Polkadot Validator Set Reduction

DOT holders are voting on Referendum 1966, the first of three weekly steps to reduce Polkadot’s active validator set from 600 to 320, with remaining validators expected to support Polkadot App requests by year-end, according to Polkadot Forum.

What happened

The reduction of Polkadot’s active validator set is a significant change to the network’s architecture. A smaller set could potentially achieve two goals at once: a higher budget per validator with overall savings for the protocol, as outlined in a proposal.

Why it matters

The move to a smaller validator set and the introduction of Metanodes could affect validators in the near future. Validators who take on more work and run stronger hardware should be fairly compensated for it, according to the proposal.

What's next

The first referendum has already been submitted, and the reduction is expected to be completed before the end of 2026. The introduction of Metanodes is also expected to bring changes to the validator rewards, with a proposed raise in the validator budget, as outlined in the proposal.