jade upgrade

Jade Upgrade: MorphTx, MPT Migration, and Stronger Ethereum Equivalence

Morph

19 Mar 2026 — 3 min read

Today, Morph rolls out the Jade Upgrade, introducing a renamed and enhanced transaction type, the completion of a critical state trie migration, and general performance improvements. This release brings Morph meaningfully closer to full Ethereum equivalence while keeping the network fast and reliable for users and developers. Below is an overview of what's included in Jade.

Three core improvements to the Morph chain:
• MorphTx Transaction Type with Reference Key
• Jade Fork Activation and MPT Migration
• General Performance Optimizations

Feature #1: MorphTx Transaction Type with Reference Key

Morph is building a payment settlement layer, and that mission shapes every technical decision at the protocol level. One gap in the current architecture: the native transaction structure has no way to carry additional fields that off-chain systems can use to identify and look up a payment. Morph’s standard transactions work well for general use, but merchants and payment platforms need more. They need a way to tag a transaction with a reference they control, then query it directly from on-chain data without relying on workarounds.

The Jade upgrade addresses this by renaming the previous AltFeeTx (type 0x7F) to MorphTx and adding a new field: the Reference Key. It’s a 32-byte identifier embedded directly in the transaction, designed with three requirements in mind:

Indexing: The Reference Key supports indexed queries on its own or in combination with other fields, so off-chain systems can look up any transaction directly by its reference.
Performance: The addition introduces no degradation to chain performance. Speed and throughput remain unaffected.
Readability and Usability: The key is designed to be easy for merchants to generate and use, lowering the barrier for real-world payment integrations.

For payment processors, neobanks, and settlement platforms building on Morph, this is a foundational improvement. The Reference Key bridges on-chain and off-chain systems, making it straightforward to tie a blockchain transaction back to a real-world payment record without any intermediaries or custom indexing infrastructure.

Feature #2: Jade Fork Activation and MPT Migration

The Jade upgrade completes one of the most significant infrastructure changes in Morph's history: the full migration from zkTrie to the standard Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT).

Why this matters:
• MPT is Ethereum's native state trie format, meaning Morph now shares the same underlying data structure as mainnet Ethereum
• This reduces friction for developers building on or porting tools to Morph
• It brings Morph significantly closer to full Ethereum equivalence, making the network more compatible with the broader Ethereum tooling ecosystem

Node operators are strongly encouraged to deploy a fresh MPT node rather than upgrading in place, using the --morph-mpt flag when starting geth.

Feature #3: General Performance Optimizations

Alongside the headline features, the Jade upgrade includes a range of under-the-hood improvements to overall node performance and stability, continuing Morph's commitment to a reliable, high-throughput network.

Jade Activation Schedule

Network	Activation Time (UTC)
Hoodi Testnet	2026-03-25 06:00
Mainnet	2026-04-08 06:00

There will be no downtime during the upgrade. User transactions will not be affected.

Action Required: Node Operators

All node operators must upgrade before the activation time on their respective network to avoid forking or falling out of sync.

Morph strongly recommends redeploying a fresh MPT node rather than upgrading in place. Add the --morph-mpt flag when starting geth.

Upgrading from a version prior to v0.4.10?

Make sure to add the --l1.rpc parameter during this upgrade.

For Morph Hoodi (Testnet) Nodes
Add the following flags to your startup command:

--l1.rpc=<Your_Ethereum_L1_RPC_URL>
--derivation.rollupAddress=0x57e0e6dde89dc52c01fe785774271504b1e04664

Or set these environment variables:

MORPH_NODE_L1_ETH_RPC=<Your_Ethereum_L1_RPC_URL>
MORPH_NODE_ROLLUP_ADDRESS=0x57e0e6dde89dc52c01fe785774271504b1e04664

For Morph Mainnet Nodes
Ensure your startup command includes the --mainnet flag, then add:

--l1.rpc=<Your_Ethereum_L1_RPC_URL>

Or set the environment variable:

MORPH_NODE_L1_ETH_RPC=<Your_Ethereum_L1_RPC_URL>

Why the Jade Upgrade Matters

The Jade Upgrade pushes Morph forward on two fronts simultaneously: making the network more payment-ready with trackable MorphTx transactions, and more Ethereum-compatible with the completion of the MPT migration.

• Payment platforms and financial apps gain a native tool for transaction attribution through the Reference Key
• Developers benefit from deeper Ethereum tooling compatibility with the standard MPT state trie
• The network becomes more predictable and stable with general performance improvements throughout

Jade isn't just an upgrade. It's a step toward a more traceable, compatible, and payment-ready Morph.