Astar Technical Development Updates
Greetings, Astar Community!
Introduction
We are excited to share the latest technical updates from Astar. Our dedicated teams have been working diligently on protocol and runtime development.
This week’s update focuses specifically on the Astar runtime-1500 upgrade. This upgrade includes the Max Tier Threshold update, the Polkadot uplift to stable2412 and SQL feature for Frontier. Our goal is to keep you informed and ensure Astar remains at the forefront of blockchain innovation.
Dive into the details below to see how we’re continuously improving Astar for our community!
1. Max Tier Threshold Update 
Since the Astar upgrade in August 2024 with Client Release v5.43.0
, tier thresholds have been calculated dynamically as percentages of total token issuance for tiers 1, 2, and 3. These thresholds are currently defined by a base percentage and a minimum percentage (check messages in this thread).
Now, this update introduces an additional fixed maximum percentage to cap tier thresholds.
Key references:
- You can see the full conversation in this Forum discussion
- You can find the technical implementation in this GitHub Pull Request #1459
Key Updates:
- Fixed Threshold Caps Introduced: A maximum percentage cap has been added to dApp staking tier thresholds to prevent volatility due to ASTR price fluctuations.
- More Predictable Tier System: Thresholds are now stabilized, reducing pressure on projects and enabling better planning for long-term development.
- Immediate dApp Tier Changes: Following the new thresholds, 1 dApp will be promoted to Tier 1, 1 to Tier 2, and 2 to Tier 3, fostering a fairer builder environment.
2. Polkadot Uplift (to stable2412) 
This upgrade includes core client and runtime improvements that enhance performance, security, and compatibility across the Astar ecosystem. Notably, it introduces support for Polkadot’s stable2412
release and several developer-centric enhancements.
Key references:
- For a developer-focused changelog, explore this GitHub Pull Request #1463
- You can find the information in this Astar runtime-1500 GitHub release
Key Updates:
-
Polkadot SDK Upgrade to
polkadot-stable2412-4
All dependencies uplifted to the latest Polkadot release tag, enabling multiple improvements across consensus, EVM, runtime APIs, and more.
-
Fork-Aware Transaction Pool
Introduced a configurable, fork-aware transaction pool via
--pool-type
, improving transaction processing in fork scenarios. -
Elastic Core Selection via
SelectCore
Added support for dynamic core assignment in collators, allowing better resource allocation and scalability.
-
XCM v5 Integration
Full migration to XCM v5 format, featuring better fee mechanics, improved extrinsic logic, and new API calls for trusted reserve and teleporter queries.
-
New Extrinsic Versioning & SignedExtension Replacement
Introduced
TransactionExtension
to replaceSignedExtension
, now accounting extension weights in the total weight of extrinsics. -
Governance & Identity Migrations
- Identity decouples usernames from account IDs (
migration included).
- Added support for lazy migration v2 in pallet-identity.
- Migrated
xc-asset-config
for XCMv5 compatibility.
- Identity decouples usernames from account IDs (
-
EVM Runtime Enhancements
- Cancun Hardfork Support: Deprecated
SELFDESTRUCT
opcode handled (no critical keys found across Astar, Shibuya, Shiden). - Storage Limit per Tx: Configurable via
GasLimitStorageGrowthRatio
. Temporarily disabled with future plans for full enforcement. - BlockHash & To Field Nullable: In
txpool_content
,blockHash
andto
can now returnnull
depending on tx context.
- Cancun Hardfork Support: Deprecated
-
External Account Providers
Added support for pluggable external account providers in Frontier.
It is highly recommended for node operators to upgrade their clients as soon as possible due to the introduction of new Polkadot Uplift improvements in the upcoming Client Release v5.46.0
. While the upgrade is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged to ensure optimal performance and compatibility.
Check out the Astar Client Release v5.46.0 here
Upgrade Priority: Recommended
3. SQL Backend for Frontier (EVM Indexing) 
A new SQL backend has been introduced for Frontier, the EVM compatibility layer. This allows developers and node operators to index EVM data more efficiently, enabling deeper querying and more scalable infrastructure for dApps.
This feature is especially beneficial for explorers, analytics platforms, and infrastructure providers that require structured access to onchain EVM data.
Key references:
- Refer to the configuration guide in the updated docs here Astar Network Documentation
- You can find the release notes about this change in this Astar v5.46.0 client release notes
- You can find the technical implementation in this GitHub Pull Request #1461
Key Updates:
- Optional SQL Support for Frontier: Node operators can now choose between RocksDB (default) and SQL for the EVM backend, improving performance for data indexing and querying.
- Optimized for Indexing: SQL delivers better efficiency than RocksDB for handling Ethereum logs and queries, making it ideal for explorers, analytics dashboards, and infrastructure tools.
- Flexible Configuration: Operators can customize backend behavior with optional flags (e.g., connection pool size, timeout settings, cache size) to suit their infrastructure needs.
- Simple Activation: Just add
-frontier-backend-type sql
when running your node to enable SQL. Afrontier.db3
SQLite file will be created automatically.
This enhancement boosts scalability for dApp developers and data providers, helping them build richer, faster tools on Astar’s EVM environment.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to enhance and expand the Astar network. Your feedback and support are invaluable to us as we strive to make Astar the best it can be.
Thank you for being part of our journey!