1. Overview

1.1 Proposal Details

Proponents: Ross Bulat and Joel Kenny
Beneficiary Address: 12zhXsqUgXp6roXoQvy5XbV5Qw2NpGqha66HuZLkAECNw1qs
Requested Amount: $103,000 USDC
Funding Period: September 2025 to March 2026 (6 months)
Track: Medium Spender

The full details of our proposal can be viewed here: Google Docs.

1.2 Project Summary

We are pleased to present our proposal for continued development of the Polkadot Staking Dashboard for September 2025 - March 2026. Having successfully completed our previous milestones (verified via OG Tracker), we're confident the Dashboard is well-positioned for its next phase of development.

Key points for this proposal:

• 6-month timeframe to provide clearer deliverables and reduced treasury risk
• Funding requested in USDC stablecoin per community preference
• Focused development roadmap targeting user experience and critical network upgrades
• Expansion of network support and further (liquid) staking solutions as inflation and other protocol level changes take effect
• Continued commitment to open-source development and community engagement

1.3 Previous Success Metrics

Our team has consistently delivered on commitments:

• Launched Staking Dashboard 2.0 - Complete API re-architecture with Dedot integration delivering faster performance and type-safe interactions [X Thread, Polkadot Post]
• Launched Polkadot.Cloud website with brand new staking landing page at polkadot.cloud/stake
• AssetHub integration - Support for Westend AssetHub already deployed, with infrastructure ready for Kusama/Polkadot deployment
• Feature parity maintained across all supported networks with enhanced reliability through live RPC health monitoring
• Enhanced pool functionality - Nomination pool invites and quicker one-click pool joining
• Advanced nomination management - introduction of full screen interface, validator search and commission filters
• Staking API launch - GraphQL plugin providing instant historical staking data
• Successful Dedot migration - A flagship implementation of the next-generation Dedot API
• Multi-Language & Currency Support - Offering a more localised Staking experience
• Active community support via Discord and email channels
• Verified completion tracked by OG Tracker (OG Tracker Website)
• Continued Usage: 37,000 page visits in the last 30 days

1.4 What This Means For Users

• Easier staking: Simpler interfaces for both direct staking and nomination pools
• Better rewards tracking: Enhanced features to monitor and collect staking rewards
• Mobile-friendly updates: Improved experience on phones and tablets
• Expanded language support: Adding new language translations to join existing support
• Faster loading times: Technical improvements powered by our Staking API
• More secure staking: Enhanced error prevention and user guidance
• Enhanced support: Dedicated staking support via email and Discord channel for rapid assistance

1.5 Why the Staking Dashboard

• Primary desktop staking gateway: tens of thousands of users rely on the dashboard as their main staking interface monthly
• Reference implementation for the ecosystem: Many users who haven't adopted newer solutions still rely on Polkadot.js wallet integration with the Staking Dashboard, making it the trusted reference point for "set and forget" staking strategies
• Competitive advantage over alternatives: Mobile wallets lack comprehensive analytics, staking on exchanges sacrifices decentralization, and native wallet staking offers limited feature sets compared to the dedicated staking interface
• Educational platform: Users learn staking mechanics through hands-on experience with validator selection and nomination pools
• Accessibility bridge: Simple mode onboards newcomers while advanced features serve power users
• Global reach: Multi-language support and various supported fiat currencies remove barriers for international users
• Open-source ecosystem benefit: Transparent development enables community contributions and third-party integrations

2. Development Roadmap

Core Maintenance & Protocol Adaptation

Priority: Critical

1. Respond to protocol-level changes and Proof of Personhood rollouts where it pertains to staking.

With the active exploration of Proof of Personhood (PoP), specifically for the purpose of backing validators and reducing the DOT required to be locked, there could be repercussions for the Staking Dashboard roadmap as and when these protocol level changes roll out. The Staking Dashboard may need to roll out PoP support in some form, but this is to be determined based on protocol developments.

In addition to PoP, staking changes at the protocol level will roll out over time. 2-day unbonding is an upcoming change, in addition to inflation and max supply cap changes that will affect both the Staking Dashboard and Staking API.

2. Continue dependency updates to keep the codebase up to date.

Critical to keep Staking Dashboard up to date using industry-standard dependencies as they are updated.

3. Continued hosting of the dashboard on staking.polkadot.cloud.

Continue serving as the primary staking interface for the Polkadot ecosystem.

4. Continue management of the Staking Dashboard Discord channel and email support.

The launch of the Staking Dashboard Discord channel has been a resounding success. With easy access to the team and same-day support responses, we have been able to support user queries and fix issues when they arise. Non-staking related queries often crop up on our channel (e.g. how to withdraw DOT into fiat currency), where we also attempt to provide guidance. We see the Discord channel as a vital support resource for the foreseeable future.

Email support was also rolled out in the previous proposal period and is also being used by users. We aim to maintain both support channels in this next funding period.

Hardware Wallet Enhancement and Simpler Transaction Signing 

Priority: High

5. Ledger Flex & Stax support.

Ledger Stax and Flex are the latest generation of Ledger hardware devices. To keep the dashboard relevant and up to date, Ledger Flex and Stax support should be added along with UX improvements such as per-device icons that will make the UI more intuitive.

6. Improved transaction signing / submission UI.

The transaction sign / submit button is embedded throughout the Staking Dashboard. This component also hosts the estimated tx fees, whether there is enough DOT to pay for transactions, and the name of the signing account.

This transaction submission UI has not evolved much over time as dashboard form factors have expanded (canvas, full screen interfaces, modals, cards). We’d like to further improve this component by optimising its design depending on the housing component, and dynamically adjust submission text to match the transaction context. This will streamline and simplify transaction signing for users.

User Experience Improvements

Priority: High

7. Further enhance Simple Mode, making it easier to onboard new stakers. Further differentiate advanced mode with more complex metrics.

Simple Mode simplifies the dashboard by hiding complex UI and streamlining the nominator setup process. We envisage more opportunities to improve simple mode, such as the following:

• Combining the Nominator and Pools page into a single “Stake” page. 
• Moving reward metrics to the Overview page, combining all staking-related metrics into the Overview page.
• Remove unnecessary network statistics that casual or new stakers will not appreciate.

8. Improved UI aesthetics and theme alignment to better align with polkadot.cloud branding.

With the launch of the best-in-class Polkadot Cloud landing pages, at https://polkadot.cloud/, the Staking Dashboard can now take inspiration from this theming and design philosophy to match its theming with the overarching Polkadot Cloud Platform. In addition to amending the theme colours and other theme elements such as spacing and rounding, we have identified a number of UI elements that can be simplified, requiring less styling and doing a better job at utilising space. 

• Amend light and dark themes to align more with main Polkadot.cloud website design.
• Simplify applicable UI elements by requiring less styling while using space more efficiently.
• Refresh icon and simple chart aesthetics to be more eye-catching and modern, aligning with polkadot.cloud’s 3D logo and icon design.
• Align favicons to match the Polkadot.cloud platform, and establish design guidelines for hosted app favicons.

All changes in this action item should be applicable to any Polkadot Cloud hosted app.

9. Visual progress tracker for unbonding periods, with improved UI/UX.

A common request has been to improve the unbonding / unlock chunk UI in the Dashboard. This can be achieved with visual progress tracking and more eye-catching countdowns. With the 2-day unbonding also rolling out soon, it is prime time for this component to be overhauled.

Network & Language Expansion

Priority: Medium

10. Onboard Paseo testnet as an additional network.

Westend RPC and light client connections often disconnect, due to unstable node support. In addition to this, Westend is now not reflective of Polkadot / Kusama staking setups (e.g. Westend has over 60,000 nominators, with less than 1% supply staked). For these reasons, a more stable testnet should be supported in the Dashboard. Paseo is the most suited test network to resolve Westend drawbacks, and needs to be supported in both the Dashboard and Staking API.

11. Onboard Vara Network as additional solo chain network, and expand Staking API to support it.

The previous proposal period saw the successful migration to the Dedot API, which has allowed fully typed, multi-network support in the Dashboard. With this huge infrastructure boost, the Dashboard is now in a position to support more than the current networks (Polkadot, Kusama, Westend, Paseo).

To improve discoverability of other networks and their staking features, they can be directly supported in the Dashboard. In addition to this, developers no longer need to fork the Dashboard codebase to add support for new networks - networks can now be supported directly in the main Staking Dashboard repo.

12. Complete German & Korean support, and introduce more languages if community contributors show interest.

After successfully onboarding Spanish localisation in the previous proposal, along with refreshing the help resources, we would now like to push localisation efforts further by introducing German and Korean support, with our traffic analytics demonstrating clear demand from these regions to warrant development.

Advanced Features

Priority: Medium

13. Liquid staking support (As outlined in this poll)

With potential decreases in staking rewards as inflation is tackled, users may explore alternative options to sustain competitive staking yields. One way to tackle this is to introduce liquid staking support directly into the Staking Dashboard. We envisage a solution whereby a user can split their staking portfolio into native DOT staking and liquid staking, depending on their risk appetite. 

We would like to explore rolling out UI directly in the Staking Dashboard to support liquid staking, with Bifrost as our first protocol of interest.

14. Expand notifications with more staking activity.

A notifications bell was rolled out in the previous proposal period, that displays nomination pool invite notifications if visited from an invite URL. With the Staking API now established, more notifications can be delivered to the Staking Dashboard pertaining to the connected active account. This is an opportunity to further personalise the Dashboard and deliver more historical notifications to the user.

In addition to the new notification UI, this action item also requires an authentication method in the same fashion that platforms like PolkAssembly use to enable user logins with their wallets. By signing an authentication token with a Polkadot account, the user proves who they are, and notifications can be safely delivered to their Dashboard thereafter.

15. Improve Mimir SDK support.

Mimir is currently hosting an outdated fork of the Staking Dashboard in its app catalogue. To prevent the need to maintain a fork, we would like to integrate Mimir’s SDK directly into the main staking dashboard deployment.

Further Codebase Formalisation

Priority: Medium

16. Further codebase formalisation: Modularise page sections into re-useable components.

With the addition of Simple Mode and our ambitions to improve it, modules from one page now need to be used in more than one page. e.g. displaying reward graphs and metrics in the Overview page when Simple Mode is turned on. As a result of this requirement, there is an opportunity to formalise components at the page level, making entire modules re-usable. This not only improves reusability of components, but can also further separate concerns by using props rather than relying on recursive hook usage in the module’s child components.

API & Developer Resources

Priority: Medium

17. Improve Staking API documentation and API reference material for apps to integrate.

The Staking API has been a resounding success since it launched, dramatically speeding up the Staking Dashboard syncing and response times to various features, all the while being treated like a plugin, so the Dashboard can still function without the Staking API enabled.

We now would like to take this initiative further by introducing official documentation of the GraphQL interfaces, along with API key support and throttle protections for other applications to leverage the Staking API.

18. Roll out health monitoring RPC endpoints.

Open up useful API endpoints to expose RPC providers and their health metrics, with a focus on onboarding more hosted apps. Create accompanying documentation and API Key infrastructure / throttle limits to onboard clients.

Community Impact & Involvement

For detailed community impact information, visit the Full Proposal: Community Impact & Involvement section.

Team

For detailed team information, visit the Full Proposal: Team section.

Budget

For detailed budget information, visit the Full Proposal: Budget Breakdown section.

Conclusion

The Polkadot Staking Dashboard has established itself as essential infrastructure for the ecosystem. This focused 6-month proposal ensures continued excellence while introducing meaningful improvements that benefit both new and experienced stakers.

With a proven track record, experienced team, and clear deliverables, we are confident in delivering significant value to the Polkadot community. The requested funding represents efficient allocation for maintaining and enhancing critical ecosystem infrastructure.

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Questions? Comments? Give us your feedback!

Kind Regards,

Ross Bulat and Joel Kenny