The Altair beacon chain upgrade is ready to go live on the Ethereum mainnet. The update will be activated in epoch 74240 (October 27, 2021, 10:56:23 am UTC).
client versions
To be compatible with the Altair update, beacon node operators should update the version of the client they are running. If you run a validator, should upgrade to continue following the mainnet beacon chain. Failure to do so will result in downtime penalties.
The versions listed below are compatible with the Mainnet Altair update.
EDIT: The following table has been edited to refer to the latest versions of the Altair client before the mainnet update. These contain security patches and optimizations, so we recommend all users update to the latest versions.
*Customer releases referenced with an asterisk have changed since the original announcement.
Update for validators
While this update has been thoroughly tested if you are a validator on Mainnet, we strongly recommend that you stay online during the time of the update in case of any unforeseen issues.
bug bounty bonus
In order to get more attention on the Altair update, all Altair update-related vulnerability bounties have been doubled between now and four weeks after release (November 27). Altair critical bugs in both clients and specs are now worth up to $100k.
Watch the bug bounty program for more details.
Frequently asked questions
As an Ethereum user or Ether holder, do I need to do anything?
This update is purely for the beacon chain consensus mechanism and does not not affect end-user accounts, contracts, and the state guaranteed by the proof-of-work chain.
If you run your own beacon node, you must update your node. See “As a non-validating beacon node operator, what should I do?” then.
As a non-validating beacon node operator, what should I do?
Download the latest version of your beacon node client, as indicated in the table above.
As a validator, what should I do?
Download the latest version of the software you are running, as indicated in the table above. Follow the release instructions and reboot your node with your standard reboot procedure.
Note that node software that supports standalone validation clients will also require an update and restart of this component. Read the warnings and instructions contained in the official communications.
What happens if I am a validator or node operator and do not participate in the update?
If you are using a beacon node client that is not updated to the latest version (mentioned above), your client will be synchronized with the pre-fork beacon chain once the update occurs. You will be stuck in an incompatible chain following the old rules.
If you run a validator, the validator will not be able to participate in the updated consensus and will continue to operate on the post-update beacon chain network. This will result in penalties against the updated Mainnet chain.
What happens during a Beacon Chain network update?
After the Ethereum community agrees on which changes should be included in the update, the protocol changes are written to the various clients. Beacon chain protocol changes are triggered at a specific epoch number. Any nodes that have not updated to the new rule set will be left in the old chain where the old rules can continue to exist.
Why “Altar”?
After community discussion and emoji voting, the customer teams decided to use star names for each update where the sequence of update names is in alphabetical order.
Altair starts with an “A”, is the twelfth brightest star in the night sky, spins quite fast with an equatorial velocity of 286 km/s, and is the location of the forbidden planet. Pretty cool star if you ask us.
Thanks!
A big shout out to all the researchers, engineers, and community members who have put an incredible amount of work into this first update to the beacon chain network.
Now, on with the merger 🚀
Disclaimer
It is an emerging and highly technical evolving space. If you choose to implement the recommendations in this post and continue to participate, you should make sure you understand how it affects you. You should understand that there are risks involved, including, but not limited to, risks such as unexpected errors. By choosing to implement these recommendations, you alone assume the risks of the consequences. This publication and recommendations are not a sale of any kind and do not create warranties of any kind, including but not limited to anything related to the Ethereum network or the Ethereum clients referenced in this document.
