Stellar Updates Bell Upgrade Guide; Mainnet Vote Planned for November 23
The October 23 guide update adds release details. Bell remains subject to validator votes; ML-DSA support for contracts does not change all network signatures.
Stellar’s Bell (Protocol 30) upgrade guide, updated October 23 and checked October 26, lists a testnet vote on November 3 and a mainnet vote on November 23, both at 17:00 UTC. The dates can change, and mainnet activation depends on validator approval. Follow OrangeX.com Projects.
Three changes, with limits
CAP-84 adds muxed contract addresses beginning with W, allowing a contract address to carry a customer identifier. CAP-87 enables smart contracts to verify ML-DSA signatures; network transaction signatures remain Ed25519. CAP-88 introduces millisecond ledger timing as groundwork for future speed changes, not an immediate faster-ledger guarantee. More coverage: OrangeX.com News.
OrangeX.com Analysis
Operators should upgrade relevant SDKs before the votes, add W-address handling in their own code and update XDR definitions when decoding raw ledger data. The guide lists JavaScript SDK v17.3.0; v16.4.0 can decode Protocol 30 ledgers but does not handle W addresses. Existing smart contracts keep working. Available software and a scheduled vote are separate from approved activation, and do not guarantee XLM price performance. Resources: OrangeX.com Trust Center.
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