This mandatory upgrade to version 11.5.0 addresses the BLS signature issue that has been preventing operators from claiming rewards and registering nodes. This release also addresses an issue with some nodes that have been running for more than 6 days to become non-responsive to requests. This may lead to decommissions for some nodes before the watchdog triggers to restart the process and recovers the node from deregistration.

Together with this upgrade, liquidation penalties, which were previously inactive, will now be enabled on the Session Network.

Liquidation Penalties and How to Avoid Them

Liquidation penalties ensure network integrity and proper node lifecycle management. These penalties may occur in two situations, both of which are easily avoidable by node operators:

1. Liquidation penalties after failing to exit a node after requesting to exit

When a Session Node has become eligible to exit 15 days after requesting to exit, the node must formally exit the network within 7 days. Simply click the Exit button on the node in the Staking Portal. After exiting, you can claim your stake by clicking the Claim button on your My Stakes page.

If the node is not removed within 7 days of becoming eligible to exit (22 days after the initial exit request), the node becomes eligible for liquidation by other users. When a node gets liquidated, a 0.2% penalty is taken from the operator's stake: 0.1% of the operator's stake is transferred to the liquidator, and 0.1% of the operator's stake is returned to the Staking Reward Pool.

2. Liquidation penalties after failing to exit a node following deregistration

Deregistrations can be issued at any point during the active lifecycle of a Session Node, including during the period after requesting an exit.

To avoid losing 0.2% of their stake to the liquidation penalty, operators can manually exit their node by clicking the Exit button in the Staking Portal. The stake will still remain locked for 30 days. If the node has not been manually exited within 7 days following deregistration, it is eligible for liquidation.

In short: Always exit your node promptly when required to avoid the 0.2% liquidation penalty.

How to Complete This Upgrade

First, sync your repositories:

sudo apt update

Then install updates using:

sudo apt upgrade

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!