The Agoric network is a Proof-of-Stake chain using the Cosmos-SDK and the Tendermint consensus algorithm. Agoric relies on a community of validators to operate the network and staking in order to secure consensus. Validators commit new blocks, maintain reasonable uptime, and participate in governance.

Delegating tokens to the validator community is essential to ensure that BLD, Agoric’s native staking token, is well-distributed among high-quality validators in order to support a diverse, secure, decentralized network. To accomplish this, the Agoric Operating Company (OpCo) has created the Validator Delegation Program to select a cohort of validators using selection criteria, program requirements, and a questionnaire.

Who can join the program?

We are initially opening the program to our existing validator community on mainnet, incentivized testnet participants, and Cosmos community partners. If you’re not part of that initial cohort, hold tight! We will open the program to new validators if/when we require additional delegation candidates.  

Delegation breakdown

The Agoric OpCo holds a total of 125M BLD, or 12.5% of the total network supply. The Agoric OpCo intends to delegate at least 100M BLD of its holdings to the Validator Delegation Program. Furthermore, the OpCo will encourage delegation from the broader ecosystem of BLD holders. Those include founders, investors, employees, public sale purchasers, community members, the decentralization fund, and the foundation. The Agoric OpCo along with the broader ecosystem of BLD holders represent over 70% of the network supply. 

Validator Responsibilities

In order to maintain delegation, validators must meet the following minimums: 

1. Hardware requirements detailed in the Agoric Validator Runbooks

2. Uptime of at least 95%

3. Set a reasonable commission rate

4. Commit to not exceed 10% voting power

5. Actively participate in security and upgrade governance proposals

6. Commit to network contributions with at least one from each category:

  • Category 1: Infrastructure

    • Run testnet node 

    • Run an RPC endpoint

    • Run a Chainlink oracle node for Agoric 

    • Build a block explorer, validator dashboard, or other community tool

  • Category 2: Community Growth

    • Write and deploy smart contract components

    • Create educational content (articles, tutorials, videos) about building with Agoric smart contracts 

    • Present at an Agoric Twitter Space or related event on governance proposals, validator experiences and best practices, or provide other  relevant community updates

Selection Criteria

Validators who meet the following criteria will have a higher likelihood of receiving delegation:

  • Participated in the Incentivized Testnet and earned over 11,000 points; or

  • Ranked in the top-25 uptime in stress test phase of the Incentivized Testnet; or

  • Operated a mainnet node since November 29, 2021

How to complete the questionnaire

  • Access: Applicants will have access to the questionnaire via the testnet task portal. Log in and click Start Questionnaire. Fill out the questionnaire form at your own pace.

    • If you are an incentivized testnet participant, please log in using the same email address you used during the Incentivized Testnet period. 

    • If you are a mainnet validator, please send a direct message to Jeet#5178 on Discord with the name of your moniker and he will grant you access to the questionnaire.

  • Save

    : At any point you can save your progress by clicking the blue “Save/Submit” button at the bottom of the questionnaire. 

  • Submit

    : Provide your signature at the bottom of the questionnaire and click the blue “Save/Submit” button. Please note that you will not be able to edit the questionnaire once it’s submitted. 

  • View

    : You can view your saved and submitted responses by clicking on the “View Details” link on the home page of the questionnaire portal.

If you have questions about the questionnaire, please contact Jeet (Jeet#5178) on the Agoric Discord in the #validators channel.

Program timeline

  • Jan 28, 2022 – The delegation questionnaire is available to initial community groups including: Incentivized Testnet participants, Cosmos Community Members, and Mainnet validators. 

  • Feb 6, 2022 – Questionnaires must be completed and submitted by 11:59PM PT.

  • Feb 15, 2022 – Selected validators will be sent next steps to confirm delegation. We will request that you publish your commitment on an appointed GitHub repo, which will include your moniker on mainnet, validator requirement commitments, and network contributions. We will provide more guidance on this post at the appropriate time.

  • Feb 18, 2022 – Deadline for validators to post their pledge to receive delegation on GitHub.

  • Feb 21, 2022 – Agoric OpCo stake will be delegated. Decentralization tokens will be delegated.