XDC Network v2.6.8: The Cancun Upgrade Goes Live on Mainnet

The Most Significant XDC Protocol Upgrade in Years

Published: January 2026

🚀 Executive Summary

XDC Network has successfully activated its most significant protocol upgrade to date with v2.6.8, bringing Ethereum Cancun-equivalent features to the XDC mainnet at block 98,800,200. This release marks a major milestone in XDC's evolution, introducing EIP-1559 fee markets, advanced EVM capabilities, and substantial performance improvements that position XDC as one of the most technically advanced enterprise-grade blockchains.

🎯 Why This Release Matters

1. EIP-1559: Revolutionary Fee Market

The activation of EIP-1559 fundamentally transforms how transaction fees work on XDC Network:

Before (Legacy):

• Users guess gas prices
• Overpayment is common
• Fee volatility during congestion
• All fees go to validators

After (EIP-1559):

• Predictable base fees
• Automatic fee adjustment
• Better UX for wallets and dApps
• Base fee burned (deflationary pressure)

Impact: Users and developers now enjoy a more predictable, efficient fee mechanism that's already proven on Ethereum. This is critical for enterprise adoption where cost predictability matters.

2. Cancun Instruction Set: Future-Ready EVM

XDC now supports the complete Ethereum Cancun upgrade, including:

Impact: Smart contract developers can now use Solidity v0.8.28 features, deploy contracts optimized for Cancun, and benefit from significant gas savings.

3. Blob & KZG Cryptography Support

This release introduces infrastructure for EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding) readiness:

• BLOBHASH opcode implementation
• KZG cryptographic primitives
• Blob transaction handling groundwork

Impact: XDC is now positioned to support Layer 2 scaling solutions and data availability sampling—critical for future scalability.

4. Enterprise-Grade Stability

Extensive bug fixes and optimizations address real-world operational issues:

• Fixed: Transaction pool overflow issues
• Fixed: Block production stalls
• Fixed: RPC accuracy improvements
• Fixed: Memory leaks in node operations
• Fixed: Consensus edge cases

Impact: Masternode operators experience more reliable block production and reduced maintenance overhead.

📊 Technical Deep Dive

EVM Performance Improvements

The v2.6.8 release includes substantial EVM optimizations:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Performance Improvements                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Refactored VM context architecture    │
│ • Reduced memory allocations            │
│ • Optimized precompile handling         │
│ • Improved jumpdest analysis            │
│ • Better EstimateGas accuracy           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

New RPC Capabilities

Operators gain new tools for node management:

# New trusted peer management
admin_addTrustedPeer("enode://...")
admin_removeTrustedPeer("enode://...")

# New epoch information
xdpos_getBlockInfoByEpochNum(epochNumber)

# Database CLI tools
XDC db stats
XDC db compact
XDC db inspect

Security Enhancements

• CertiK audit findings addressed
• Hardened consensus signature validation
• Improved sender recovery for pending transactions
• Enforced signer uniqueness using public keys

🔧 What Developers Need to Know

Solidity v0.8.28 Support

You can now use the latest Solidity features:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.28;

contract CancunFeatures {
    // Transient storage (EIP-1153)
    // Useful for reentrancy guards without storage costs

    // MCOPY for efficient memory operations
    // BLOBHASH for L2 data availability
}

Updated Gas Estimation

// Gas estimation is now more accurate
const gasEstimate = await provider.estimateGas({
    to: contractAddress,
    data: encodedData
});

// EIP-1559 transaction format
const tx = {
    to: recipient,
    value: ethers.parseEther("1.0"),
    maxFeePerGas: ethers.parseUnits("25", "gwei"),
    maxPriorityFeePerGas: ethers.parseUnits("1", "gwei"),
    type: 2  // EIP-1559 transaction
};

Chain Configuration

{
  "chainId": 50,
  "cancunBlock": 98800200,
  "eip1559Block": 98800200
}

🏗 For Masternode Operators

Mandatory Upgrade

⚠️ This is a consensus-breaking upgrade. All nodes MUST upgrade before block 98,800,200.

# Upgrade command
cd mainnet && bash upgrade.sh

# Verify version
./XDC version
# Should show: v2.6.8

New Configuration Options

# RPC gas cap (default: 50M)
--rpc-gascap 50000000

# Enable HTTP and WS on same port
--http --ws --http.port 8545

# Increased default max peers
# Now defaults to 50 peers

Deprecated Flags (Remove from configs)

# These flags are NO LONGER SUPPORTED:
--mine          # Removed
--fast          # Removed  
--light         # Removed
--XDCx-datadir  # Removed

📈 Impact on XDC Ecosystem

For DeFi Protocols

• More predictable transaction costs
• Gas optimizations reduce operational costs
• New opcodes enable more efficient contracts

For Enterprise Users

• Improved reliability and uptime
• Better cost predictability
• Enhanced security guarantees

For Layer 2 Development

• Blob transaction infrastructure ready
• KZG cryptography support
• Foundation for data availability solutions

For Token Economics

• EIP-1559 base fee burn mechanism
• Potential deflationary pressure on XDC
• More sustainable validator economics

🗓 Timeline

🔮 What's Next

With Cancun features now live, the XDC development roadmap focuses on:

1. Layer 2 Scaling - Leveraging blob transaction support
2. Cross-chain Interoperability - Enhanced bridge capabilities
3. Developer Tooling - Improved debugging and analytics
4. Continued Performance - Further EVM optimizations

📚 Resources

• Release Notes: GitHub v2.6.8
• Upgrade Guide: XDC Documentation
• Block Explorer: xdcscan.io

🎉 Conclusion

XDC Network v2.6.8 represents a watershed moment for the ecosystem. By achieving feature parity with Ethereum's Cancun upgrade while maintaining XDC's unique advantages—2-second block times, near-instant finality, and enterprise-grade reliability—this release solidifies XDC's position as a leading blockchain for trade finance and enterprise applications.

The combination of EIP-1559 fee markets, advanced EVM capabilities, and comprehensive stability improvements creates a more powerful, predictable, and developer-friendly platform. Whether you're building DeFi protocols, enterprise solutions, or Layer 2 infrastructure, XDC v2.6.8 provides the foundation for the next generation of blockchain applications.

For technical questions or integration support, join the XDC Developer community on Telegram.