TL;DR: Users of the Radix Wallet or a Ledger hardware wallet do not need to do anything to be ready for the Babylon migration. All tokens & stake positions will automatically be carried over.
At Babylon launch, the Radix Public Network will undergo a permanent upgrade to enable programmability, a new execution engine, a new transaction model, and more powerful native assets. All existing assets, stake, and accounts will automatically be migrated, and there will be an easy way to transition from the current Radix Desktop Wallet to the new Babylon Radix Wallet for iOS and Android. All interfaces to the network and the Gateway will be different after the upgrade, so any applications written to work only on Olympia will stop working.
Mechanics of the network upgrade
How will the upgrade from Olympia to Babylon happen?
A protocol update for the Olympia network will be released which defines a specific epoch as the last epoch of the Olympia protocol before the upgrade to the Babylon protocol with all of its new features. Assuming that this update is adopted by the Olympia validators, the countdown to Babylon will begin.
At the conclusion of the last Olympia epoch, all Olympia nodes will calculate and store the final network state of Olympia, and then stop participating in consensus. Babylon node software will use this final state as input for a new Babylon genesis, with all nodes agreeing on the correct start state that keeps everything where it was at the end of Olympia. As soon as validator nodes comprising over two thirds of delegated stake have ingested the genesis state and started processing transactions, the first epoch of Babylon will begin!
The total downtime for the switchover to occur is expected to be less than half an hour.
What happens to all the existing tokens?
All existing tokens will be upgraded to become the new style of native resources on Babylon, and will be located in smart accounts controlled by the same keys that controlled their Olympia accounts.
The configuration of the new resource-based tokens will be set to mimic the behavior of those tokens on Olympia. Symbol, name, and description will be mapped to new metadata fields. Tokens which were set to have a mutable supply will have a badge created with the authority to mint and burn them, and that badge will be placed in a smart account controlled by the same key which had that authority on Olympia.
Other new resource behaviors not possible on Olympia will be locked off from the migrated assets, so that holders can be confident that nothing surprising can suddenly happen with their tokens that could not happen on Olympia.
What happens to staked XRD? Do I need to restake?
There’s no need to restake, and you shouldn’t, as your stake helps maintain network security! Your stake positions will be unchanged, and you’ll automatically receive Liquid Stake Units to represent those positions in the appropriate smart accounts as part of the migration process.
Staking works a little differently on Babylon, and is achieved via interactions with native Validator components. All validators with any allocated stake will automatically have a Babylon Validator component created for them, with all staked XRD moved into it, the same signing key assigned, and the control badge placed in the smart account associated with the owner’s address. An appropriate quantity of Liquid Stake Units will be created for each validator, and placed in all their stakeholders' accounts.
What happens to tokens held by various applications?
Remember that there are no smart contracts on Olympia…those applications which have sprung up are running off-network and simply hold tokens in normal accounts, which will be migrated like any others. Application builders, you may wish to consider communicating with your own user base about how your particular off-network application will migrate forward.
What happens to network addresses?
Babylon addresses have a different scheme, so all Olympia addresses will need to be mapped to their Babylon equivalent. Wallet users will see their new account addresses automatically as part of their migration process, a web tool will be made available which can do the mapping, and devs/integrators will be able to use the Radix Engine Toolkit to programmatically map addresses.
Upgrading to the Radix Babylon Wallet
If your accounts are held in the Radix Olympia Desktop Wallet, whether using it alone or with a Ledger hardware wallet, migration will be a snap. With just a couple of clicks, the desktop wallet will pop up a QR code which you’ll scan with your Babylon mobile wallet, bringing across all of your known accounts and the names you assigned them. Then you’ll type in your seed phrase and you’re done. Ledger hardware device users will need to connect their Babylon mobile wallet to the Radix Connector browser extension, and then connect their Ledger device during the import process and follow some prompts.
If you use a wallet other than the Radix Olympia Desktop Wallet, it’s very likely that all you’ll need is your seed phrase in order to migrate successfully. Try entering your seed phrase into the Radix Olympia Wallet and see if you’re able to recover successfully and see your same accounts (remember, you may need to “Add Software Account” within the Wallet multiple times to see them all). If so, you’re all set.
A technical guide will be released ahead of Babylon explaining the QR code generation process, enabling third-party wallet providers to support the same no-hassle migration process, if they so choose.
To remove any user uncertainty, a step-by-step video guide for upgrading from the Radix Olympia Wallet will also be released.
Network Upgrade Q&A
So my automatically created smart accounts will forever be controlled by the same keys as I had on Olympia?
Only if you want them to be. Just like any smart account, you’ll be able to easily “change the locks” whenever you want once multi-factor is implemented in the Radix Wallet.
What about exchanges and custom integrations that don’t use consumer wallets? How will they migrate?
They’ll be able to map from either public keys or Olympia addresses to Babylon addresses, and use the Radix Engine Toolkit for basic transaction building while they acclimate to the Babylon transaction model, using their same keys for signing as before. Discussions with exchanges are underway to ensure they have everything they need to perform a smooth migration to the new accounts, and new style of transactions.
I don’t wish to use a mobile wallet. How will I be able to access my tokens on Babylon?
There are no plans for an official desktop-native wallet. In short, with Babylon’s native multi-factor support and powerful account recovery model, mobile-only was the clear path forward. Don’t forget that you’ll be able to easily connect to your desktop browser using Radix Connect!
I use a Ledger hardware wallet on the Olympia network. How will the transition to Babylon work for me?
Just as with all Olympia accounts, they will automatically migrate over - you don’t need to move your tokens or stakes and you will be able to use your Ledger with the same accounts on Babylon. There will be a new Radix app to load onto your Ledger device, and the process described above to access your accounts from the Babylon wallet will work with Ledger too.
Do I have to upgrade to the Babylon Wallet right away after the network update?
Nope! Your stakes will still operate and earn emissions without any action on your part, and your tokens will all be migrated as part of the network upgrade without any action on your part. You can set up your Babylon mobile wallet whenever you’re ready; there’s no rush.
Will the Olympia network continue to run after the upgrade?
No. All Olympia nodes will cease participating in consensus at the conclusion of the last epoch. Node-runners may choose to keep their Olympia nodes running, in which case they can still synchronize any new Olympia nodes joining the network, but no new transactions will be accepted or processed.
Will the Radix Olympia Wallet still function after the upgrade?
Yes, though its only purpose at that point will be to let you smoothly export to the Babylon-compatible mobile wallets. It will not be able to initiate new transactions, and your account balances will always appear to be the same as they were at the conclusion of Olympia.
Will I still be able to see Olympia transaction history after the upgrade?
Yes, existing explorers utilizing the Olympia Network Gateway can continue to operate, but that data will be forever frozen, and there are no plans to display Olympia and Babylon transactions in a single place.
The Radix Explorer present at https://explorer.radixdlt.com will continue to operate for at least 3 years, and will show the end state of Olympia.
The final Olympia state used to form Babylon genesis will not include the history of all transactions. Olympia transaction data will not be visible to Babylon nodes.