Noble Upgrades & Maintenance
The Noble blockchain (“Noble”) houses a multisignature wallet, referred to as the Noble Maintenance Multisig (or “NMM”), that has the following three functionalities:
- Upgrade Authority
- Parameter Changes
- IBC maintenance
Upgrade Authority
A standard multisignature application forms the NMM which is able to initiate a chain upgrade when a breaking protocol change requires upgrading the chain binary. The NMM uses an on-chain procedure to indicate to the validators to halt the protocol running the Noble chain and which restarts the blockchain with a new binary. Importantly, validators have discretionary authority to follow those instructions. If 1/3 + 1 of the voting power of the Noble chain refuses to follow these upgrade instructions, the chain halts.
Parameter Changes
The NMM has the ability to initiate parameter changes. This authority is distinct from the upgrade functionality as it would not require the Noble validators to run a new chain binary. A parameter change would automatically be introduced into the state machine of the Noble chain.
IBC Connection Maintenance
The NMM has the ability to re-establish IBC connections that have expired. Any such action related to an IBC connection is achieved automatically upon execution by the NMM.
Configuration of the NMM
The NMM is a 5/7 multisignature wallet for passing a proposal to fulfill the three key functions discussed above. The configuration of the NMM includes the Noble corporate entity and core validator partners. A key objective of the NMM is to achieve a reasonable level of geographic diversity among NMM members for resilience. The current geographies are noted as follows:
- Binary Holdings: Switzerland
- Chorus One: Switzerland
- Cosmostation: Korea
- Iqlusion: USA
- Luganodes: Switzerland
- Noble (the organization): Canada/USA
- Strangelove: USA
NMM constituents will be rotated in and out of the multisignature wallet over time.