Lux Granite Upgrade - Enhancing ICM, Unlocking Biometric Use Cases, and Enabling Dynamic Block Times

The Lux Granite upgrade activates on Testnet Testnet on October 29th, 2025, bringing major improvements including Platform-Chain epoched views for ICM, secp256r1 support for biometric authentication, and dynamic minimum block times for faster transactions.

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Introducing Lux Granite

UPDATED: The Mainnet release for the latest upgrade to the Lux Network, dubbed "Lux Granite", activated on Mainnet November 19th, 2025 at 11 AM ET (4 PM UTC).

Action Required: All Mainnet node operators must upgrade their nodes to v1.14 before the scheduled activation time or risk operational failure. For instructions on upgrading your node, see this guide.

The pre-release was published on October 21st, 2025 and successfully activated on the Testnet Testnet at 11 AM ET (3 PM UTC) on Wednesday, October 29th, 2025.

The Granite upgrade is driven by three Lux Community Proposals that significantly enhance the network's capabilities:

Node Operator Requirements

Mainnet Node Operators

Action Required: All Mainnet node operators must upgrade their nodes to v1.14 before 11 AM ET (4 PM UTC) on November 19th, 2025.

The Lux Granite Upgrade includes protocol optimizations that are not compatible with LuxGo versions < v1.14. If you run a node on Mainnet, you must upgrade your software to LuxGo >= v1.14 before the activation time. The plugin version is updated to 44. All plugins must update to be compatible. Ensure your node is running with the correct plugin version as specified in the release notes.

Critical Warning: All Mainnet nodes must upgrade before 11 AM ET, November 19, 2025, or risk going offline once Granite activates. This warning applies to L1 validators who risk finalizing invalid blocks past the Granite activation time without epoch information if they fail to upgrade in time.

L1 validators must upgrade to the latest version of Subnet-EVM to be compatible with the Granite upgrade. Learn more about upgrading your L1 to Granite.

Testnet Testnet Node Operators

The Granite upgrade successfully activated on the Testnet Testnet at 11 AM ET (3 PM UTC) on Wednesday, October 29th, 2025. Testnet node operators have upgraded their nodes to v1.14-testnet, which includes protocol optimizations that are not compatible with LuxGo versions < v1.14-testnet. The plugin version is updated to 44.

Please note: This Testnet pre-release is unable to run on mainnet and will display "mainnet is not supported" if attempted with a mainnet configuration.

Enhancing ICM Verification with Platform-Chain Epoched Views

This upgrade activates LP-181, which significantly improves the robustness and cost-effectiveness of Interchain Messaging (ICM) verification on Lux's L1 chains.

The Challenge

Previously, the Platform-Chain pointers were updated with every block, leading to validation uncertainty and potential invalidation of ICM messages due to continuous changes in the validator set. This created inefficiencies and increased costs for cross-chain message verification.

The Solution

With LP-181, the Platform-Chain height is fixed for an entire epoch period (approximately 5-10 minutes), providing a stable validator set view. This ensures ICM messages are verified against a consistent Platform-Chain height, reducing invalidation risk and lowering costs.

Benefits for Developers

By allowing L1 chains to maintain a consistent view of the Platform-Chain, LP-181 enhances the efficiency and reliability of ICM message handling across the network. Developers building cross-chain applications can now rely on:

  • Cheaper message verification - Reduced computational overhead
  • More reliable cross-chain messaging - Lower invalidation risk
  • Predictable validator set views - Stable reference points for verification

Watch the LP-181 community call to learn more about the technical details.

Unlocking New Biometric Use Cases with secp256r1

This upgrade introduces support for signature verifications using the secp256r1 elliptic curve via LP-204, enabling innovative biometric data signing on the Lux network.

New Capabilities

With secp256r1 curve support, developers can now implement biometric data signing, unlocking a range of new use cases:

  • Secure identity verification through fingerprint or facial recognition
  • Enhanced user authentication processes without traditional passwords
  • FaceID/TouchID-style logins integrated directly into dApps
  • Seamless, secure transactions with biometric confirmation

Enterprise Applications

The integration of biometric data signing facilitates the development of decentralized applications that require high-security standards, such as:

  • Digital identity platforms
  • Secure access control systems
  • Healthcare applications with HIPAA compliance
  • Financial services with enhanced KYC/AML processes

LP-204 expands the possibilities for biometric implementations, positioning Lux at the forefront of blockchain innovation. Developers can now deliver stronger security and a smoother user experience by integrating modern biometric authentication methods into their applications.

Enabling Faster Transactions with Dynamic Minimum Block Times

This upgrade activates LP-226, introducing a dynamic adjustment mechanism for block times on the Lux network, which enhances user experience by reducing latency.

How It Works

LP-226 allows validators to dynamically adjust block times in response to network improvements, such as the upcoming Streaming Asynchronous Execution (SAE) and Firewood features. This flexibility enables:

  • Sub-second block times - Significantly faster than the previous fixed intervals
  • Continuous optimization - Validators can adjust block times without network upgrades
  • Stake-weighted preferences - Network converges around validator consensus

The Impact

Previously, block rates could only be changed during network upgrades, creating rigid constraints on performance improvements. With LP-226, validators can continuously optimize block times to match the network's evolving capabilities.

This upgrade ensures that users benefit from:

  • Quicker transaction finality - Reduced time to confirmation
  • Lower end-user latency - More responsive applications
  • Improved network efficiency - Better resource utilization
  • Future-proof scalability - Ready for upcoming performance enhancements

Watch the LP-226 community call to learn more about the technical implementation.

Looking Ahead

The Granite upgrade represents another significant step forward in Lux's evolution as a high-performance blockchain platform. By improving ICM reliability, enabling biometric authentication, and allowing dynamic block time adjustments, Lux continues to deliver the speed, flexibility, and scalability that developers need.

As the network continues to evolve with upcoming features like Streaming Asynchronous Execution (SAE) and Firewood Database integration, these Granite improvements lay the foundation for even greater performance enhancements.

Summary of Changes

This section provides a technical overview of the changes introduced in the Granite upgrade for developers and node operators.

New Block Headers (LP-226)

Two new headers have been introduced as part of LP-226 for dynamic block time management:

  1. timestampMilliseconds (uint64) - Timestamp in milliseconds for more precise block timing
  2. minDelayExcess (uint64) - Tracks the excess delay for dynamic block time adjustments

See the full changelog for implementation details.

For L1s

For Subnet-EVM's Fee Manager Precompile these fields are deprecated by LP-226 and no longer effective:

  • targetBlockRate
  • minBlockGasCost
  • maxBlockGasCost
  • blockGasCostStep

For existing L1s, there is no action required. These fields will be ignored by the fee manager precompile.

For new L1s, these fields should continue to be populated with their defaults. These fields will be removed in a future upgrade.

New Data Structures (LP-181)

A new struct has been added as part of LP-181 to support epoched Platform-Chain views:

  • Epoch struct - Provides stable Platform-Chain height references for ICM message verification

New API Methods

Three new API methods have been added to support the Granite upgrade features:

  1. proposervm.GetProposedHeight - Returns this node's current proposer VM height.

  2. proposervm.GetCurrentEpoch - Returns the current epoch information.

  3. platform.GetAllValidatorsAt - Get the validators and their weights of all L1s and the Primary Network at a given Platform-Chain height.

Note: While platform.getProposedHeight will not be immediately deprecated, you should switch to using proposervm.getProposedHeight for future compatibility.

Node Configuration Changes

For L1 Operators

Add the --min-delay-target parameter to your subnet-evm chain config to enable sub-second minimum block times:

{
  "min-delay-target": <uint64_value>
}

For Primary Network Node Operators

Add the --min-delay-target parameter to your LUExchange-Chain config to vote on the target minimum block time enforced by the proposerVM on the LUExchange-Chain:

{
  "min-delay-target": <uint64_value>
}

Note: If the --min-delay-target parameter is not set, the validator abstains from voting on the target minimum block time.

Resources

About Lux

Lux is a high-performance blockchain platform designed for builders who need to scale. Engineered with a revolutionary three-part Layer 1 (L1) architecture, Lux is anchored by its Lux Consensus Mechanism, ensuring near-instant finality for transactions. The platform also features an open-source Layer 0 (L0) framework, enabling the seamless creation of interoperable Layer 1 blockchains with high throughput on both public and private networks.

Supported by a global community of developers and validators, Lux offers a fast, low-cost environment for building the next generation of decentralized applications (dApps). With its unique blend of speed, flexibility, and scalability, Lux is the preferred choice for innovators pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology.

Follow @LuxDevelopers for updates and join our developer community to stay informed about future upgrades and tooling improvements.

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Written by

LuxDevelopers

On

Wed Nov 05 2025

Topics

Granite UpgradeICMBiometricBlock TimeLPPerformance