Arc Testnet Upgrade to v0.8.0

[ZhiyuCircle]

Arc Testnet is upgrading to v0.8.0.

This release activates on Testnet on Sep 3, 2026 at 3:00pm UTC. Zero8 improves protocol correctness and strengthens the Arc Public Testnet for further building and testing.

This release includes some changes to CLI args which node operators should be aware of. Refer to: https://github.com/circlefin/arc-node/blob/main/BREAKING_CHANGES.md

Docker images have been published to the public (unauthenticated) registry:

docker.cloudsmith.io/circle/arc-network/arc-consensus:0.8.0
docker.cloudsmith.io/circle/arc-network/arc-execution:0.8.0
You may also build from source: https://github.com/circlefin/arc-node/tree/v0.8.0

Please reply to acknowledge receipt, and let us know ASAP if you have any issues or questions. Thanks!

[osr21]

Acknowledged — thanks for the notice and the lead time.

A few verification notes that may save other operators a step:

Images resolve on the public registry (multi-arch OCI indexes, anonymous pull works). For anyone pinning by digest:

• arc-consensus:0.8.0 → sha256:697cf4c57b07619591ac9f0d4d85a0821fe340195957e6c5a9c52689f54a9048
• arc-execution:0.8.0 → sha256:2046ffde93df0a4fa4cb5f7e494d8048e9c2262c11b60153d6d81ab3c8eeea1d

Follower checklist from BREAKING_CHANGES.md — the items most likely to bite existing launch scripts on restart:

• --arc.denylist.enabled / --arc.denylist.address / --arc.denylist.storage-slot are removed; leaving them in your args fails startup (denylist checks are now mandatory and chain-derived). --arc.denylist.addresses-exclusions still works.
• CL admin RPC routes (POST/DELETE /persistent-peers) are now off by default — add --rpc.admin only on a trusted interface if you use them.
• arc-snapshots download no longer defaults --chain to testnet; restores from an execution manifest also need --el-profile.
• Pruning presets (--full/--minimal) now inject --prune.block-interval=128 instead of 5000.
• Tooling that string-matches insufficient-balance RPC errors needs updating for the reth 2.2 / revm 38 error text.

Two useful non-blockers:

• The reth Storage V2 migration is optional — v0.8.0 runs existing V1 data as-is, so the upgrade itself isn't gated on arc-node-execution db migrate-v2.
• For anyone who followed Follower sync deadlock: failed multi-height fetch skips a height, consensus wedges permanently (v0.7.3) #214 (follower value-sync wedge on trimmed height ranges): the Malachite v0.8.0 pin includes the reworked sync engine that resolves it — verification details in this comment on the sync PR. Worth upgrading followers promptly rather than waiting for the activation deadline.

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Separately, flagging here only for maintainer visibility: I've submitted a security report to Circle through the private channel described in the relevant repository's SECURITY.md (Circle's Bug Bounty program / GitHub private advisory). It concerns one of the Arc sample applications, not the node software in this release — so it has no bearing on this upgrade. Per responsible-disclosure practice I'm not including any technical details in public; could a maintainer confirm the private advisory queue has been reviewed and route it to the right owner? Happy to provide anything further through the private channel.