1. TLDR
The Initia Foundation’s current delegation program supports 40 validators selected 1.5 years ago following the Public Testnet.
This proposal seeks to update the program by concentrating the Foundation’s delegation on a revised set of 20 validators. The goal is to select partners who can most effectively contribute to the network’s growth and security.
For clarity, please note this proposal does not affect the annual staking inflation rate in any way.
2. Background
At genesis, the Initia Foundation delegated stake to 40 validators to help secure the network. These validators were selected using performance metrics, strategic considerations, and dedicated scoring from Initia’s Public Testnet in 2024.
On mainnet, Initia currently has 50 active validators. The additional 10 are validators that independently accumulated sufficient stake to enter the active set. The Foundation commends all validators for uptime, responsiveness, and high-quality node operations since genesis.
Today, validators in PoS networks are expected to contribute beyond node operations, including ecosystem development, governance, partnerships, and application building.
Nearly 18 months after the Public Testnet, and with mainnet live and 12 appchains operating, the Foundation proposes to refresh its delegation program so that the validators receiving Foundation stake are those who can best contribute to the network’s growth while maintaining high security standards.
In tandem with this proposal, a second proposal has been submitted to reduce the size of the active validator set in light of validator economics under the current 1.25% annual staking inflation rate. Please see the Active Validator Set Reduction Proposal here.
Together, these two proposals aim to ensure Initia’s validator set is:
- Optimized for network growth through both technical excellence and strategic ecosystem contributions; and
- fairly compensated for their services (fewer validators with higher stake).
3. Proposal Details
The Initia Foundation will refresh the Foundation delegations by re-delegating stake to 20 validators with a demonstrated track record and ability to excel in the following categories:
- Performance and Reliability
- Security and Risk Management
- Governance Participation
- Ecosystem Contributions
How to Apply
New validators who wish to be considered in the Foundation Delegation program should submit this form within the next 7 days, by October 31, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET, UTC-4).
No action is required for existing validators already in Initia’s active set as they will be considered automatically during the refresh.
4. Timeline
- T-0: This forum post and new-validator form go live.
- T-7: Application window closes.
- T-9: Refreshed delegation set published on this forum.
- T-9: Re-delegation process begins.