v5.0.0 RC4 – Smaug

Avian Core v5.0.0-rc4 "Smaug" Release Notes

Avian Core v5.0.0-rc4 is the fourth release candidate for the upcoming v5.0.0 major release. The headline addition is post-quantum address support via RIP-25, alongside RPC improvements, mempool fixes, and a full rebranding of tooling and documentation.

Highlights

RIP-25: ML-DSA-44 post-quantum addresses (witness v2)

• Implemented ML-DSA-44 (CRYSTALS-Dilithium) post-quantum signature scheme as Avian witness v2 addresses
• New address type provides resistance against quantum computing attacks on ECDSA
• Integrated liboqs 0.12.0 as a depends package, built with a minimal ML-DSA-44-only profile
• New RPCs and wallet support for creating, funding, and signing transactions with post-quantum keys
• Consensus activation gated behind a deployment flag, not yet active on mainnet

Dual-algorithm RPC improvements

• getblock now returns powtype and per-algorithm difficulty fields, making it easier to inspect which proof-of-work algorithm produced each block

Mempool reliability

• Fixed missing CheckTxAssets validation and pre-activation guard in mempool acceptance, preventing invalid asset transactions from entering the mempool before the asset activation height

Restored RPCs

• getblockdeltas and getblockhashes have been restored; these were inadvertently removed during the v5 rebase

Tooling and documentation rebranding

• All contrib scripts, tools, and READMEs rebranded from Bitcoin to Avian
• All user-facing documentation updated to reflect Avian binary names, config file, and data directory paths

Notes
This release does not activate RIP-25 post-quantum addresses on mainnet.

What's Changed

• rpc: add powtype and dual-algo difficulty to getblock by @cdonnachie in #242
• Add missing CheckTxAssets and pre-activation guard to mempool acceptance by @cdonnachie in #243
• Fix/restore getblockdeltas getblockhashes by @cdonnachie in #244
• RIP-25: ML-DSA-44 post-quantum addresses (witness v2) by @cdonnachie in #245
• contrib: rebrand from Bitcoin to Avian across contrib/ files by @cdonnachie in #246
• doc: rebrand Bitcoin binary names, paths, and data dirs to Avian by @cdonnachie in #247

Full Changelog: v5.0.0-rc3...v5.0.0-rc4

v5.0.0 RC3 – Smaug

Avian Core v5.0.0-rc3 "Smaug" Release Notes

Avian Core v5.0.0-rc3 is the third release candidate for the upcoming v5.0.0 major release. It focuses on index infrastructure, asset RPC reliability, and wallet improvements discovered during rc2 testing.

Highlights

Index infrastructure overhaul

• Replaced legacy ad-hoc address, spent, and timestamp indexes with a proper BaseIndex-derived implementation, aligning them with the Bitcoin Core 30.x index architecture
• Added P2WPKH (bech32 segwit v0) support to the address and spent indexes — bech32 addresses are now fully indexed and queryable via getaddressutxos, getaddresstxids, etc.
• Fixed incorrect P2PKH script byte offset ([22] → [23]) that was causing address index misses for standard pay-to-pubkey-hash outputs
• Fixed P2PKH, P2SH, and asset script type detection in the address index to ensure all script types are indexed correctly
• Fixed a missing disconnect_data flag in SpentIndex that caused an assertion crash during blockchain reorgs

Asset indexing and RPC fixes

• Fixed -assetindex argument not being wired to the fAssetIndex global, meaning asset index RPCs were silently non-functional even when the flag was passed
• Fixed ReindexAssets to perform a clean rebuild with correct UTXO scanning, proper cache flushing, and UI progress reporting
• Fixed listaddressesbyasset and listassetbalancesbyaddress returning {} after the first chainstate flush, both RPCs now read from LevelDB with an in-memory overlay rather than the dirty-only cache
• Fixed listaddressesbyasset failing with "Asset not found" when querying owner tokens (e.g. ASSETNAME!)

Wallet improvements

• walletcreatefundedpsbt now correctly handles asset transfer outputs, allowing PSBTs to be constructed for asset sends

Timing and consensus

• Recalibrated internal block-count constants (confirmation targets, fee estimation windows, etc.) to match Avian's 30-second block time rather than Bitcoin's 10-minute block time

Notes
This release significantly hardens the indexing layer introduced in v5. If you are running with -addressindex, -spentindex, or -timestampindex, a reindex is required when upgrading from rc2.

Asset index users (-assetindex) should also reindex to pick up the fixes to UTXO scanning and script type detection.

Bech32 addresses remain unsupported for asset creation and transfer (legacy P2PKH only), but are now fully supported in the address and spent indexes for querying.

What's Changed

• fix: wire -assetindex arg to fAssetIndex global by @cdonnachie in #233
• Fix/reindexassets utxo scan by @cdonnachie in #234
• feat: support asset transfer outputs in walletcreatefundedpsbt by @cdonnachie in #235
• fix: calibrate block-count constants for Avian 30-second block time by @cdonnachie in #236
• fix: index all asset script types in address index by @cdonnachie in #237
• fix: ReindexAssets - clean rebuild, UTXO flush, and UI progress by @cdonnachie in #238
• fix(index): correct P2PKH script byte index [22]->[23] in address ind… by @cdonnachie in #239
• Refactor/baseindex address spent timestamp by @cdonnachie in #240
• chore: bump version to 5.0.0rc3 by @cdonnachie in #241

Full Changelog: v5.0.0-rc2...v5.0.0-rc3

v5.0.0 RC2 – Smaug

Avian Core v5.0.0-rc2 "Smaug" Release Notes

Avian Core v5.0.0-rc2 is the second release candidate for the upcoming v5.0.0 major release. It focuses on stability, correctness, mining and RPC improvements, and fixes discovered during rc1 testing.

Highlights

Stability and correctness

• Fixed wallet locking in the rewards RPC
• Fixed missing mempool lock in asset validation
• Fixed a crash in GetTarget for certain low-difficulty MinotaurX blocks
• Made X16RT and MinotaurX hashing compiler-safe and deterministic

Asset and wallet fixes

• Enforced P2PKH-only addresses for asset operations and validation
• Added clearer bech32 error messaging for asset actions
• Fixed asset dropdown behavior on first open
• Mask asset name and quantity in privacy mode
• Fixed UnitValueFromAmount display and added test coverage

RPC and mining improvements

• Added powalgo option to generate RPCs
• Exposed per-algo difficulty in getchainstates and getmininginfo
• Removed leading newline from index RPC help output
• Updated minimum chain work and assumevalid

Notes

This release continues the v5 migration onto the Bitcoin Core 30.2 codebase while tightening Avian-specific behavior, especially around assets and mining.

Important: asset operations remain legacy P2PKH-only in rc2. Bech32 addresses are not accepted for asset creation or transfer.

As with rc1, more testing is encouraged before final release.

What's Changed

• wallet: fix cs_wallet lock in rewards RPC by @cdonnachie in #220
• assets: fix missing mempool->cs lock in ContextualCheckNewAsset by @cdonnachie in #221
• consensus: update minimum chain work and assumevalid by @cdonnachie in #222
• rpc: add powalgo option to generate RPCs by @cdonnachie in #224
• rpc: remove leading newline from index RPC help by @cdonnachie in #223
• x16r/minotaurx: make PoW hashing compiler-safe and deterministic by @cdonnachie in #225
• Mask asset name and quantity in privacy mode by @cdonnachie in #227
• Fix UnitValueFromAmount display and add unit test by @cdonnachie in #226
• Bump version to v5.0.0-rc2 by @cdonnachie in #228
• Enforce P2PKH addresses for asset operations and validation by @cdonnachie in #229
• Expose per-algo difficulty in getchainstates and getmininginfo by @cdonnachie in #230
• Show bech32 error message and fix asset dropdown on first open by @cdonnachie in #231
• Fix GetTarget crash for MinotaurX blocks with low difficulty by @cdonnachie in #232

Full Changelog: v5.0.0-rc1...v5.0.0-rc2

v5.0.0 RC1 – Smaug

Avian Core v5.0.0 — Release Notes

Superseded by v5.0.0-rc2

Avian Core v5.0.0 is a major release that rebases the entire codebase onto Bitcoin Core 30.2, bringing years of upstream improvements to Avian while preserving all Avian-specific features.

New from Bitcoin Core 30.2
These are upstream improvements that were not in Avian 4.2.0:

• Modern P2P networking, mempool, and validation engine
• CMake-based build system (replaces autotools)
• Descriptor wallets and modern wallet architecture
• Full segregated witness (SegWit) support
• MiniSketch-based efficient transaction relay (Erlay-ready)
• Compact block relay (BIP 152)
• I2P and CJDNS network support
• Updated libsecp256k1 with improved performance
• PSBT (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction) support, including for asset transactions
• Legacy wallet import with proper BIP44 keypath handling
• Wallet migration fixes for orphaned watch-only transactions and HD key migration
• Avian Features Ported to New Codebase
• All Avian-specific features from v4.2.0 have been ported to the Bitcoin Core 30.2 architecture:

Asset Layer

• Complete rewrite of asset consensus validation for the new UTXO and transaction framework
• Asset issuance, transfer, reissue, and restricted asset RPCs
• Asset database persistence and synchronization
• Full GUI for asset management: create, transfer, reissue, and restricted asset dialogs

Mining & Consensus

• Dual-algorithm mining (X16RT / MinotaurX)
• Per-algorithm difficulty and hashrate RPCs
• PowCache for efficient proof-of-work hash caching (powcache.dat)
• SIGHASH_FORKID (UAHF) replay protection
• Max reorg depth enforcement

GUI

• Dark and light theme switching with custom CSS theming
• Paper wallet generation and printing
• Asset management UI: sidebar navigation, UTXO duster
• Rebranded from Bitcoin to Avian across all user-facing strings and currency units (AVN/avn)

Indexing & Data

• Address index, timestamp index, and spent index support
• Additional index data structures for asset queries

New Avian-Specific Additions

Features that are new to v5.0.0 (not in 4.2.0 or Bitcoin Core):

• UTXO consolidation RPC
• Reward distribution RPC (distributereward)
• Mempool asset duplicate detection
• Burn address validation for reward distributions

Build & Infrastructure

• Deterministic Guix builds for all 7 platforms:
  • x86_64-linux-gnu, arm-linux-gnueabihf, aarch64-linux-gnu
  • riscv64-linux-gnu, powerpc64-linux-gnu
  • x86_64-w64-mingw32 (Windows)
  • x86_64-apple-darwin (macOS)
• CI pipeline for Linux, macOS, and Windows
• CUPS dependency for Qt print support (paper wallets)
• Full rebranding of binary names, man pages, install paths, and packaging

Network & Protocol

• BIP324 v2 encrypted transport disabled (incompatible with Avian's SIGHASH_FORKID)
• Pre-VERACK message filtering for peer compatibility
• Avian-specific protocol messaging and service flags

Upgrading

If you are running an older version of Avian, shut it down completely before upgrading.

Note: This release uses a new data directory (AvianV5 during RC / Avian for final release). Your existing wallet and blockchain data will need to be migrated or re-synced.

You can run v5.0.0 alongside an older version by specifying different P2P and RPC ports in the configuration file or command line, e.g.:
aviand -port=7897 -rpcport=7898

Downloads

Binaries are available for Linux (x86_64, ARM, AArch64, RISC-V, POWER), Windows (x64), and macOS (x86_64).

Credits

Thanks to The Bitcoin Core developers for the upstream codebase, the original Ravencoin developers, and the Avian Developers.

v4.2.0 – Longbottom Leaf

This is the general availability release of Avian Core 4.2.0 – Longbottom Leaf, focused on modernization, performance, and wallet usability.

Highlights

• Modernized Qt and dependencies

  • Qt upgraded from 5.7.0 → 5.12.11 (LTS)
  • Updated depends stack to current, secure versions
  • Improved multi‑platform CI/CD (Windows, Linux, macOS, ARM64, ARM32)

• Consensus and network

  • Protocol version bump (4.1+ only) to keep the network consistent and avoid slow, legacy peers
  • getblocktemplate updated for better BIP22 compliance
  • Added NetworkUpgrade struct and use chain‑specific params for PoW hash

• New UTXO consolidation system

  • New RPC: consolidateutxos <address> [min_utxos] [max_batches] [min_amount] [max_amount]
  • New Qt dialog: “Consolidate UTXO Transactions” with configurable limits, real‑time stats, progress, and cancellation
  • Greatly improves performance for wallets with many small outputs

• GUI and UX improvements

  • Faster, more responsive startup and splash screen
  • Splash remains visible with real‑time progress and RC/Version info
  • Defer network initialization to speed GUI construction
  • UTXO consolidation runs in the background (no UI freezing)

• RPC additions and wallet tools

  • New RPCs:
    • getblockstats – block‑level stats and developer fee tracking
    • getnodeaddresses – list known peer nodes
    • getindexinfo – status of active indexes
    • listwatchonly – list watch‑only addresses
    • removewatchonly – remove watch‑only addresses
  • Added powhashcache information to help and diagnostics

Upgrade notes

• 4.2.0 is compatible with 4.1+; older nodes should be upgraded before connecting.
• As with any core upgrade, back up your wallet (wallet.dat) before installing.

v4.2.0 RC3 – Longbottom Leaf

This is the third release candidate for Avian Core 4.2.0 — continuing the modernization and stability efforts from RC2, while delivering significant GUI, RPC, and wallet improvements to enhance performance and usability.

Changes since RC2

GUI Improvements

• Enhanced startup experience and splash screen responsiveness
  • Splash screen now remains visible with real-time progress updates
  • Prevents blocking during wallet loading
  • Defers network initialization to speed up GUI construction
  • Displays RC version information on splash screen

RPC Additions and Updates

• New RPCs:
  • getblockstats: Returns block-level statistics and developer fee tracking
  • getnodeaddresses: Lists known peer node addresses
  • getindexinfo: Displays status of active blockchain indexes

Additional updates:

• Updated mainnet checkpoint data to the latest block
• Added powhashcache details to help messages

UTXO Consolidation Refactor

• Consolidation now runs on a background thread using QtConcurrent::run()
  • Prevents UI freezing during long batch operations
  • Keeps progress dialog fully responsive and cancelable
  • Uses QMetaObject::invokeMethod to safely update the UI from the background
  • Maintains wallet lock safety during transaction creation
  • Significantly improves experience for wallets with many small UTXOs

Wallet RPC Enhancements

• New commands:
  • listwatchonly: Lists all imported watch-only addresses with labels
  • removewatchonly: Removes a watch-only address from wallet storage and address book

Qt / Duster Updates

• Improved batch counting and progress accuracy
  • Pre-calculates totalUTXOFiltered before consolidation loop
  • Applies min/max filters consistently during counting
  • Accurately accounts for maxBatches limit
  • Displays precise progress (e.g., “1 of 1” when maxBatches=1)

Purpose

RC3 focuses on polish, responsiveness, and usability, ensuring a smoother startup, faster UI interactions, and more powerful RPC tools, all while maintaining the stability and modernization goals of 4.2.0.

v4.2.0 RC2 – Longbottom Leaf

This is the second release candidate for Avian Core 4.2.0 - continuing the modernization and stability focus while introducing a new UTXO consolidation system to improve wallet performance and usability for addresses with many small outputs.

Changes since RC1:

New Feature: UTXO Consolidation System
RPC Command: consolidateutxos

Purpose: Consolidates small UTXOs into larger ones to reduce future transaction costs
Syntax: consolidateutxos <address> [min_utxos] [max_batches] [min_amount] [max_amount]
Parameters:

• address: Destination address for consolidated outputs
• min_utxos: Minimum UTXOs required before consolidation (default: 2000)
• max_batches: Maximum number of batches to process (default: unlimited)
• min_amount: Minimum UTXO amount to include (default: 0.01 AVN)
• max_amount: Maximum UTXO amount to include (default: 25 AVN)

GUI Integration
New “Consolidate UTXO Transactions” dialog in the Qt wallet with:

• Configurable limits (min/max inputs, batch size, amount)
• Real-time UTXO display and selection
• Progress tracking and cancellation support

Key updates (from RC1):

Qt upgraded 5.7.0 → 5.12.11 (LTS)
Updated dependencies
Protocol version bump for 4.1+ compatibility
Improved getblocktemplate (BIP22 compliance)
Added NetworkUpgrade struct
Modernized CI/CD for Windows, Linux, macOS, ARM64, ARM32

Purpose:

Establish a stable, modern foundation for 4.2.1+ while ensuring reliable multi-platform builds and consistent network behavior.

v4.2.0 RC1 – Longbottom Leaf

This release is a maintenance and modernization update focused on improving build infrastructure, dependency freshness, and long-term stability ahead of new feature development.

Key updates:

• Qt framework upgraded from 5.7.0 → 5.12.11 (LTS) for improved stability, performance, and compatibility with modern systems.
• Updated dependencies within the depends system to current, secure versions.
• Protocol version incremented to ensure compatibility with 4.1.x and newer nodes only — older pre-4.1 wallets will no longer connect, preventing sync slowdowns and network inconsistencies.
• Update getblocktemplate to comply more with BIP22
• Add NetworkUpgrade struct
• Use chain-specific params when calculating PoW hash
• Minor bug fixes and performance improvements.
• CI/CD modernized: GitHub Actions now builds binaries for
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • macOS
  • aarch64 (ARM 64-bit)
  • arm32v7 (ARM 32-bit)

Purpose:

Establish a stable, modern foundation for future releases (4.2.1+) and new feature work while ensuring reliable multi-platform builds and consistent network behavior.

Full Changelog: v4.1.0...v4.2.0-rc.1

v4.1.0 - Gwaihir

Hi AVN Community,

Our new major release, Avian 4.1.0, includes the block reward dev fee, important security updates, improved network efficiency, faster loading speeds, and other new features.

This release contains the code for block reward dev fee and assets activation.

MANDATORY UPDATE WARNING - Please ensure that you have updated your wallet/node to this version prior to 5th October 2022 when block reward changes kick in, if you are running any older versions past this point you will be on the incorrect chain.

How to Upgrade

If you are running an older version, shut it down. Wait until it has completely
shut down (which might take a few minutes for older versions), then run the
installer (on Windows) or just copy over /Applications/Avian-Qt (on Mac)
or aviand/avian-qt (on Linux).

Downgrading warning

It is not recommended that users downgrade their version. Version 4.1.0 contains
changes that will fork the chain, users not running 4.1.0 will be not
be able to participate in this fork process and will be left on the old chain which
will not be valid.

Notable changes

• 5% Block reward dev fee
• Assets activation
• PoW cache for faster speeds
• Add pruning setting to the UI
• Wallet repair tab
• New RPC to get stuck transactions: liststucktransactions
• AIP-04 Avian Name System (testnet)
• Working regtest for development

Security Updates

• Avian will now tightly manage memory usage during high network traffic or when connected to slow peers.
• Bitcoin backports
• ...and many more

New Contributors

• @furcalor made their first contribution in #171
• @JunaidPeer made their first contribution in #159

Read the full detailed changelog: https://github.com/AvianNetwork/Avian/blob/master/doc/release-notes/release-notes-4.1.0.md

v4.0.3 - Thorondor Update

This release includes new checkpoints for safety:

940202 = 00000000ed69247f7ef177a14e44de41d9c1ba689cb930946ff773ebfe23f64c
952399 = 0000000000a11f354eacb65fee963df9818ee8884d8dd926da33921691ec9969

What's Changed

• 4.0.3 by @decentralisedcoder in #112

New Contributors

• @decentralisedcoder made their first contribution in #112

Full Changelog: v4.0.2...v4.0.3