This proposal proposes raising the network minimum validator commission from 5% to 10% in a future software upgrade, and bringing every validator currently below 10% up to that level at the upgrade height.
Background
The network minimum validator commission is 5%. Most validators charge exactly that: 27 of the 30 active validators are below 10%, holding about 94% of bonded stake, and the stake-weighted average commission is about 5.5%.
Rationale
- Sustainable validator revenue. A higher floor lets validators fund secure, reliable infrastructure from commission.
- Competition on quality. With a higher floor, validators no longer compete as much on commission, so delegators can choose on reliability and governance participation instead.
Why this needs a software upgrade
Changing the minimum commission parameter on its own does not affect validators already below it: the minimum is only checked when a validator is created or edits its commission. A validator can also only change its commission by a limited amount each day, and one active validator has a maximum commission below 10%. A parameter change alone would leave most validators at 5%, and unable to edit their commission at all until they reached the new floor.
Proposed change
The upgrade would:
- set the minimum commission parameter to 10%;
- raise any validator below 10% to 10%;
- raise any validator whose maximum commission is below 10% to a maximum of 10%.
Validators already at or above 10% are unaffected.
Impact
- Delegators to validators currently below 10% pay a higher commission from the upgrade height. At 5% today, the share of staking rewards a delegator keeps falls from 95% to 90%.
- Validators below 10% move to 10% without needing to submit any transaction.
About this proposal
This is a signalling proposal. If it passes, the change is included in a future software upgrade, which will be proposed separately with its own upgrade height.
Target Onchain Date: 9th November 2026