What Changed in v0.2.10

Gonka v0.2.10, released on February 17, 2026, delivers a focused set of consensus and inference improvements across 21 merged pull requests. The centerpiece is a reworked Proof of Compute (PoC) sampling algorithm that cuts validator selection overhead from O(N²) to O(N*N_SLOTS), along with new support for Qwen3 tool calling on the inference layer.

PoC Sampling: From O(N²) to O(N*N_SLOTS)

The previous sampling loop iterated over all registered validators for every slot, producing quadratic time complexity as the validator set grew. PR #710 restructured the selection logic to iterate once through validators while filling available slots, reducing worst-case runtime by an order of magnitude for large validator sets. This matters because Gonka’s validator count is expected to grow significantly as the network matures.

Weight Normalization by Real Time

PR #725 changed how PoC weights are calculated. Instead of normalizing by block count, weights now reflect actual elapsed wall-clock time between inference responses. This removes a bias where validators with faster block propagation could accumulate disproportionate weight, making the reward distribution more accurate.

Qwen3 Tool Calling Support

PR #767 added native tool calling support for the Qwen3-235B-A22B model. This means SDK users can now pass tool definitions in their API calls and receive structured function call responses, matching the OpenAI function calling interface. The implementation follows the same pattern used for previous model integrations.

IBC v8.7.0 Upgrade

The Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol was upgraded to v8.7.0, keeping Gonka compatible with the broader Cosmos ecosystem. This upgrade was bundled with the on-chain software upgrade proposal and activated at the designated block height.

Upgrade Grace Period

A new 3,000-block grace period (roughly 5 hours) was introduced for MainNet upgrades. Validators who miss the exact upgrade block now have a window to update their nodes without being penalized. This reduces the coordination pressure during releases and lowers the risk of missed blocks.

Community Contributions

Several PRs in v0.2.10 came from community contributors who participated in the bounty program. Bounties were paid in GNK tokens for accepted contributions, reinforcing the open development model. The release was first deployed and verified on testnet before the MainNet upgrade proposal was submitted.

Verification Process

The release followed Gonka’s standard process: code freeze, testnet deployment, validator verification, on-chain governance proposal, and MainNet activation. All 21 PRs passed CI checks and were reviewed before merge.

Full changelog: v0.2.10 on GitHub.