diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-push-image.yaml b/.github/workflows/release-push-image.yaml
index 85425f719..0977a42d2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-push-image.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-push-image.yaml
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ env:
   REGISTRY: ghcr.io
 
 jobs:
+  check-gradle:
+    name: Gradle
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/zxc-verify-gradle-build-determinism.yaml
+    with:
+      ref: ${{ github.event.inputs.ref || '' }}
+      java-distribution: ${{ inputs.java-distribution || 'temurin' }}
+      java-version: ${{ inputs.java-version || '21.0.4' }}
+
   publish:
     runs-on: block-node-linux-medium
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/support/scripts/generate-gradle-artifact-baseline.sh b/.github/workflows/support/scripts/generate-gradle-artifact-baseline.sh
index b0fe6ebe2..3b4168771 100755
--- a/.github/workflows/support/scripts/generate-gradle-artifact-baseline.sh
+++ b/.github/workflows/support/scripts/generate-gradle-artifact-baseline.sh
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 set -o pipefail
 set +e
 
-readonly RELEASE_LIB_PATH="hedera-node/data/lib"
-readonly RELEASE_APPS_PATH="hedera-node/data/apps"
+readonly RELEASE_APPS_PATH="server/build/libs"
 
 GROUP_ACTIVE="false"
 
@@ -63,86 +62,74 @@ start_group "Configuring Environment"
     trap 'rm -rf "${TEMP_DIR}"' EXIT
   end_task "DONE (Path: ${TEMP_DIR})"
 
-#  start_task "Resolving the GITHUB_WORKSPACE path"
-#    # Ensure GITHUB_WORKSPACE is provided or default to the repository root
-#    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" || ! -d "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" ]]; then
-#      GITHUB_WORKSPACE="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../../../../" && pwd)"
-#    fi
-#  end_task "DONE (Path: ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE})"
-#
-#  start_task "Resolving the GITHUB_OUTPUT path"
-#    # Ensure GITHUB_OUTPUT is provided or default to the repository root
-#    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}" ]]; then
-#      GITHUB_OUTPUT="${TEMP_DIR}/workflow-output.txt"
-#    fi
-#  end_task "DONE (Path: ${GITHUB_OUTPUT})"
-#
-#  start_task "Resolving the GITHUB_SHA hash"
-#    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_SHA}" ]]; then
-#      GITHUB_SHA="$(git rev-parse HEAD | tr -d '[:space:]')" || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#    fi
-#  end_task "DONE (Commit: ${GITHUB_SHA})"
-#
-#  start_task "Resolving the MANIFEST_PATH variable"
-#    if [[ -z "${MANIFEST_PATH}" ]]; then
-#      MANIFEST_PATH="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/.manifests/gradle"
-#    fi
-#  end_task "DONE (Path: ${MANIFEST_PATH})"
-#
-#  start_task "Ensuring the MANIFEST_PATH location is present"
-#    if [[ ! -d "${MANIFEST_PATH}" ]]; then
-#      mkdir -p "${MANIFEST_PATH}" || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#    fi
-#  end_task
-#
-#  start_task "Checking for the sha256sum command"
-#    if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-#      SHA256SUM="$(command -v sha256sum)" || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#    else
-#      fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#    fi
-#  end_task "DONE (Found: ${SHA256SUM})"
-#
-#  start_task "Checking for prebuilt libraries"
-#    ls -al "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_LIB_PATH}"/*.jar >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  end_task "FOUND (Path: ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_LIB_PATH}/*.jar)"
-#
-#  start_task "Checking for prebuilt applications"
-#    ls -al "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}"/*.jar >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  end_task "FOUND (Path: ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}/*.jar)"
+  start_task "Resolving the GITHUB_WORKSPACE path"
+    # Ensure GITHUB_WORKSPACE is provided or default to the repository root
+    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" || ! -d "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" ]]; then
+      GITHUB_WORKSPACE="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../../../../" && pwd)"
+    fi
+  end_task "DONE (Path: ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE})"
+
+  start_task "Resolving the GITHUB_OUTPUT path"
+    # Ensure GITHUB_OUTPUT is provided or default to the repository root
+    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}" ]]; then
+      GITHUB_OUTPUT="${TEMP_DIR}/workflow-output.txt"
+    fi
+  end_task "DONE (Path: ${GITHUB_OUTPUT})"
+
+  start_task "Resolving the GITHUB_SHA hash"
+    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_SHA}" ]]; then
+      GITHUB_SHA="$(git rev-parse HEAD | tr -d '[:space:]')" || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+    fi
+  end_task "DONE (Commit: ${GITHUB_SHA})"
+
+  start_task "Resolving the MANIFEST_PATH variable"
+    if [[ -z "${MANIFEST_PATH}" ]]; then
+      MANIFEST_PATH="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/.manifests/gradle"
+    fi
+  end_task "DONE (Path: ${MANIFEST_PATH})"
+
+  start_task "Ensuring the MANIFEST_PATH location is present"
+    if [[ ! -d "${MANIFEST_PATH}" ]]; then
+      mkdir -p "${MANIFEST_PATH}" || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+    fi
+  end_task
+
+  start_task "Checking for the sha256sum command"
+    if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      SHA256SUM="$(command -v sha256sum)" || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+    else
+      fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+    fi
+  end_task "DONE (Found: ${SHA256SUM})"
+
+  start_task "Checking for prebuilt applications"
+    ls -al "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}"/*.jar >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+  end_task "FOUND (Path: ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}/*.jar)"
+end_group
+
+start_group "Generating Application Hashes (${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}/*.jar)"
+  pushd "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "PUSHD ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+  ${SHA256SUM} -b -- *.jar | sort -k 2 | tee -a "${TEMP_DIR}"/applications.sha256
+  popd >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "POPD ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
 end_group
 
-#start_group "Generating Library Hashes (${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_LIB_PATH}/*.jar)"
-#  pushd "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_LIB_PATH}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "PUSHD ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  ${SHA256SUM} -b -- *.jar | sort -k 2 | tee -a "${TEMP_DIR}"/libraries.sha256
-#  popd >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "POPD ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#end_group
-#
-#start_group "Generating Application Hashes (${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}/*.jar)"
-#  pushd "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/${RELEASE_APPS_PATH}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "PUSHD ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  ${SHA256SUM} -b -- *.jar | sort -k 2 | tee -a "${TEMP_DIR}"/applications.sha256
-#  popd >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "POPD ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#end_group
-#
-#start_group "Generating Final Release Manifests"
-#
-#  start_task "Generating the manifest archive"
-#  tar -czf "${TEMP_DIR}/manifest.tar.gz" -C "${TEMP_DIR}" libraries.sha256 applications.sha256 >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "TAR ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  end_task
-#
-#  start_task "Copying the manifest files"
-#  cp "${TEMP_DIR}/manifest.tar.gz" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz" || fail "COPY ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  cp "${TEMP_DIR}/libraries.sha256" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/libraries.sha256" || fail "COPY ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  cp "${TEMP_DIR}/applications.sha256" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256" || fail "COPY ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
-#  end_task "DONE (Path: ${MANIFEST_PATH}/${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz)"
-#
-#  start_task "Setting Step Outputs"
-#    {
-#      printf "path=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}"
-#      printf "file=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz"
-#      printf "name=%s\n" "${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz"
-#      printf "applications=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256"
-#      printf "libraries=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/libraries.sha256"
-#    } >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
-#  end_task
-#end_group
+start_group "Generating Final Release Manifests"
+
+  start_task "Generating the manifest archive"
+  tar -czf "${TEMP_DIR}/manifest.tar.gz" -C "${TEMP_DIR}" applications.sha256 >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "TAR ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+  end_task
+
+  start_task "Copying the manifest files"
+  cp "${TEMP_DIR}/manifest.tar.gz" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz" || fail "COPY ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+  cp "${TEMP_DIR}/applications.sha256" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256" || fail "COPY ERROR (Exit Code: ${?})" "${?}"
+  end_task "DONE (Path: ${MANIFEST_PATH}/${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz)"
+
+  start_task "Setting Step Outputs"
+    {
+      printf "path=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}"
+      printf "file=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz"
+      printf "name=%s\n" "${GITHUB_SHA}.tar.gz"
+      printf "applications=%s\n" "${MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256"
+    } >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+  end_task
+end_group
diff --git a/.github/workflows/zxc-verify-gradle-build-determinism.yaml b/.github/workflows/zxc-verify-gradle-build-determinism.yaml
index 1ad85e98a..06c9ea29c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/zxc-verify-gradle-build-determinism.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/zxc-verify-gradle-build-determinism.yaml
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ name: "ZXC: Verify Gradle Build Determinism"
 # Z - Ensures sort order such that this script appears at the bottom of the UI
 # X - Indicates it's not for direct user consumption
 # C - Indicates this is a 'workflow_call' based reusable workflow
-
 on:
   workflow_call:
     inputs:
@@ -53,10 +52,180 @@ permissions:
   contents: read
   packages: write
 
+env:
+  GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH: ${{ github.workspace }}/.manifests/gradle
+  GRADLE_MANIFEST_GENERATOR: .github/workflows/support/scripts/generate-gradle-artifact-baseline.sh
+  LC_ALL: C.UTF-8
+
 jobs:
   generate-baseline:
     name: Generate Baseline
-    runs-on: network-node-linux-medium
+    runs-on: block-node-linux-medium
+    outputs:
+      sha: ${{ steps.commit.outputs.sha }}
+      path: ${{ steps.baseline.outputs.path }}
+      file: ${{ steps.baseline.outputs.file }}
+      name: ${{ steps.baseline.outputs.name }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Harden Runner
+        uses: step-security/harden-runner@0080882f6c36860b6ba35c610c98ce87d4e2f26f # v2.10.2
+        with:
+          egress-policy: audit
+
+      - name: Checkout Code
+        uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.ref }}
+
+      - name: Setup Java
+        uses: actions/setup-java@8df1039502a15bceb9433410b1a100fbe190c53b # v4.5.0
+        with:
+          distribution: ${{ inputs.java-distribution }}
+          java-version: ${{ inputs.java-version }}
+
+      - name: Setup Gradle
+        uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@cc4fc85e6b35bafd578d5ffbc76a5518407e1af0 # v4.2.1
+        with:
+          cache-disabled: true
+
+      - name: Retrieve Commit Hash
+        id: commit
+        run: echo "sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+
+      - name: Baseline Existence Check
+        id: baseline
+        run: |
+          BASELINE_NAME="${{ steps.commit.outputs.sha }}.tar.gz"
+          BASELINE_PATH="gs://hedera-ci-ephemeral-artifacts/${{ github.repository }}/gradle/baselines"
+          BASELINE_FILE="${BASELINE_PATH}/${BASELINE_NAME}"
+          BASELINE_EXISTS="false"
+
+          if gsutil ls "${BASELINE_FILE}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+             BASELINE_EXISTS="true"
+          fi
+
+          echo "exists=${BASELINE_EXISTS}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+          echo "path=${BASELINE_PATH}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+          echo "name=${BASELINE_NAME}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+          echo "file=${BASELINE_FILE}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
+
+      - name: Build Artifacts
+        id: gradle-build
+        run: ./gradlew assemble --scan
+
+      - name: Generate Manifest
+        id: manifest
+        env:
+          MANIFEST_PATH: ${{ env.GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH }}
+        run: ${{ env.GRADLE_MANIFEST_GENERATOR }}
+
+  verify-artifacts:
+    name: "Verify Artifacts (${{ join(matrix.os, ', ') }})"
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    needs:
+      - generate-baseline
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        os:
+          - ubuntu-22.04
+          - ubuntu-20.04
+          - windows-2022
+          - windows-2019
+          - block-node-linux-medium
+          - block-node-linux-large
     steps:
-      - name: Print
-        run: echo "Hello, baseline!"
+      - name: Harden Runner
+        uses: step-security/harden-runner@0080882f6c36860b6ba35c610c98ce87d4e2f26f # v2.10.2
+        with:
+          egress-policy: audit
+
+      - name: Standardize Git Line Endings
+        run: |
+          git config --global core.autocrlf false
+          git config --global core.eol lf
+
+      - name: Checkout Code
+        uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4.2.2
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.ref }}
+
+      - name: Setup Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@0b93645e9fea7318ecaed2b359559ac225c90a2b # v5.3.0
+        with:
+          python-version: 3.9
+
+      - name: Setup Java
+        uses: actions/setup-java@8df1039502a15bceb9433410b1a100fbe190c53b # v4.5.0
+        with:
+          distribution: ${{ inputs.java-distribution }}
+          java-version: ${{ inputs.java-version }}
+
+      - name: Setup Gradle
+        uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@cc4fc85e6b35bafd578d5ffbc76a5518407e1af0 # v4.2.1
+        with:
+          cache-disabled: true
+
+#      - name: Setup CoreUtils (macOS)
+#        if: ${{ runner.os == 'macOS' }}
+#        run: brew install coreutils
+
+#      - name: Authenticate to Google Cloud
+#        id: google-auth
+#        uses: google-github-actions/auth@6fc4af4b145ae7821d527454aa9bd537d1f2dc5f # v2.1.7
+#        with:
+#          workload_identity_provider: "projects/235822363393/locations/global/workloadIdentityPools/hedera-builds-pool/providers/hedera-builds-gh-actions"
+#          service_account: "swirlds-automation@hedera-registry.iam.gserviceaccount.com"
+
+#      - name: Setup Google Cloud SDK
+#        uses: google-github-actions/setup-gcloud@6189d56e4096ee891640bb02ac264be376592d6a # v2.1.2
+#        env:
+#          CLOUDSDK_PYTHON: ${{ format('{0}{1}', env.pythonLocation, runner.os == 'Windows' && '\python.exe' || '/bin/python3') }}
+#
+      - name: Download Baseline
+        env:
+          CLOUDSDK_PYTHON: ${{ format('{0}{1}', env.pythonLocation, runner.os == 'Windows' && '\python.exe' || '/bin/python3') }}
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}"
+          cd "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}"
+#          gsutil cp "${{ needs.generate-baseline.outputs.file }}" .
+#          tar -xzf "${{ needs.generate-baseline.outputs.name }}"
+
+      - name: Build Artifacts
+        id: gradle-build
+        run: ./gradlew assemble --scan --no-build-cache
+
+      - name: Regenerate Manifest
+        id: regen-manifest
+        env:
+          MANIFEST_PATH: ${{ env.GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH }}/regenerated
+        run: ${{ env.GRADLE_MANIFEST_GENERATOR }}
+
+      - name: Validate Applications
+        working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}/server/build/libs
+        run: sha256sum -c "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256"
+
+#      - name: Compare Library Manifests
+#        run: |
+#          if ! diff -u "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}/libraries.sha256" "${{ steps.regen-manifest.outputs.libraries }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+#            echo "::group::Library Manifest Differences"
+#            diff -u "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}/libraries.sha256" "${{ steps.regen-manifest.outputs.libraries }}"
+#            echo "::endgroup::"
+#            exit 1
+#          fi
+#
+#      - name: Compare Application Manifests
+#        run: |
+#          if ! diff -u "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256" "${{ steps.regen-manifest.outputs.applications }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+#            echo "::group::Application Manifest Differences"
+#            diff -u "${GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH}/applications.sha256" "${{ steps.regen-manifest.outputs.applications }}"
+#            echo "::endgroup::"
+#            exit 1
+#          fi
+#
+#      - name: Publish Manifests
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@b4b15b8c7c6ac21ea08fcf65892d2ee8f75cf882 # v4.4.3
+#        if: ${{ steps.regen-manifest.conclusion == 'success' && failure() && !cancelled() }}
+#        with:
+#          name: Gradle Manifests [${{ join(matrix.os, ', ') }}]
+#          path: ${{ env.GRADLE_MANIFEST_PATH }}/**
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index d64cd4917..e6441136f 100644
Binary files a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index a4413138c..e2847c820 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.8-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.11.1-bin.zip
 networkTimeout=10000
 validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
diff --git a/gradlew b/gradlew
index 1aa94a426..b740cf133 100755
--- a/gradlew
+++ b/gradlew
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 #       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
 #
 #   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
-#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/subprojects/plugins/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/platforms/jvm/plugins-application/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
 #       within the Gradle project.
 #
 #       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
diff --git a/gradlew.bat b/gradlew.bat
index 6689b85be..7101f8e46 100644
--- a/gradlew.bat
+++ b/gradlew.bat
@@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ set JAVA_EXE=java.exe
 %JAVA_EXE% -version >NUL 2>&1
 if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 goto execute
 
-echo.
-echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
-echo.
-echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
-echo location of your Java installation.
+echo. 1>&2
+echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH. 1>&2
+echo. 1>&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the 1>&2
+echo location of your Java installation. 1>&2
 
 goto fail
 
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@ set JAVA_EXE=%JAVA_HOME%/bin/java.exe
 
 if exist "%JAVA_EXE%" goto execute
 
-echo.
-echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: %JAVA_HOME%
-echo.
-echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
-echo location of your Java installation.
+echo. 1>&2
+echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: %JAVA_HOME% 1>&2
+echo. 1>&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the 1>&2
+echo location of your Java installation. 1>&2
 
 goto fail