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v2.11.0: Zero Gas, Passkey Signing, and a Smoother EVM - 2026-02-11

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@github-actions github-actions released this 11 Feb 13:16
· 5 commits to main since this release
v2.11.0
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Learn about vigilant mode.

EVM reliability got tighter, gasless onboarding got broader, and CometBFT got a
critical security patch. Plus: passkey (ERC-4337) building blocks and better
consensus determinism.

1 - Main Highlights

  • Fixed - Successful EVM transactions were sometimes shown as failed due to Cosmos SDK gas-meter issues. No longer. (#2521)
  • New - Governance-allowlisted "always zero gas" EVM contracts can be called by any sender with no gas balance, as long as value is 0. (#2517)
  • Improved - Precompiles now report gas cleanly with dynamic handling, and SDK out-of-gas panics are recovered into normal errors instead of crashing the node. (#2516)
  • Security - Upgraded CometBFT to patched v0.37.18 for CSA-2026-001 (Tachyon), a critical consensus-level issue affecting block time guarantees. (#2512)
  • Consensus safety - Removed nondeterministic Go map iteration in consensus-critical paths (oracle + EVM state commit), addressing intermittent apphash mismatches. (#2503)
  • New - Passkey-secured smart accounts (ERC-4337 style) with P-256 signatures: contracts, SDK, and bundler tooling for developers. (#2443, #2493, #2500)
  • New - Sai trading: EVM trader service. Trades against local network. (#2440)

2 - Added Passkeys + Account Abstraction (ERC-4337)

What it enables: A passkey-secured smart account flow (ERC-4337 style) for Nibiru EVM development and end-to-end testing, built around P-256 signatures.

Includes:

  • PasskeyAccount and PasskeyAccountFactory contracts (minimal ERC-4337 account abstraction, P-256–secured) (#2443)
  • TypeScript passkey-sdk for building UserOperations and talking to a bundler (#2443)
  • Bundler for passkey transactions (#2493)
  • Published passkey-bundler package (#2500)
  • Tooling and docs updates for deploying the factory, running a bundler, and E2E testing the flow

Status: This is primarily a developer-facing foundation (contracts + SDK + bundler workflow). Available for integrators today; coming to end-user surfaces as apps integrate.

3 - Expanded Gasless EVM Calls ("Zero Gas")

What it enables: First-time onboarding and "no gas balance" execution for calls into governance-allowlisted contracts.

How it works:

  • If a transaction calls a governance-allowlisted contract and value == 0, the chain marks it as "zero gas" early in the ante handler.
  • It then skips gas-related checks (fee deduction, balance-vs-cost checks, mempool min gas price checks, and RefundGas) while still enforcing account checks and CanTransfer.
  • A governance-managed list ZeroGasActors.always_zero_gas_contracts allows any sender to invoke specific EVM contracts with zero gas.

Governance: This is controlled by a governance-managed allowlist. Manage via sudo edit-zero-gas and the always_zero_gas_contracts field.

4 - Precompiles: Dynamic Gas + Clean Failure Mode

Key Takeaway: More predictable gas reporting around precompiles and fewer confusing failure modes under OOG.

  • FunToken precompile now supports the dynamic-precompile flow so gas accounting and reporting match the EVM's expectations (better tracing and estimation behavior). (#2516)
  • Removed redundant internal gas deductions that could double-report gas changes to tracers.
  • SDK out-of-gas panics inside bounded meters are recovered and returned as normal out-of-gas errors, so execution fails cleanly instead of crashing the process. (#2447)

5 - Fixed - EVM "False Failed" Transactions

Symptom: Explorers and receipts could show failure even when the EVM execution actually succeeded, triggered by late Cosmos SDK gas-meter errors.

Fix: EVM execution is treated as the ground truth. If the SDK gas meter errors after a successful EVM result, the node logs the issue but does not flip the transaction to failed. (#2521)

What to expect after upgrading: Successful EVM transactions should no longer appear as failed solely due to gas-meter misalignment. Any remaining SDK gas-meter issues should surface as logs, not incorrect tx status.

6 - Fixed - Consensus Determinism (No More Random Map Order)

Why it matters: Go map iteration is nondeterministic and can cause consensus failures when order affects state writes or event emission.

Fixes included:

  • Sorted iteration for oracle validator performance processing and event emission
  • Sorted account address processing in the EVM StateDB commit path
  • Addresses intermittent apphash mismatches observed on long-running mainnet nodes (#2503)

7 - Security Patch - CometBFT CSA-2026-001 (Tachyon)

This release upgrades CometBFT to v0.37.18, which includes the required fix for CSA-2026-001. (#2512)

What class of issue is this? A consensus-level vulnerability in CometBFT's "BFT Time" implementation, stemming from an inconsistency between commit signature verification and block time derivation. The advisory labels it Critical and notes it impacts validators and protocols that rely on block timestamps.

Operator guidance: Treat this upgrade as high priority if you run validators or timestamp-sensitive applications. Upgrade to nibid v2.11.0 (or later) to receive the patched CometBFT.

8 - Appendix for v2.11.0

For Builders

  • Tx status correctness — Successful EVM calls should no longer be mislabeled as failed due to SDK gas-meter issues.
  • Gasless calls — If your contract is allowlisted under always_zero_gas_contracts, any sender can call it with value == 0 and no gas balance.
  • Precompile behavior — Expect cleaner out-of-gas error surfaces and more accurate gas reporting around dynamic precompiles.
  • Passkeys / account abstraction — New contracts and SDK exist for passkey-secured ERC-4337 flows; good time to prototype onboarding without seed phrases.
  • CLI flags — Transaction flags are more concise by default so developers can see command-specific flags more clearly. (#2449)

For Operators / Validators

  • Upgrade type: Release tag and GitHub release; mainnet upgrade applies the same workflow as other versions.
  • Steps: Upgrade binary to nibid v2.11.0, restart. Standard upgrade procedure—no extra state migrations or config changes known.
  • Priority: High. The CometBFT CSA-2026-001 fix is critical for consensus safety.
  • Monitoring checklist:
    • Watch for any lingering "gas-meter misalignment" logs (should not flip tx status).
    • Validate precompile-heavy workloads (FunToken, Wasm, oracle precompiles) for expected behavior under load.
    • Confirm determinism fixes reduce apphash mismatch risk on long-running nodes.

For Contributors / Repo Maintainers

  • Internal Cosmos-SDK moved under internal/cosmos-sdk for smoother core edits. (#2451)
  • Collections library merged into repo; gnark-crypto and go-kzg-4844 updated for compatibility. (#2490)
  • CI / Docker workflow cleanup; release tag trigger fixes.
  • Duplicate nibid add-genesis-account command removed (use nibid genesis add-genesis-account). (#2448)
  • fix(ci): fix release tag trigger
  • feat: upgrade v2.10 in #2504 - (5cfc50e)
  • refactor: omit unnecessary reassignment in #2470 - (8916455)
  • fix(Dockerfile): copy over files before "go mod download"

Refactors and Tech Debt Improvements

  • fix(internal/cosmos-sdk): resolve ledger error in tests using build tags in #2505 - (9547d17)
  • docs: remove duplicate word in comment in #2430 - (798b6d2)
  • sai-trading: project scaffolding with script to deploy all Sai contracts in #2433 - (f77f32f)

Dependencies and CI

  • ci(docker): simplify workflows; free more disk space to fix docker builds; combine into docker.yml
  • docs(changelog): update with version 2.9 and 2.8; fix(justfile/gen-changelog): use config from current branch, not main in #2465 - (9acdf4e)
  • ci(dependabot.yml): ignore updates to Cosmos-SDK, CometBFT, and Wasmd, as they are often breaking changes
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