Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM)

For community members unfamiliar with the concept, a feature flag is a mechanism that allows specific features to be turned on or off under certain conditions. In the context of NU7, this means that features related to ZIP 234 (smoothing the issuance curve) and ZIP 235 (burning 60% of transaction fees) would remain turned off for both testnet and mainnet until Shielded Labs can demonstrate clear community consensus in support of these protocol-level changes.

We have decided to develop ZIP 234 and ZIP 235 behind two separate feature flags. For ZIP 234, our goal is to demonstrate clear community consensus for its inclusion in NU7 by the testnet activation date, currently scheduled for March 1, 2025. ZIP 235 will be developed behind a separate feature flag to allow testing of a precursor to a consensus-level change, where the node software defaults to burning 60% of transaction fees. If, after mainnet activation and a period of testing the node update, the community decides to support a consensus rule change for ZIP 235, the feature flag can then be activated.

Shielded Labs will take the lead on implementing the feature flags, performing the integration and testing work for the NSM, and resolving any merge conflicts that occur when other features, such as ZSAs, are merged with the NSM.

12 Likes