Stellar network recently underwent a significant upgrade to Protocol 21, which aims to enhance security, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The update, approved by public network validators, introduced five Core Advancement Proposals (CAPs) to improve the Stellar Mainnet.
One key enhancement in Protocol 21 is CAP-0053, which enhances Time to Live (TTL) management by introducing two distinct host functions to manage the TTL for contract instances and code separately. This improvement allows for better rent fee distribution and state archival functionality, optimizing resource utilization and contract management.
Another important enhancement is CAP-0054, which refines the virtual machine (VM) instantiation cost model by charging fees based on actual usage rather than tying CPU costs to transaction fees. This change reduces transaction costs, enhances network scalability, and improves resource allocation and performance.
Additionally, CAP-0055 streamlines the linking process during VM instantiation by reducing the number of host functions linked to each contract. This reduces CPU costs per transaction, allowing for more transactions per ledger and enhancing overall network performance.
Moreover, CAP-0056 introduces intra-transaction module caching for Soroban, Stellar’s smart contract platform. This improvement eliminates redundant parsing when invoking the same contract multiple times within a single transaction, significantly boosting throughput and performance.
These enhancements will elevate the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and scalability of the Stellar network. By reducing transaction costs, improving network throughput, and enhancing performance, Stellar aims to support a higher volume of transactions at reduced costs. The independent management of TTL for contract components will also contribute to more flexible and efficient contract lifecycle management.
Despite recent market volatility, Stellar (XLM) has maintained stability with a slight increase in price. The coin’s market cap is $2.68 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $92.4. While XLM is down significantly from its all-time high, the recent upgrades in Protocol 21 are expected to further strengthen Stellar’s position in the blockchain ecosystem.