A Two-Stage Upgrade Separates Airdrop from Restaking

The expansion plan had reached execution. Node operators were waiting for existing keys to become many smaller ones, but worried about the order in which staking and challenges would change. A-Zhen was still working on the chain side and needed to make the sequence of suspensions and resumptions clear.

The contract upgrade was released on schedule in two stages. First, staking and unstaking would stop, and each existing key would receive ninety-nine additional keys while challenges continued. Then challenges would pause, the new keys would be staked automatically back into their original pools, and each pool’s limit would rise one hundredfold. A-Zhen reminded operators that challenges running in the first stage did not mean every operation would remain available throughout the upgrade. Scheduled monthly token unlocks on-chain also continued; the persistent selling pressure had become background noise that almost no one mentioned in the discussion.

The staged plan made the arrival of keys and their return to the original pools two separate points to check. Operators could not assume their earning setup was restored merely by seeing more keys. The Night Watchman planned to check his pool in sequence, while A-Zhen kept watching the conditions for resumption. Completion of the airdrop and the timing of the challenge pause and restart still depended on execution.