Cuttlefish Upgrade

Overview

Cuttlefish is a Radix mainnet protocol upgrade (v1.3.0) that introduced several key capabilities for developers and users. The upgrade was deployed on November 25, 2024, and represents an important step in Radix's protocol evolution.

Key Features

• Subintents / Pre-authorization — Enables complex multi-step transaction workflows where users can pre-approve certain actions, improving UX for DeFi interactions
• ECDSA/EdDSA verification in Scrypto — Native-speed cryptographic signature verification directly in smart contracts, eliminating the need for expensive custom implementations
• Account balance getter methods — New APIs allowing components to query account balances programmatically
• Transaction performance optimizations — Reduced execution overhead for common transaction patterns

Impact

Cuttlefish laid the groundwork for more sophisticated DeFi applications on Radix. Subintents enable conditional transaction execution — critical for limit orders, automated strategies, and AI agent operations. Native crypto verification unlocks cross-chain verification use cases, supporting bridges like Hyperlane. The performance optimizations benefit all users through faster transaction processing.

External Links

• Cuttlefish Live on Mainnet