Protocol Upgrade & Fork Management Standard
1. Upgrade Principles
All network upgrades follow the principles of:
Backward Compatibility: Minimize disruption to existing users and services
Transparency: Full public visibility into all proposed changes
Gradual Rollout: Phased deployment with extensive testing periods
Consensus: Broad community and validator agreement before activation
Safety: No upgrade may modify core monetary policy or immutable constitutional rules
2. Upgrade Types
3. Standard Upgrade Process
Proposal Phase (Days 0-30):
Upgrade proposal submitted with complete specification
Public discussion and comment period
Technical review by core developers and auditors
Development Phase (Days 30-90):
Code implementation completed
Full third-party security audit performed
Testnet deployment and testing period
Bug fixes and iteration based on testnet results
Activation Phase (Days 90-120):
Validator voting period
Upgrade binaries released 30 days before activation
Coordinated upgrade at predetermined block height
95% validator upgrade participation required before activation
Post-Upgrade Phase:
7 day monitoring period after activation
Full network health verification
Post-upgrade report published
4. Hard Fork Coordination Procedure
Fork block height announced minimum 30 days in advance
All exchanges, wallets, and services notified of upgrade requirements
Full replay protection implemented to prevent cross-chain replay attacks
Checkpointing at fork block height for finality
Dual RPC endpoints maintained during transition period
Full support for 30 days after fork for late upgraders
Old chain support discontinued after 60 day transition period
5. Versioning Standard
All protocol versions follow Semantic Versioning 2.0.0:
MAJOR version: Breaking consensus changes requiring hard fork
MINOR version: Backward compatible new features
PATCH version: Backward compatible bug fixes and security patches
Example: v1.2.3 = Major version 1, Minor version 2, Patch version 3
6. Non-Upgradable Rules
The following rules are permanently encoded in the genesis state and may NEVER be changed by any upgrade or fork:
Total maximum supply of 100 trillion ANC
50-year linear vesting schedule for all allocations
No additional token minting mechanism
Core cryptographic security guarantees
Supply proof and conservation invariants
ANCORA Constitution core principles