Protocol 17 Upgrade

[Justin]

Hello Developers,

Yesterday, we released Stellar Core v17.0.0. You can download it and read the full release notes here: https://github.com/stellar/stellar-core/releases/tag/v17.0.0

This release implements Protocol 17 and marks the beginning of the 5-week network upgrade process, which centers around two key dates:   

• May 4, 2021 — Testnet upgrade
• June 1, 2021 — Public network upgrade vote  

To avoid disruption, anyone developing on Stellar needs to install up-to-date versions of all Stellar-related software — including Stellar Core, Horizon, and any Stellar SDKs you use — in advance of the network upgrade.  To make the process a little easier, we published a guide with more information and links to Protocol 17 releases: https://stellar.org/developers-blog/protocol-17-upgrade-guide   

As always, Stellar network validators will vote on whether to accept the protocol upgrade before it goes live on the network.  If validators vote to accept Protocol 17, the upgrade will take effect immediately, and since all the new software is backwards compatible with the current protocol, the best course of action is to update sooner than later.  Doing so will ensure your Stellar integration keeps on ticking when the network levels up.  

So take a look at the guide, stay tuned for more information, and let me know if you have any questions.  This version of the protocol includes a new Asset Clawback feature that we're documenting in detail, and we're excited to talk more about it in subsequent messages, but for now, we wanted to share the timeline and links to the guide to give you a chance to prepare.