---
title: "Dev WG · Fund & steward the Xi’an protocol upgrade & Radix Engine"
url: "https://radix.wiki/ideas/dao-xian-protocol-upgrade"
version: "1.1.1"
updated: 2026-08-02
last_verified: 2026-08-02
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
---

# Dev WG · Fund & steward the Xi’an protocol upgrade & Radix Engine

| Status | 🔴 Discussion |
| --- | --- |
| Working Group | Core Development WG |
| Category | ⚙️ Protocol |
| Governance Phase | Phase 2 – activity-triggered |
| Champion | Open (protocol contributors) |
| Origin | [Strategic Council – Innovation area](https://radixtalk.com/t/rfc-radix-strategic-council/2266) |
| Latest | 1 Aug 2026 – the Radix Engine is not being adapted; a purpose-built VM is underway |

Protocol upgrades (the Xi’an line of work) and Radix Engine maintenance previously sat with Foundation-funded teams. The DAO must decide how it funds and directs continued core-protocol R&D so the roadmap does not stall during the handover.

## What the scope became (1 August 2026)

This card was written when "Xi'an and Radix Engine work" read as one continuous line of maintenance. It is not. On 1 August 2026 the hyperscale-rs lead developer told the project's Telegram channel that the Radix Engine is not being adapted for sharding – asked whether it was built for it, the reply was ["it's not in the ballpark. it's not in the same zip code as the ballpark"](https://t.me/hyperscale_rs/10332) – and that a purpose-built VM is [underway](https://t.me/hyperscale_rs/10334) in its place, because ["the sharding adjustments are so many that it'd require touching everything. at some point it becomes easier to start with intention than to retrofit"](https://t.me/hyperscale_rs/10336). Later the same day came the confirmation that of the three migration options framed in April, the two that would have spared existing dApps – unchanged blueprints, and a dual modality running beside a legacy environment – ["have dissolved"](https://t.me/hyperscale_rs/10340). What this means for [Scrypto](/developers/scrypto) was asked in the same session and drew no answer.

That changes what a funding decision here is actually for: a new execution layer, plus a migration for everything already built on the current one, rather than continued maintenance of the Radix Engine. It also widens the acceptance question in the deliverables below, since a dry-run protocol upgrade rehearses a release, not a change of execution environment. The message-by-message record is on [hyperscale-rs](/contents/tech/research/hyperscale-rs).

## Deliverables

- Identify the teams/contributors who will carry Xi’an and Radix Engine work.
- Scope and budget continued protocol development via RFP.
- Define acceptance/verification for protocol releases (see dry-run upgrades).

## Dependencies & cross-references

- Governed by [Daffy's Radix DAO framework](https://github.com/Shadaffy/radix-dao) (repo `Shadaffy/radix-dao`); see the [Governance Framework Reference Repo](https://radixtalk.com/t/rfc-dao-governance-framework-reference-repo/2268) and [Charter (Round 1)](https://radixtalk.com/t/rfc-dao-documents-round1-the-charter/2269).
- Prioritized under [the product roadmap](/ideas/dao-product-roadmap-ownership).
- Released safely via [the dry-run upgrade process](/ideas/dao-protocol-dry-run-snap).

## Sources

- [RFC: Radix Strategic Council (Innovation & Product)](https://radixtalk.com/t/rfc-radix-strategic-council/2266)
- [Consultation v2 – Product Scope](https://radixtalk.com/t/consultation-v2-product-scope-document/2193)