Release: Sirius Patch 4 - v1.6.15

To enhance the network's functionality and secure the stability of the ecosystem, we are rolling out a new patch - v1.6.15.

Key Highlights of the Upgrade:

1. Size and Scope: While the upgrade is relatively minor in scale, it plays a significant role in maintaining network stability.
2. Backward Compatibility: This is a mandatory upgrade and is not compatible with earlier versions (v1.6.11 and v1.6.13). To ensure a seamless transition and avoid any disruptions, please upgrade your nodes as soon as possible.

Key Fixes in This Release:

• Migrate Data Trie Fix: The dynamic gas cost feature introduced in the v1.6.7 release increased transaction gas costs, impacting many community builders. The initial plan was to complete the migration and balancing of the data tries within two days of activating the feature. Unfortunately, this did not go as planned. However, we have now rectified the issue with this release. We ask for your patience over the next 10 epochs until this fix becomes active. In the meantime, you can check the new costs by using https://dynamic-gas.multiversx.com/ .

• Fixed Multikey Backup Step: We addressed an issue where backup nodes were unable to step in due to continuous resetting of counters for monitored keys. This has been resolved by applying a filter to the consensus group, using the bitmap from the consensus group that created the block, which solved the issue.

Activation Epoch:

The activation epoch for version v1.6.15 is scheduled for epoch 1293 which will occur on February 13th, 2024, around 16:05 UTC.

Action Required: We invite all validators to update their nodes to version 1.6.15 by the specified date to ensure continued stability and performance of the network.

Governance

Given the nature of the release → Critical Upgrade as proposed on Agora, there is no need for a governance call.

The Governance call for Sirius Release passed with 97.89% YES.

Mainnet Config: https://github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-mainnet-config/releases/tag/v1.6.15.0

Github Link to Sirius - v1.6.15: https://github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go/releases/tag/v1.6.15

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