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
The first cohort is now live!See who was selected ▶
Program goals
The program aims to select validators that:
Don’t go offline, miss paravalidation votes or get slashed
Aim to become independent of the program during their term
Can react to emergencies quickly and efficiently
Are sufficiently decentralized in all aspects
Are responsive and engaged with the community and their nominators
Expand and diversify the validators in the ecosystem
Selection Criteria
The operator can apply with up to two nodes per network.
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
Prior experience in running validators and/or collators in the Polkadot ecosystem or other ecosystems
Institutional staking providers
Legal entities with high experience and expertise that provide professional staking services
Node Operations
Hardware Specs
The node should meet the minimum hardware requirements and be able to upscale if needed
Decentralization
Location of the node, provider used, and residency of the node operator
Monitoring
Answers in the application regarding monitoring processes, response times, and prior contributions to network issues
Ecosystem Participation
On-Chain Governance
Meaningful historical participation in OpenGov
Validator Participation
Being part of the Thousand Validators Programme and being active in the validator channels
Other Ecosystem Contribution
Contributing to the ecosystem and the community
The evaluation will be based on the information provided in the application form, as well as on-chain and telemetry data. If needed, an interview (in English) will be requested from the applicants, and this will also be taken into consideration. Being available to have this interview is a prerequisite for the application to be considered eligible. Not all criteria carry the same weight in the final decision. Web3 Foundation will determine the significance of each category during evaluation.
Process
Round One
Review Period
Reviewers will go through the applications based on the criteria above. Web3 Foundation may request a call with you if additional information is needed.
Nominations
The selected nodes and a set of backup validators will be announced for the first cohort and we will start nominating the validators.
Round Two
Second Application Round
We will update the Program based on our learnings from the first cohort and open the application process again.
Second Nomination Round
The selected nodes will be announced for the second cohort and we will start nominating the validators. The duration of the second round might change based on the initial learnings.
Join the Decentralized Nodes Program
Help Make Polkadot the Most Decentralized and Secure Network
