Validators play a pivotal role in fostering the growth and security of the cheqd network. Beyond their technical contributions, validators significantly influence the ethos, culture, and future trajectory of cheqd by acting as core community members and advocates of the network.
cheqd network validators have a history of active engagement, both in governance, community building and working with our identity tooling. Acknowledging the ongoing dedication and contributions of these validators, the cheqd Foundation has designed the Delegation Programme to reward their numerous valuable efforts, such as producing educational content, relaying, and helping promote our solutions, alongside validating our network. As an example, Dora Factory is receiving a delegation of 40 million $CHEQ tokens as they’ll work with our team to set up and run future hackathons, one more example is Kleomedes receiving 5 million $CHEQ to help us promote our network and Creds (including testing Creds use cases).
After two months of entries and evaluation, the cheqd Foundation is delighted to announce the 22 validators who will receive delegations in this cycle.
Delegations for 2023 Delegation Programme
Delegating a total of 172,000,000 CHEQ tokens in this cycle, the allocation is based on their meeting of criteria defined in our Foundation Delegation Programme 2023. Since this is the first cycle of the Delegation Programme, we took into account contributions from both the present and the past few years since the cheqd network launch in 2021.
We also have delegated slightly more than the initially allocated 150 million CHEQ tokens, owing to the quality and number of submissions. You can view the list of validators who received our delegations in this cycle at the bottom of this blog.
Commitment to Decentralisation and Increasing Entropy
As the cheqd Foundation, we are committed to leveraging CHEQ to nurture and foster a sustainable network, in line with the principle of increasing entropy written into our Governance Framework. Decentralisation enhances the resilience and security of the cheqd network by reducing its vulnerability to single points of failure or control. It builds trust within the community, as power is distributed among a wider array of validators, promoting fairness and transparency.
Furthermore, a more decentralised network encourages broader participation, enabling smaller and newer validators to contribute and grow, ultimately enriching the ecosystem. By expanding decentralisation and network entropy through the delegations provided in this programme, the cheqd network not only strengthens its own foundations but also contributes to the broader vision of a decentralised, inclusive and robust blockchain ecosystem.
Maintenance of the Network
Once the delegations are distributed, validators who have received a delegation will retain the delegated tokens for a period of 1 year, provided they continue to maintain a healthy node and avoid any infractions (slashing or tombstoning). If a validator does incur an infraction, the delegation will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, depending on how the infraction occurred, how the validator responds, and whether the infraction is remunerated.
Given the nature of delegations, it is important to be clear that these are not the same as grants. It is the sole discretion of the cheqd Foundation to retract a delegation if there is, for example, poor node maintenance or bad behaviour within the active delegation set.
Looking Ahead
Two months before the programme is set to end (June 2024), another application process will be opened. This provides a clear timeline for validators to apply for delegation and allows for a smooth transition between programme’s years. It also ensures that the delegation pool is being allocated efficiently and effectively to support the growth and development of the cheqd ecosystem over the long term.
Finally, a huge congratulations to the 22 validators selected for this cycle of delegations! We hope our delegations to you convey our appreciation and confidence in your contributions to the network — and we hope to see even greater collaboration and innovation in the next year.
Delegation totals
In this cycle, the cheqd Foundation will be distributing a total of 172,000,000 CHEQ tokens to 22 validators. The distribution of CHEQ tokens to individual validators is linked to their performance, contributions to the network, and continual maintenance of their validator, as defined by the Foundation Delegation Programme 2023.
Please be aware that the list of validators and the amounts delegated have been fully distributed as of 25/08/2023.
cheqd Foundation Delegations Programme | Cycle 1
Validator Name | Delegation Amount ($CHEQ)
1. Dora Factory: 40,000,000
2. Lavender.Five: 19,000,000 (5,000,000)*
3. WhisperNode: 19,000,000 (5,000,000)*
4. Notional: 17,000,000 (10,000,000)*
5. Citadel.one: 14,000,000 (10,000,000)*
6. Monokee: 7,500,000
7. Blockfend Genesis Labs: 7,500,000 (5,000,000)*
8. Empower Validator: 5,000,000
9. Kleomedes: 5,000,000
10. WenProjectBoots: 5,000,000
11. node101: 5,000,000
12. StakeWolle.com: 5,000,000
13. MyContainer: 4,000,000
14. CarbonZero: 4,000,000
15. The Chicken Coop: 2,500,000
16. CosmosCats: 2,500,000
17. AlxVoy: 2,500,000
18. NodeStake: 2,500,000
19. Anonyome Labs: 1,500,000
20. YellowDotPink: 1,500,000
21. Hexnodes: 1,000,000
22. Blockval: 1,000,000
TOTAL
172,000,000
* Bracketed figures indicate previously made and maintained delegations outside of this application process, within the overall total stated here.