Release: Barnard patch 3 - v1.10.8

This Barnard patch continues the incremental improvements toward network optimization, introducing the final steps in deactivating legacy relayed transactions (v1 and v2) and improving transaction endpoint consistency and node reliability.

Relayed v1/v2 Deactivation

Following the introduction of Relayed V3, older formats (Relayed v1 and v2) are now being phased out.
A new protocol flag added in PR #7094 allows coordinated deactivation of these legacy formats at protocol level.

The mainnet configuration v1.10.8.0 sets this deactivation to occur at epoch 1918, expected on October 30, ~17:00 UTC.
After this epoch, only Relayed V3 transactions will remain supported across the network.

Transaction Endpoint Fix

The new node version (v1.10.8) includes a fix for the transaction processing type field, ensuring consistent results for external tools and APIs using the /transaction endpoint.
This improves interaction reliability for explorers, indexers, and analytics platforms.

Previous Patch Context (v1.10.7)

Also, altogether with this patch comes (v1.10.7) which introduces:

• The actual implementation of the disable flag for Relayed v1/v2.
• Updates to state-change management (collector, outport, and read ops).
• Improvements to the /transaction/cost endpoint for gas estimation accuracy.
• Extended bootstrap timeout for smoother node synchronization.

These enhancements collectively ensure better protocol performance and operator experience.

Governance Information

This is a patch release therefor no governance vote or activation epoch is required beyond the configuration trigger.

• Validators: should be upgraded before epoch 1918 to ensure consistency once the legacy relayed formats are fully disabled.
• Observers: upgrade is recommended for endpoint correctness and stability.

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Github Full binary release notes: https://github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-go/releases/tag/v1.10.8

Mainnet Config: https://github.com/multiversx/mx-chain-mainnet-config/releases/tag/v1.10.8.0

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