Stellar's Bell Upgrade Live on Testnet Ahead of November 23 Mainnet Vote
Stellar's Protocol 30 upgrade, codenamed Bell, has been activated on testnet, adding muxed contract addresses, post-quantum ML-DSA signature verification and changes to ledger close-time recording. Validators will vote on activating Bell on mainnet on November 23, and wallets and indexers will need to update their software to support the new address format.
Written by CoinArticle’s AI Newsroom · from 2 cited sources. How we work
What Changed on Testnet
Stellar has activated its Protocol 30 upgrade, codenamed Bell, on testnet, according to a November 4 announcement from the Stellar Development Foundation. Validators are scheduled to vote on activating Bell on mainnet at 17:00 UTC on November 23, with activation dependent on that approval. The testnet activation followed a validator vote held November 3 at the same time of day.
Bell bundles three protocol changes, specified under CAP-84, CAP-87 and CAP-88. They cover how smart contracts handle customer addresses, how cryptographic signatures are verified, and how the ledger records closing times. The foundation said in an October 20 announcement that the upgrade is meant to help businesses manage customer funds through smart accounts while preparing the network for quantum-resistant security and faster transaction processing.
Muxed Contract Addresses for Custodians
CAP-84 extends a capability Stellar already offers to standard accounts. Muxed accounts let exchanges and custodians receive deposits from many customers into one account, identifying each user by a separate ID. Smart accounts, which use programmable contracts to control spending permissions, lacked that feature, so businesses generally had to deploy a separate contract for each customer to keep balances distinct.
Under CAP-84, a contract address can carry a 64-bit identifier that marks the intended customer. Funds reach the underlying contract, while the identifier is recorded in the transfer event. These addresses begin with the letter W, distinguishing them from the M-prefixed muxed account addresses. According to Stellar, exchanges, payment providers and custodians can use this to handle deposits without deploying individual contracts for potentially millions of users. Wallet providers and other applications that process Stellar addresses will need to support the new format.
Post-Quantum Signatures and Their Limits
CAP-87 adds support for verifying ML-DSA signatures inside the Soroban smart contract environment. ML-DSA is a post-quantum digital signature algorithm that the US National Institute of Standards and Technology standardized in 2024. Stellar's current signature schemes, Ed25519, secp256k1 and secp256r1, could become vulnerable to future quantum computers. With Bell, developers can build smart accounts that require ML-DSA signatures before authorizing a transaction, letting wallets and custodians add quantum-resistant spending controls.
The foundation said verification runs through Stellar Core because ML-DSA checks demand considerably more computing resources than conventional signatures. Protocol 30 supports three ML-DSA verification functions, one for each of the algorithm's security levels. The foundation describes this as the first onchain component of its Quantum Preparedness Plan. Network-level transaction signatures will continue to use Ed25519 until a future protocol upgrade, so quantum resistance at this stage applies to contract-level authorization rather than to every transaction on the network.
Sources on Scope and Timing
The two reports agree on the core facts: the testnet activation, the November 23 mainnet vote, and the three CAP numbers. Coverage differs on emphasis. One outlet framed the upgrade mainly around wallet and indexer updates and optional contract verification. The other put more weight on the faster ledger processing that the ledger-timing change could enable in later upgrades. The sources do not give a figure for how much faster processing would become, so that benefit should be treated as prospective. Neither report cites a validator approval threshold for the mainnet vote beyond the statement that activation depends on validator approval.
The Crypto.news report also notes that other chains are pursuing similar protections. In August, Sui outlined plans for quantum-safe account authentication using NIST-approved signature schemes.
Why It Matters
For Traders
The November 23 mainnet vote is the event to watch, since activation is contingent on validator approval and no approval threshold is stated in the sources.
For Investors
Bell marks Stellar's first onchain step toward post-quantum security and smart account custody tooling, both of which could shape its positioning with institutional custodians.
For Builders
Wallets, indexers and any application parsing Stellar addresses must add support for the new W-prefixed contract address format before mainnet activation.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
