Polkadot and Kusama Staking Changes

With the increase in the number of accounts nominating on Polkadot and Kusama, we have seen some limitations of the current staking parameters. In order to prevent issues from occurring when these limits are reached, some restrictions are being added to the staking system on both networks.

By PolkadotJune 23, 2021

Since the launch of NPoS on Polkadot and Kusama, we’ve seen a significant increase in demand for participating in staking on both networks. With the increase in the number of accounts nominating on Polkadot and Kusama, we have seen some limitations of the current staking parameters. Specifically, as the size of the election solution set grows, more memory is used, up to the limits of what the runtime WebAssembly is configured to permit. In order to prevent issues from occurring when these limits are reached, some restrictions are being added to the staking system on both networks.

While it’s important to allow as many people to nominate as possible, it’s even more important to ensure the stability of the network. To understand why these restrictions were added, one should first understand the process of electing validators.

Determining which validators are in the active set in each era, and which nominators are nominating them, is a memory-intensive task that results in a very large graph, mapping the nominators to their respective validators. If this graph is too large, then cannot be processed in WebAssembly. As all validators have a finite amount of memory, there are limits to how much can be allocated to this task without affecting the rest of the validators’ functionality.

As the number of nominators has increased up to approximately 30_000, the size of this graph has reached the point where it can impact nodes’ ability to function correctly. Instead of waiting for failures to occur naturally, “guardrails” have been added around conservative estimates of what the validating nodes can handle.

Starting with runtime 9050 (native version included in Polkadot 0.9.5), two limits to staking have been added. These limits will ensure that the generated graphs can be processed in WebAssembly without problems.

The first is a hard limit of 20_000 nominators (on both Polkadot and Kusama). That is, only 20_000 accounts can be nominators at any given time. Just like the number of validators in the active set, this value can be modified by governance.

As for staking, a soft limit has also been added in terms of the minimum stake with which a nominator can nominate. This has been set to 20 DOT on Polkadot and 0.1 KSM (100 milliKSM) on Kusama. Accounts will not be able to stake with less than these limits. Accounts can bond lesser amounts, but not nominate. For those accounts who are already nominating, any account can now forcibly chill (stop them from nominating) a nominator who is nominating with less than this minimal amount. An initial sweep of all accounts nominating with less than this minimal amount will be made on Polkadot shortly after the changes are live, and those accounts will be chilled (that is, they will stop nominating). This initial sweep will not be done on Kusama; it is not necessary because the current number of nominators is under the new nominator limit.

Planned Changes to Crypto Staking

In the near future, staking crypto on Polkadot and Kusama neworks will be updated. Improvements to the nominating system are being developed and better estimates as to the maximum number of nominators that can participate are being determined. After this, we expect that governance will modify staking parameters, especially increasing the hard cap on the number of nominators to increase participation in staking. Another near-term solution being explored is reducing the number of validators that a nominator can nominate to eight.

In the longer term, other solutions are currently being explored to increase the number of nominators possible in the system. Some potential solutions include storing the solution in multiple blocks or having a system parachain (common good) allocated specifically for staking.

As the code for Polkadot is open-source, the best place to get more information is the source code. You can find the relevant changes in this pull request.

UPDATE: As of June 30, 2021, the staking parameters have been modified to a minimum of 40 DOT to nominate, and a maximum of 22_500 total nominators. For more information, see the Referendum 28 Polkassembly post.

From the blog

How play-to-earn (P2E) is transforming onchain mobile sports gaming

Play-to-earn games are transforming mobile sports gaming. Learn how blockchain, NFTs, and platforms like Polkadot create new opportunities for digital asset ownership and cross-chain gameplay.

Polkadot Token 2049 and Decoded Asia 2024: A multichain ecosystem in action

At Token 2049 and Decoded Asia 2024 in Singapore, Polkadot teams and contributors showcased a multichain future for real-world applications. Key moments included Dr. Gavin Wood’s vision for digital individuality, Chrissy Hill’s regulatory insights, and announcements from emerging projects shaping the Web3 ecosystem.

What is a crypto wallet? Your all-access pass to the future web

In Web3, your wallet is your most valuable digital tool. It’s more than just a place to store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies securely—it’s your passport to the decentralized world.

July 2024: Key network metrics and insights

Welcome to your go-to source for the latest tech updates, key metrics, and discussions within Polkadot, brought to you by the Parity Success Team. This blog series covers a variety of topics, drawing insights from GitHub, project teams, and the Polkadot Forum.

Polkadot 2.0: The rebirth of a network

Polkadot 2.0 reimagines blockchain with a bold rebrand and powerful features: Agile Coretime, Async Backing, and Elastic Scaling. Step into a more flexible, faster, and scalable network. Learn about the improvements and changes that led to this next era of Polkadot.

Meet the Decentralized Futures grant recipients: transforming ideas into impact on Polkadot

The Decentralized Mic is here to spotlight the innovative projects and teams driving Polkadot’s growth. Join us as we explore the achievements of Decentralized Futures grant recipients and their contributions to the Polkadot ecosystem on the new ecosystem community call series.

The ultimate 2024 Polkadot grants and funding guide

Explore Polkadot ecosystem funding: grants, venture capital, bounties, and community initiatives. Discover opportunities for blockchain builders today.

Decoded 2024: Polkadot’s vision for a decentralized future

Polkadot Decoded 2024 in Brussels brought together top blockchain minds to explore the future of Web3. Highlights included Björn Wagner's insights on payments and Dr. Gavin Wood's vision for digital individuality. Showcasing technical breakthroughs and real-world use cases, Polkadot affirmed its leadership in the multi-chain future.

June 2024: Key network metrics and insights

Welcome to your go-to source for the latest tech updates, key metrics, and discussions within Polkadot, brought to you by the Parity Success Team. This blog series covers a variety of topics, drawing insights from GitHub, project teams, and the Polkadot Forum.

Introducing the New Polkadot Ledger App

Discover the new Polkadot Ledger app for seamless, secure transactions. Now available on Ledger Live, it supports Polkadot, Kusama, and more.

Polkadot’s May Ecosystem Insights

Welcome to your go-to source for the latest tech updates, key metrics, and discussions within Polkadot, brought to you by the Parity Success Team. This blog series covers a variety of topics, drawing insights from GitHub, project teams, and the Polkadot Forum.

Top takeaways from the decentralization panel at Consensus

Consensus by Coindesk 2024: a blockbuster success