State Finalization
Between the predefined stop-transaction-slot and stop-network-slot, a stabilization period of 100 slots will occur. During this phase, the network consensus will not accept new blocks with transactions in them, including coinbase transactions. This means all blocks produced during this period will be completely empty — no user commands, no coinbase rewards, and no fee transfers. The state finalization period ensures all nodes reach a consensus on the latest network state before the upgrade.
During the state finalization slots, it is crucial to maintain a high block density. Therefore, block producers and SNARK workers shall continue running their nodes to support the network's stability and security.
Archive nodes should also continue to execute to ensure finalized blocks are in the database and can be carried over to the upgraded schema, preserving the integrity and accessibility of the network's history.
Per-actor summary
| Actor | During this phase |
|---|---|
| Block Producers | Keep your node running. Block density during finalization is critical — do not stop your node. Both automode and manual operators simply keep running. |
| SNARK Workers | Continue producing SNARK work. No special action required. |
| Archive Node Operators | Keep the archive node running to capture all finalized blocks. If doing trustless upgrade, run the archive upgrade script now if not done already. |
| Rosetta Operators | Follow the archive node instructions — keep your archive node running. |
| Exchanges | Disable MINA deposits and withdrawals. Any transactions submitted after the stop-transaction-slot will not carry over to the Mesa chain. |
| zkApp Developers | No action required. Monitor announcements for the Mesa genesis timestamp. |
Block Producers and SNARK Workers
- It is crucial for the network's successful upgrade that all block producers and SNARK workers maintain their block-producing nodes up and running throughout the state finalization phase.
- If you are running multiple daemons like is common with many operators, you can run one single node at this stage.
- If you are a Delegation Program operator, remember that your uptime data will continue to be tracked during the state finalization phase and will be considered for the delegation grant in the following epoch.
During this phase, both Automode and Manual mode operators simply keep their nodes running. No special action is needed regardless of your upgrade mode.
Archive Node Operators and Rosetta Operators
If you plan to do the trustful upgrade, you can skip this step.
If you are doing the trustless upgrade, then:
- Continue to execute the archive node to ensure finalized blocks are in the database.
- Execute the archive node upgrade script. It can be applied before the fork.
- Continue to run archive node until after the network stops at the stop-network slot.
- For more information on the archive node upgrade process, please refer to the Archive Upgrade section.
Exchanges
Exchanges shall disable MINA deposits and withdrawals during the state finalization period (the period between stop-transaction-slot and stop-network-slot) since any transactions after the stop-transaction-slot will not be part of the upgraded chain.
Note that this assumes the majority of block producers are running the stop-slot release, which is what enforces the transaction cutoff. If your own node is still on a pre-stop-slot build, you might technically be able to submit transactions, but the block producers running the stop-slot release will discard any blocks containing them.