pox_is_active sometimes set to true when it shouldn't be

[CharlieC3]

It seems a node can sometimes find itself in a scenario where pox_is_active on /v2/pox shows true when the amount of stacked stacks is less than the pox activation threshold:

  "current_cycle": {
    "id": 224,
    "min_threshold_ustx": 2166760000000000,
    "stacked_ustx": 0,
    "is_pox_active": true
  },

This happened in a closed regtest deployment which resulted in a stall because of pox deactivating, so I'm not sure of the likelihood of this occurring in a bigger open network. But it's still a strange result. It seems internally the node is aware pox is deactivated but the data it displays externally is getting the status from elsewhere that doesn't get updated as frequently. Here's a link to a chainstate from the aforementioned stalled node in this state: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NYceDhEEyPPx8FWMA25ce45QC8gzZ4c9/view?usp=sharing

[Parikalp-Bhardwaj]

Hi @CharlieC3 let cur_cycle_pox_active = sortdb.is_pox_active(burnchain, &burnchain_tip)?;

This line sets cur_cycle_pox_active based on the sortition database understanding of PoX activation. However, it seems that this method may return true even when stacked_ustx is below the activation threshold.

https://github.com/stacks-network/stacks-core/blob/master/stackslib/src/net/api/getpoxinfo.rs

Am i right? @obycode

[jcnelson]

PoX is always active in Nakamoto -- there is no activation threshold, unlike in 2.x.

[CharlieC3]

Good to know, thanks @jcnelson . Does that also mean the network could not have stalled because stacked_ustx was lower than the min_threshold_ustx?