Announcing the Namada Delegation Program

A healthy and diverse network of validators is key to the security and overall integrity of Namada and its ecosystem. With this in mind, and to help strengthen and secure the Namada network, the Anoma Foundation is launching the Namada Delegation Program. This program will select validators committed to maintaining high uptime performance, security to the network, and contributing meaningfully to the ecosystem long term. Anoma Foundation will not operate any validators, nor participate in the Namada mainnet launch process. Through a structured delegation process, the Anoma Foundation’s delegation program aims to strengthen the resilience and reliability of the Namada network and the on-chain governance mechanism to manage and upgrade the network. 

Applications for the program are now open and end on October 31st, 2024. The application process is designed to fairly evaluate each applicant's uptime performance and contributions to the ecosystem. The program will be used to delegate to a maximum of 50 validators. Accepted validators will receive a delegation from the Anoma Foundation for the duration of 6 months, helping with the decentralization, stability, and security of the network. Future cycles of the program will be available, providing additional opportunities for further participation and contribution to the diversity of the ecosystem. The Foundation may update the criteria and terms discussed below from time to time at its sole discretion.

Eligibility Criteria

As part of the minimum requirements for participating in the Delegation Program, applicants must:

• Run a mainnet consensus validator
• Have 10% or less commission
• Successfully complete a due diligence screening process
• Have a dedicated email address for availability in case of emergency upgrades and fixes

Additional optional criteria that may influence the selection process include:

• Participation in early Namada testnets
• Participation in the Shielded Expedition
• Development and maintenance of developer tooling, services, applications, or dashboards
• Work on projects aligned with Namada’s values
• Contributions to documentation, guides, and tutorials
• Quality of infrastructure
• Operation within a location that improves the diversity of the geolocation of the validator set for increased network resilience
• Not running your infrastructure in Hetzner or OVH

Ineligibility Criteria:

• Individual or entity may not be (or associated with) a centralized exchange or custodial service provider
• Individual or entity may not be located in the following jurisdictions:
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • Cuba
  • Luhansk (sub-region of Ukraine, only, not all Ukraine)
  • Donetsk (sub-region of Ukraine, only, not all Ukraine)
  • Crimea (sub-region of Ukraine, only, not all Ukraine)
  • Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  • United States of America

Applicants are expected to have actively read and understood Namada’s documentation and guidelines on devops and monitoring setups.

The following criteria may cause the Anoma Foundation to fully or partially revoke the delegation as part of this program:

• Getting slashed
• Getting jailed during the applicable delegation period
• Violating the Namada Community Code of Conduct or engaging in harmful activities towards the network
• Failing to upgrade your node in a timely manner (24 hours or less)
• If necessary, to protect or secure Namada’s mainnet or to comply with applicable law
• For any other reason and at any time, at the Anoma Foundation’s sole discretion

Please be mindful that the overall goal of this program is to support the resilience and uptime of Namada. Thus, contributions to the ecosystem and uptime are taken into consideration together. Furthermore, receiving delegation from the Anoma Foundation under the program does not guarantee your placement in the consensus validator set.

Apply & help secure the shielded ecosystem

We welcome any and all committed validators to apply for the Namada Delegation Program and help secure the shielded ecosystem. Those selected will play a crucial role in Namada’s mission to bring data protection and the freedom to reveal to the multichain landscape. 

The Namada Delegation Program is heavily influenced by the amazing work that went into Celestia’s Foundation Delegation Program and we’re thankful for everyone who contributed to the Program design.