Hedera Announces Key December Upgrade With Shift From Static to Dynamic Address Book

• Hedera will roll out its Consensus Node v0.68 on mainnet in December.
• DAB reduces manual overhead, removes the need for disruptive network-wide resets, and allows frequent updates.

The Hedera team shared on X that the network would undergo a testnet upgrade on November 25. The update proceeded as planned, bringing the testnet to version v0.68 and requiring an expected maintenance window of about 40 minutes.

This release lays the groundwork for upcoming changes from a Static to a Dynamic Address Book (DAB). With v0.68, the Hiero Consensus Node now supports future updates to node account IDs, allowing node operators to modify their nodeAccountId without the need for a network redeployment.

These features have already been live on the Hedera testnet since November 13 and are set to arrive on mainnet on December 10. The Dynamic Address Book will now change how the Hedera API (HAPI) works for developers. However,  infrastructure and tooling should move away from hard-coded node account IDs to ensure smooth operation.

Key details and What Node‑operators Should Know

Version v0.68 introduces HIP-1215, which brings Generalized Scheduled Contract Calls to the Hiero Consensus Node. Smart contracts can now schedule future contract calls directly through the Hedera Schedule Service system contract, using new entry points. These functions give developers the ability to create, trigger, cancel, and manage scheduled calls fully on-chain.

The upgrade is governed by HIP-1299, which refines how node account IDs are managed in the DAB system. It enforces security rules like preventing reuse of account IDs across nodes, ensuring proper authorization for changes, and safeguarding fee/reward flows.

This update follows the earlier Release v0.67, which brought new software improvements to both mainnet and testnet on November 12, after a separate testnet upgrade on October 29. Release v0.67, focused on increasing HBAR’s stability and performance of the Hiero Consensus Node.

Hedera has also announced an upcoming price adjustment: beginning in January 2026, the cost of a ConsensusSubmitMessage transaction will rise from $0.0001 to $0.0008 USD. This new pricing will go into effect with the v0.69 release of the Consensus Node codebase.

The network is seeing further expansion as NHX Finance works on creating a Kenyan shilling–pegged stablecoin at a 1:1 ratio using Hedera’s technology. As we covered in our earlier report, this comes after news of a partnership between the Nairobi Securities Exchange Innovation Lab and Hashgraph.

HBAR has shown solid momentum, trading near $0.1456 after climbing more than 13.5% over the last week.