Polymesh v7.4.0: Simplifying Settlement with Account ID Asset Balances

This release introduces an important, non breaking enhancement to the settlement model: Account IDs can now hold asset balances directly. It is the first step toward providing a more streamlined, account oriented experience, while preserving the identity and compliance framework that underpins Polymesh.

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This release represents a major step forward in the Polymesh evolution, bringing the intuitive balance model of traditional blockchains to regulated settlement while maintaining the compliance guarantees and regulatory controls that make Polymesh unique.

What's New: Account ID Asset Balances

Historically, all Polymesh assets were held in Portfolios associated with Identities, DIDs. Portfolios remain a core concept and continue to be fully supported. While this model provides powerful organizational and compliance capabilities, it introduced an additional layer of abstraction that differed from traditional blockchain workflows.

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With v7.4.0, asset balances can now also be associated directly with an Account ID, a signing key public key address.

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Transactions that previously accepted a Portfolio have been updated to also accept an Account ID as an alternate input extending the capability of the existing settlement related transactions.

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This does not remove the role of identity. An Account ID must still be linked to an on chain identity. A key improvement is that new functions have been added that perform the Account ID to DID lookup internally during transfers. This reduces the need for off chain identity resolution and simplifies the transaction flow for developers and integrators.

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The result is a model that feels closer to traditional blockchains, where balances are typically stored at the key or account level, while still leveraging Polymesh’s settlement engine for compliance and regulatory enforcement.

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Simpler Account Based Transfers

To support Account ID balances, v7.4.0 introduces new Asset module transactions that enable streamlined, single leg transfers between Account IDs:

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• transfer_asset
• receiver_affirm_asset_transfer
• reject_asset_transfer

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These new transactions allow a sender to initiate a transfer directly from their Account ID balance to a receiver's Account ID. Because identity resolution happens on chain, callers do not need to perform a separate DID lookup before initiating or affirming a transfer. Compliance checks, double spend prevention and settlement guarantees remain fully enforced by the existing settlement engine.

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The transactions also support immediate execution in the block the transaction is submitted providing clear feedback in failure cases. 

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For transfers:

• If the receiver has pre-approved the asset, the transfer executes immediately in the same block
• If not pre-approved, a settlement instruction is created pending the receiver's confirmation

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For affirmations:

• Upon affirmation, if all compliance requirements are met, the instruction executes immediately in the same transaction
• If compliance checks do not pass the transaction fails immediately, allowing the receiver to address issues and retry

Getting Started with Account ID Balances

Before using the new transfer flow, an Account ID must hold an asset balance.

This can be achieved in two ways:

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• Receiving assets through the existing settlement flow, specifying an Account ID as the destination
• Moving funds between a traditional Portfolio and an Account ID under the same identity

These options ensure full backward compatibility. Existing portfolio based workflows continue to function exactly as before.

Still Identity Driven

While balances can now be held at the Account ID level, they remain anchored to on chain identities. An Account ID must be linked as a primary or secondary key to a DID, and all compliance checks continue to be evaluated at the identity level.

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This design preserves Polymesh’s distinction between identities and keys, ensuring that simplification of transfers does not weaken regulatory controls.

SDK and Portal Updates Coming Soon

Support for Account ID based balances will soon be reflected in updates to the Polymesh SDK and the Polymesh Portal, making it easier for developers and users to take advantage of the new functionality.

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These updates will streamline integration and expose the new transfer flows through familiar tooling and interfaces.

Looking Ahead to v8.0

Version 7.4.0 is a foundational, non breaking release.

In the coming months, we are targeting v8.0 as the next major upgrade. That release will expand Account ID based balance support further and is expected to remove the need to reference a DID when providing an Account ID in settlement transactions. Because that change will modify existing interfaces making it a breaking change, it is planned to be included in the next major release.

Polymesh v7.4.0 delivers immediate usability improvements today and lays the groundwork for a more intuitive, account oriented settlement model in future updates.

Explore the Details

For comprehensive technical documentation, see:

• Settlement Overview – How settlements and Account ID transfers work under the hood
• Portfolios – New Account ID portfolio section
• Asset Transfers – Detailed settlement flows and examples

Questions?

Join the conversation in the Polymesh Community or reach out to the core team. We're excited to see how Account ID asset balances enable new use cases and simpler integrations!