Application
Fill out the application form, providing as much detail as possible. We also encourage you to share more information about your validator service in the Polkadot Forum to get nominated by others.
Decentralized Nodes
A Delegation Program that Supports
Validators in the Polkadot Ecosystem
Applications for Cohort 3 are now open!
Apply Now
Program goals
The program aims to select validators that:
Have the technical knowledge to run nodes
Don’t go offline, miss paravalidation votes or get slashed
Can react to emergencies quickly and efficiently
Are sufficiently decentralized in all aspects
Are active in the ecosystem and engaged with the community
Expand and diversify the validators in the ecosystem
Selection Criteria
The operator can apply with up to two nodes on Polkadot and five nodes on Kusama.
Web3 Foundation will select the validators based on the below criteria.
Each cohort will be nominated for a four-month term.
Technical Knowledge
Application & Interview
Answers to the technical questions in the application and during a potential interview (if one is performed)
Prior Experience & Performance
Prior experience in running validators in the Polkadot and/or other ecosystems with good performance
Institutional staking providers
Legal entities with high experience and expertise that provide professional staking services
Node Operations
Hardware Specs
The node must meet the minimum hardware requirements at all times
Diversification
The selected nodes will have diversity in location, provider, and hardware
Operations & Responsiveness
The operator should apply good monitoring and security practices, session key management, and be responsive
Ecosystem Affinity
Ecosystem Contributions
Overall contributions to the ecosystem and active community engagement
Technical Contributions
Contributions to issues, core tech, or to the program itself
On-chain Governance
Meaningful historical participation in OpenGov
Process
Round Three
Cohort Announcement
Reviewers will go through the applications based on the criteria above and announce the results in the week of 25-29 August, 2025.
Cohort Launch
The selected nodes will be nominated on September 10, 2025.
Round Four
Fourth Application Round
We will update the Program based on our learnings from the previous cohorts and open the application process again.
Fourth Cohort
The fourth cohort will be launched. The duration of the fourth cohort or the format of the program might change based on our learnings so far.
Join the Decentralized Nodes Program
Help Make Polkadot the Most Decentralized and Secure Network
