2026-07-21

Decentralized Nodes Program Sunset — Polkadot Validator Retired

The Web3 Foundation has sunset the Decentralized Nodes program: Cohort 3 — in which our validator was selected — was the final one, wrapped up in January 2026, and the Cohort 4 we had applied for never started.

The program was what made independent, self-hosted validation on Polkadot economically sustainable for small operators like us. With its end, we have wound down our Polkadot validator after six years of operation with zero slashing incidents.

Our focus is now entirely on Kusama, where validation continues as usual.