fork in BitNet allows validators to pre-agree on a future upgrade height without waiting for a governance vote. It is triggered by a specially crafted patch release that automatically initiates the upgrade logic when the blockchain reaches a defined block height.

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Step-by-Step Hard Fork Process

1. Patch Creation A private branch is used to fix the vulnerability or apply breaking changes. Example: A patch release like v8.0.1 includes upgrade logic targeting v9.0.0.

2. Patch Deployment Validators install the patch release (v8.0.1), which contains the hard-coded fork logic set for a specific block height.

3. Validator Coordination At least two-thirds (2/3) of the validator voting power must upgrade before the fork height to avoid network halts.

4. Release Distribution The full major release (v9.0.0) is made publicly available at least one hour before the scheduled fork to allow:

   • Binary creation (~30 minutes)

   • Validator testing and Cosmovisor updates

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Why Hard Forks Matter

• Fast Response: Ideal for critical security fixes

• No Governance Delay: Bypasses full voting periods

• Automated Execution: Logic executes at BeginBlock of upgrade height

• Validator Participation Required: If <2/3 voting power upgrades, the fork will fail