Nexa Node 2.1.0.0: Preparing the Ground for Tailstorm

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The long-anticipated Tailstorm protocol upgrade is starting to unfold, and we are excited to announce the release of Nexa Full Node 2.1.0.0. Although formally classified as a minor release, it marks a significant step toward Tailstorm integration, alongside many other improvements. This version consolidates stability enhancements, expands platform support, and lays the groundwork for Tailstorm — the consensus upgrade that will redefine Nexa’s architecture.

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An important reminder: before upgrading your full-node wallet, you must back up your “wallet.dat” file to a safe directory in case the installation process is interrupted or crashes. This is a routine procedure before any major upgrade, and it is always important to keep your wallet backed up.

Preparing for Tailstorm

The weight of Nexa 2.1.0.0 is in its preparatory work for Tailstorm, the forthcoming consensus protocol, it will enable much faster block production and greater throughput, but to deploy it safely, the network requires architectural changes well in advance. Block headers have been migrated from memory into a dedicated LevelDB database. Before, startup required about 500MB of RAM just to load headers, and now, only the last day’s headers are held in memory, reducing usage to around 300MB.

Complementing this structural change is a new -stormtest parameter, to enable controlled experimentation with Tailstorm’s rapid sub-block mining. In stormtest mode, blocks can be mined every one to four seconds, and that allows developers and researchers to explore the dynamics of Tailstorm safely, well before it goes live on mainnet.

A new function ‘Block Viewer’ in the Debug window provides real-time visualization of chain activity. Blocks, forks, and double-spend attempts are represented graphically, with color-coded cues and interactive metadata, and a pause-and-continue function allows users to study the chain state in detail before resuming live updates.

Reliability and Testing

Upgrade also delivers a set of improvements for network stability. Peer discovery during bootstrap has been improved and ban logic now records clearer reasons for enforcement, helping operators understand connectivity issues. Internal semaphore fixes prevent shutdown hangs and ensure that connection limits are managed cleanly.

Testing has been strengthened as well, and the regtest framework now reflects all Fork1 rules, ensuring that test environments mirror mainnet behavior. Post-fork test failures have been resolved, and the libnexa API wrapper now ships with expanded unit and integration tests.

Building for a Broader Ecosystem

Several improvements target developer experience and ecosystem expansion. The core library, libnexa, can now be compiled independently, opening the door to integration with external applications without requiring the full node. CI pipelines now include Alpine Linux and Android builds, extending Nexa’s reach into mobile and containerized environments. Rostrum is now built reproducibly with GCC 10.5, and documentation for cross-compilation on Windows has been refreshed.

Accessibility has also improved at the user level, with the addition of Arabic language support and updates to all existing translations, these changes may seem less technical, but they are critical for global adoption.

For more detailed release notes please visit Nexa GitLab:
https://gitlab.com/nexa/nexa/-/blob/dev/doc/release-notes/2.1.0.0.md

A Foundation for Tomorrow

Nexa 2.1.0.0 is a release that serves the present while preparing for the future, it delivers practical improvements in memory usage, network reliability, and operator tooling, while embedding the early architecture of Tailstorm protocol.

This release is the result of collaborative effort, and contributions from Andrew Stone, Andrea Suisani, Dagur Valberg, Griffith, Peter Tschipper, and vgrunner are much appreciated.

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