Layer 1 blockchain
Mina ticker MINA
Summary
Proof of stake using Ouroboros Samasika, which the docs describe as a version of Ouroboros Praos modified for a succinct blockchain. In each slot (90 seconds since the Mesa upgrade of 3 September 2026, 180 seconds before), stake holders run a private verifiable-random-function lottery against a fixed stake snapshot called the staking ledger, taken from a past epoch (the Mesa vote instructions describe it as the end of two epochs before). A winner produces a block that carries a recursive zk-SNARK proving the new protocol state follows validly from the previous one. Transaction proofs are produced separately by SNARK workers, and block producers must buy completed proof work in proportion to the transactions they add. Stake is neither locked nor slashed. 12467112627
Design
- System
- Layer 1 blockchainPermissionless proof-of-stake layer 1 with its own blocks and fork choice. What sets it apart is that each block carries a recursive zero-knowledge proof of the chain state, so a verifying node checks a small proof instead of replaying history. The package hint is kept.
- Settlement family
- Its own design
- Scarce resource
- Stake (proof of stake)
- State model
- Accounts
- Finality
- Probabilistic
- Who makes blocks
- Any account with stake, its own or delegated, can win slots with probability proportional to that stake; the set is open and unbounded. Winning is known only to the key holder until the block is published. Delegated MINA stays in the delegator's account and cannot be spent by the producer.
- Fork choice
- For short forks, the longer chain wins. For long-range forks, where history is not kept, nodes compare a density summary (minimum window density) carried in each chain's consensus state. Nodes do not reorganise past the consensus constant k, which is 290 blocks in the example block shown in Mina's docs.
Qualifications
- Light verification scope · Partial. The chain proof shows that the proved ledger is valid. It lags the newest transactions until SNARK workers finish their proofs. A verifier still needs peers and the chain-selection rule to know which valid chain is current.
- Slot timing · Applies. Slots are 90 seconds since Mesa (3 September 2026) and were 180 seconds before; some slots are intentionally empty, and the docs' confirmation table works out to about two minutes per block on average.
- Zeko settlement · Contested. A 2025 Mina blog post presented Zeko as a Mina rollup and o1Labs' July 2026 update reported a mainnet launch without naming the settlement chain, but Zeko's current documentation says it settles to Ethereum and treats Mina-backed deployments as legacy; see the Zeko scaling row.
- Tps · Unknown. No transactions-per-second figure is recorded. The only number kept is a temporary per-block zkApp cap, filed as a classified claim.
- Settlement family · Partial. Recorded as other: Mina settles on its own proof-of-stake chain, where Ouroboros Samasika picks block producers and each block carries a recursive zk-SNARK of the chain state; nothing settles to another chain. None of the named settlement families describes this.
Tradeoffs
- Emphasizes
- Decentralization and Security
- Gives up
- Base-layer throughput, latency and on-chain storage. Blocks come about every two minutes on average, settlement is probabilistic, and a zkApp account can hold only 32 small fields of on-chain state. Heavy computation moves to users, who prove their own transactions, and to a market of SNARK workers. Mesa also capped zkApp transactions per block to avoid memory exhaustion on nodes.The decentralization case rests on cheap verification: a node outside consensus checks one proof of about 22 KB rather than replaying history. Taking part in consensus still needs a 32 GB RAM, 8-core machine, and the spread of stake across producers was not measured here. There is one production node implementation; the Rust node is paused. Security also depends on a relatively new recursive proof system (Kimchi and Pickles), which has been audited but has a shorter track record than long-established signature and hash schemes.
- Full node at home
- Demanding 89Mesa-era requirements for a Mina daemon node are 32 GB RAM, an 8-core x86-64 processor with the BMI2, ADX and AVX instruction sets, 16 GB of storage and a 1 Mbps connection. Mina's general validator requirements page lists the same memory and processor but 64 GB of storage for a block producer, and an archive node needs 64 GB. Storage stays modest because regular nodes do not keep full history. Memory and CPU features are the main barriers; the validator requirements page says only x86-64 machines are supported.
- Throughput claims
- Theoretical peak: 12 1213Theoretical peak; not comparable across chains or with observed load.zkApp transactions per block (temporary cap set at the Mesa launch)From the Mesa mainnet upgrade on 3 September 2026 until the cap is changedChosen because stress tests showed memory spikes that could cause out-of-memory failures on some nodes; the earlier plan was 24 per block.This is a configured ceiling, not an observed rate; many blocks may carry fewer zkApp transactions. It covers zkApp transactions only; ordinary payments and delegations were not given a per-block figure in reviewed sources. It ignores proof generation time on the user's device, network propagation and state growth. o1Labs describes the cap as temporary, so the value can change.
Scaling layers
- Protokit application chains · Rollup, testnet 2021
Framework in which an off-chain sequencer orders transactions and compresses state transitions into a recursive proof that settles on Mina. Mina's docs call it alpha and say settlement support that handles reorgs is still in progress. It is live on devnet only. Sequencer trust, data availability and exit rules were not reviewed. - Zeko · Rollup, status unknown 2223242529
Sources conflict. An October 2025 Mina blog post described Zeko as a rollup with a shared sequencer settling to Mina, and o1Labs' July 2026 update said it had launched on mainnet without naming the settlement chain. Zeko's current docs say Mina is no longer its settlement chain: it settles to Ethereum in an experimental Sepolia deployment with a 2-of-3 data-availability committee, and its FAQ calls older Mina-backed deployments legacy. No Zeko deployment settling to Mina mainnet was confirmed.
Capabilities
| Capability | How it is provided | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Account abstraction | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Atomic swaps | Built into the protocolLimited scope | Limited to exchanges on Mina itself. A zkApp transaction is a list of account updates, from several parties if needed, and the whole list is applied or rejected as one, so two parties can swap MINA and custom tokens in one step; moving a custom token also needs its token contract's approval in the same transaction. This is an inference from the docs; no cross-chain hash-time-locked swap tooling was reviewed. 1416 |
| Authenticated data publication | Not present | None: the nearest feature, o1js's experimental off-chain state, keeps a contract's own data off-chain behind an on-chain Merkle root and rebuilds it from on-chain actions. That is a contract's storage for its own state, rebuilt from data already on chain, not a way for a publisher to make data available to others, so it does not meet the current definition. 18 |
| Light clients | Built into the protocolLimited scope | Consensus produces what a light client checks: each block carries a recursive proof of the chain state, and the docs describe nodes outside consensus that verify it from a single proof of about 22 KB. Limited: the proof lags the newest transactions until SNARK workers finish, and no end-user light wallet shipping this verification was confirmed. The reference daemon still asks for 32 GB RAM, and development of the alternative Rust node is paused. 361519 |
| Native staking or delegation | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| On-chain governance | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Parallel execution | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Payment or state channels | Unknown | No payment or state channel network anchored to Mina was found in reviewed sources. |
| Programmable spending | Native (protocol or core-team software) Earlier definition | An account that holds a verification key is a zkApp: updates to it must carry a proof checked against that key, or other authorizations set in its permissions. Contract logic runs off-chain in TypeScript (o1js), and nodes check only the proof. A zkApp account holds only 32 small fields of on-chain state. 61415 |
| Protocol-verified messaging | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Reversible transfers or recovery | Unknown | Not yet assessed under the current definitions; no way for a sender to cancel or reclaim a payment and no recovery path were found. Every account has built-in vesting fields (minimum balance, cliff and vesting schedule) that release funds over time, but the docs describe no way for them to return funds to the sender, and the schedule cannot be changed during vesting. A zkApp could in principle let a sender reclaim funds before a deadline, but none was reviewed. The protocol cannot reverse a confirmed payment. 1417 |
| Rollups | Unknown | No rollup was confirmed as settling to Mina mainnet at review time. Protokit application chains settle proofs to Mina but are on devnet only. Zeko was presented as a Mina rollup, and o1Labs reported a mainnet launch in July 2026, but Zeko's own docs now describe Ethereum settlement and treat Mina-backed deployments as legacy. 2021232529 |
| Shielded transfers | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Signed partial offers | Unknown | Not yet assessed under this row's current definition. |
Reading these values
- How this feature is provided
- Built into the protocol, core-team software or independent software says where a feature lives and who can change it. These are implementation layers, not quality: core-team software is not closer to the protocol than independent software.
- Structured assessment pending
- The shared review has not assessed this feature for any chain yet (Account abstraction, Native staking or delegation, On-chain governance, Parallel execution, Protocol-verified messaging and Shielded transfers). That does not mean it is absent, and a chain’s profile may already describe it.
- Unknown
- The review has not established this for this chain under the current definition; the note beside it says why. Unknown is not absent and not a low score. A feature reads “Not present” only when a source shows it is absent.
- Earlier definition
- Payment or state channels, Programmable spending and Rollups keep the earlier definition until the next fact-check. There, “Native” does not separate the protocol from core-team software, “Ecosystem software” does not say who publishes it, and “Partial” does not say which layer.
- Reading across rows
- The list of capabilities is incomplete. Do not read these rows as a chain leading or lagging overall.
Ecosystem & custody
| Product type | Status | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Automated market makers | UnknownLumina (mainnet status unverified) | Lumina's public repository describes it as a decentralized exchange for the Mina blockchain, and its contracts guide describes liquidity pools for MINA and custom tokens. The only contract addresses it publishes are testnet ones, and its developer kit examples use Mina's devnet. A mainnet deployment, liquidity and audits were not verified, because its website did not render for review, so no working AMM on Mina mainnet is confirmed here. 2830 |
| Issuer-native stablecoins | None found | Neither Circle's USDC list nor Tether's supported-protocol list includes Mina. Smaller issuers were not exhaustively checked. 3435 |
| Algorithmic stablecoins | Unknown | No algorithmic or hybrid stablecoin on Mina was reviewed. |
| Bridges | UnknownNori bridge (under audit) | Nori is building an Ethereum-to-Mina bridge. It proves Ethereum consensus with a light client inside the SP1 zkVM and checks that proof in an o1js contract on Mina. o1Labs' July 2026 update said it was being audited by Zellic, with the final report expected in the third quarter of 2026. No bridge was confirmed live on Mina mainnet. Risk: If Nori launches, users would depend on the correctness of its Ethereum light-client proof, the proof conversion into Mina's system, its contracts and whoever operates the relaying. Any wrapped asset is only as sound as that path. None of this was audited or reviewed here. 2931 |
| Block explorers | Established in the ecosystemMinascan, Minataur | Both are listed in the Mina docs glossary. The old MinaExplorer address now redirects to Minascan. Explorer data is indexed by the provider and is not independent validation. 63233 |
| Hardware wallets | ThinLedger (through Auro Wallet or Clorio) | The custody rows give the detail. Ledger signs MINA transactions through third-party wallets; Ledger Wallet's code includes Mina behind a feature switch that is off by default, and no Ledger page shows it switched on. Trezor says it does not support Mina. 36373940 |
Hardware-wallet custody
| Device maker | Status | What users can and cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger | PartialAuro Wallet, named on Ledger's page; Clorio is also named in Mina's docsSame as native: No | Can: Install the Mina app on a Ledger device and review and sign transactions in Auro Wallet, the third-party wallet Ledger's Mina page names Can: Send payments and delegate stake with keys kept on the device, per Mina's Ledger guide Cannot: Manage MINA in Ledger Wallet unless Ledger has switched its Mina support on: Ledger Wallet's code has Mina behind a feature switch that is off by default, and Ledger's Mina page points to Auro Wallet insteadSources disagree on zkApp signing. Mina's Ledger guide says zkApp transactions cannot yet be signed with a Ledger, while o1Labs' July 2026 update says Ledger users can now sign them. The device release behind the newer claim was not found. 2936373840 |
| Trezor | None foundSame as native: No | Cannot: Use a Trezor device for MINA; Trezor's page says it does not currently support Mina Protocol 39 |
Public data
iKnow Blockchain has no public-data lookups for Mina yet. This is a limit of the service, not a statement about the network.
| Lookup | Status | What it covers and its limits |
|---|---|---|
| Address or account | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
| Tokens and assets | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
| NFTs | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
| Transactions | Not available yet | Public-data lookups for this chain are not built yet. |
Sourced developments
Developments: Review overdue Reviewed Sep 27, 2026; next review was due Oct 7, 2026, 12:00 UTC.
Publication date · newest first
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Mesa hard fork activated on Mina mainnet
o1Labs published the Mesa mainnet release on 3 September 2026, completing the scheduled hard fork. Mesa halves slot time to 90 seconds and the per-block coinbase to 360 MINA. It raises zkApp on-chain storage from 8 to 32 fields, raises event, action and account-update limits, and adds automated hard-fork tooling.
- Proposal:MIP6 to MIP9 approved in the December 2025 on-chain vote
- Implementation:implemented in Mina daemon 4.0.0
- Release:mainnet release 4.0.0-mainnet-mesa published 2026-09-03
- Activation:active on mainnet per o1Labs release notes and blog
Sources: MinaProtocol/mina maintainers (o1Labs) — Mina Mainnet Stable 4.0.0 Mesa Release (external site) · Mina Protocol blog (o1Labs) — Welcome to Mesa: Mina's Latest Upgrade (external site) · Mina documentation — Mesa Upgrade Glossary (external site) · Mina documentation — Mesa Upgrade: Requirements (external site) · Mina Protocol blog (o1Labs) — Mina's Mesa Upgrade: What to Expect (external site) · Mina documentation — Mesa Fork Schedule (external site)
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Mesa pre-fork releases gave mainnet node operators a manual and an automatic upgrade path
On 21 August 2026 o1Labs published two mainnet node releases for the Mesa hard fork, with a blog post listing operators' tasks. Operators had to install one of them before the stop-transaction slot at 10:00 UTC on 3 September. Version 3.5.0-mainnet-stop-slot is the manual path: from that slot upgraded nodes produce only empty blocks, block production halts at 15:00 UTC, and the operator then installs the separate Mesa release and restarts. Version 4.0.0-mainnet (automode) is the automatic path: it carries the Mesa software and switches the node over by itself at the halt. The Mesa network was scheduled to start at 18:00 UTC the same day. Devnet had gone through the same sequence on 19 August.
- Proposal:MIP6 to MIP9 approved in the December 2025 on-chain vote
- Implementation:Mesa implemented in daemon 4.0.0; 3.5.0 is the pre-fork build that sets the stop slots for the manual path
- Release:3.5.0-mainnet-stop-slot and 4.0.0-mainnet published 2026-08-21; the manual-path Mesa release 4.0.0-mainnet-mesa followed on 2026-09-03
- Activation:not an activation; Mesa went live on mainnet on 2026-09-03, recorded separately in mesa-hard-fork-mainnet-2026-09
Sources: MinaProtocol/mina maintainers (o1Labs) — Mina Mainnet 3.5.0 Stop Slot Release (external site) · MinaProtocol/mina maintainers (o1Labs) — Mina Mainnet 4.0.0 Automode Upgrade Release (external site) · Mina Protocol blog — Mesa MAINNET Upgrade: Timelines and Operators' Tasks (external site) · Mina documentation — Mesa Fork Schedule (external site)
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Protokit application-chain framework went live on Mina devnet
o1Labs announced that Protokit, a framework for application chains that run a sequencer off-chain and settle recursive proofs to Mina, is live on devnet and asked developers for feedback before any mainnet launch.
- Implementation:alpha framework
- Release:Devnet
- Activation:not on mainnet as of review
Sources: Mina Protocol blog (o1Labs) — Introducing Protokit: Privacy-Enabled Applications on Mina (external site) · Mina documentation — Protokit (external site) · Protokit — Protokit (external site)
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Stake holders approved the four Mesa proposals in an on-chain vote
o1Labs reported that the December 2025 on-chain vote on MIP6 to MIP9 (faster slots, larger zkApp state, higher event and action limits, more account updates) ended with 100% of votes cast in favour. The same update said testnet stress tests found memory spikes and that the planned per-block cap on zkApp transactions was halved to limit node memory use.
- Proposal:approved by on-chain memo vote
- Implementation:in testing at the time of the post
- Release:not yet released at the time of the post
- Activation:later activated on mainnet 2026-09-03
Sources: Mina Protocol blog (o1Labs) — Road to Mesa: Status Update (Feb 2026) (external site) · Mina Protocol blog — The Mesa Upgrade On-Chain Vote (external site)
Topics your AI can explain
Your AI can explain these topics for Mina through the connection, with sources.
Known gaps
What this profile's review did not establish:
- The number of active block producers and how concentrated stake is among them were not measured.
- Whether a Mina-settled Zeko deployment still runs on mainnet is unresolved; Zeko's own docs now describe Ethereum settlement.
- No live bridge to or from Mina mainnet was confirmed; the Nori audit report had not been reviewed.
- Lumina's published contract addresses are testnet ones; its mainnet deployment, liquidity and audits were not verified, and other exchanges on Mina were not reviewed.
- No reversible-transfer or recovery design, such as sender reclaim, on Mina was reviewed; the built-in vesting fields only delay spending.
- The 290-block value of k comes from an example block in Mina's docs that predates Mesa; whether Mesa changed it was not confirmed.
- Mina's docs disagree on node sizing: the Mesa page lists 16 GB of storage for a daemon and 8 GB of memory for a proof worker, while the general requirements page lists 64 GB of storage and 32 GB of memory.
- No shipped end-user light client that checks the chain proof on a phone or in a browser was confirmed.
- Whether Ledger signing of zkApp transactions is live is contested between Mina's docs and o1Labs' July 2026 update.
- Mina's fork-schedule page still labels the mainnet Mesa fork as planned; activation is taken from the o1Labs release notes and blog.
- No algorithmic stablecoin, channel network or cross-chain swap tooling was reviewed.
- The average block interval since Mesa is taken from the docs' confirmation table, not measured on chain.
- Whether Ledger has switched on the Mina support in Ledger Wallet for users could not be read: the code default is off and Ledger's Mina page still points to Auro Wallet.
Sources
Oldest dated source check: Source checked Sep 27, 2026 Next check due Oct 27, 2026.
- Proof of Stake (external site)
- Block Producers (external site)
- Scan State (external site)
- What's in a Block? (external site)
- Lifecycle of a Payment (external site)
- Glossary (external site)
- How Ouroboros Samasika Upholds Mina's Goals of Decentralization (external site)
- Mesa Upgrade: Requirements (external site)
- Validator node requirements (external site)
- Mina Mainnet Stable 4.0.0 Mesa Release (external site)
- Welcome to Mesa: Mina's Latest Upgrade (external site)
- Mina's Mesa Upgrade: What to Expect (external site)
- Road to Mesa: Status Update (Feb 2026) (external site)
- Interacting with Mina (external site)
- zkApps for Ethereum Developers (external site)
- Custom Tokens (external site)
- Time-Locked Accounts (external site)
- Offchain Storage (external site)
- Mina Rust node repository (external site)
- Protokit (external site)
- Introducing Protokit: Privacy-Enabled Applications on Mina (external site)
- Bringing the Mina Stack to Life with Zeko (external site)
- What is Zeko? (external site)
- Zeko core concepts (external site)
- Frequently Asked Questions (external site)
- Staking Service Guidelines (external site)
- The Mesa Upgrade On-Chain Vote (external site)
- Lumina contracts README (external site)
- Q2 2026 Mina Ecosystem Update (external site)
- Lumina monorepo (external site)
- nori-zk (external site)
- Minascan block explorer (mainnet) (external site)
- Minataur block explorer (external site)
- USDC contract addresses (external site)
- Supported protocols (external site)
- Mina Protocol wallet (external site)
- Ledger Hardware Wallet (external site)
- Mina app for Ledger (external site)
- Mina Protocol support status (external site)
- currencyMina feature switch in Ledger Wallet code (declared without a value, so off by default) (external site)
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Funding disclosure
Funding disclosures appear here when an upkeep arrangement exists, in the form “Upkeep funded by [name]; verdicts unaffected.” The funder ledger has not been published yet. Neutrality & funding