#37·Astar Runtime 1700 Upgrade: Asset Hub Support, Maintenance Controls, and TxPause

This proposal upgrades the Astar Network to runtime 1700, introducing critical governance and security tooling including enhanced Maintenance Mode, the new TxPause and Safe Mode mechanisms, Asset Hub support, and collator selection improvements. This is a runtime-only release, no client upgrade is required.

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🔧 Key Changes in Runtime 1700

🛠️ Emergency Response Enhancements

1️⃣ dApp Staking Maintenance Mode – Governance Trigger
Expands the ability to activate Maintenance Mode without a referendum.

• Now triggerable by 2/3 of the Main Council or 1/2 of the Technical Committee
• Halts all dApp staking operations, preventing new interactions and pausing era advancement
• Designed for fast mitigation of protocol compromise scenarios

2️⃣ TxPause Functionality (New)
Allows governance to selectively pause individual extrinsics on demand.

• Ideal for disabling vulnerable or high-risk calls without halting the network
• Target by pallet + function (e.g., pause claimUnlocked without stopping dApp staking entirely)
• Triggerable by same governance thresholds as Maintenance Mode

3️⃣ Safe Mode Implementation (New)
A full protocol lockdown for emergency response.

• Blocks nearly all user-submitted transactions
• Initially active for 12 hours, extendable in 2-hour increments
• Allows only essential operations (e.g., governance, parachain lifecycle, timestamping)
• Designed for use in chain-critical events or active exploit windows

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🔗 Infrastructure & Runtime Upgrades

4️⃣ Asset Hub Integration in Token Reserve Filter
Adds Asset Hub as a recognized relay chain reserve location, preparing Astar Network for upcoming Polkadot/Kusama Asset Hub migrations (#1497)

5️⃣ Collator Selection Improvements

• New extrinsics to add/remove individual invulnerables (#1502)
• Updated weights for improved performance tracking and benchmarking (#1508)

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📦 Runtime-only Release
No client update required.
✅ Recommended Sidecar Version: v20.4.1
🔗 GitHub Release: Astar Runtime 1700