2025 July Polkadot OpenGov Report
DOT Tokenomics
The economics of the network are once again on the table. After introducing a gradual decline in inflation in late 2024, the debate has returned with a more radical proposal: setting a hard cap on the token supply. Supporters argue that capping DOT’s total issuance could help establish a store-of-value narrative, allowing it to compete more directly with assets like Bitcoin.
Three options are currently being floated, each with a different level of monetary pressure. The most aggressive version proposes cutting inflation by 50 percent over two years and capping supply at 2.1 billion DOT. A medium version targets a 33% reduction and caps supply at 2.5 billion. The softest version suggests a 13% reduction, with a final cap at 3.14 billion DOT.
While there is strong momentum behind the idea, it’s important to approach the details with care. Monetary policy decisions affect every layer of the protocol, especially validator economics and overall network security. One common assumption is that staking rewards act as a barrier to DeFi participation, since they outweigh the returns from providing liquidity. But many nominators choose staking not for passive yield, but for tax reasons, liquidity preferences, or simply risk management. Slashing rewards too steeply, even with good intentions, could drive them away and weaken the security rather than strengthen the token value. Cutting supply without creating new demand drivers is a half measure at best. The majority of the focus should be on building meaningful demand. This aspect is outlined in our forum post on demand drivers, where we propose further approaches to create long-term DOT alignment.
We should remind ourselves that these are serious changes with long-term consequences. If you’d like to go deeper, you can review Parity’s recently released new data on nominator behavior, our dedicated Twitter Space on the topic, and ongoing discussions on the Polkadot Forum.
Sunk App Fallacy
Resubmitting failed proposals until the desired outcome is achieved is becoming more and more fashionable. Minor edits are used to relaunch the same idea over and over again, hoping for a better vote the next time. This behavior not only clutters OpenGov, but also makes it harder for token holders to track real iterations versus simple sugarcoating.
The latest example is the Inter Miami app proposal, and it's a peculiar one. Although it's clearly driven by the same team, the submissions appear under different proposer names and with different branding, giving the impression of a fresh start. Of course, that makes sense when the original proposal failed with a 100 percent rejection rate. Despite efforts to obscure the connection, the new version is also heading for failure, currently sitting at around 90 percent Nay. At this rate, we might see an approval around submission number six.
Departmental Updates
UX Bounty Budget Approved
The Q3 budget proposal for the UX Bounty has recently passed. Structurally, this was one of the most well-prepared and clearly detailed proposals we’ve seen across all bounties, a great reference point for others. We congratulate the proposers on the quality of their work and their continued commitment to transparency.
That said, we also encourage a shift toward longer timeframes for all bounties, ideally half-year proposals in future cycles. This would help reduce bureaucratic overhead and give the teams more breathing room to focus on execution.
System Parachains Collator Budget Approved
Another department that secured funding this month is the System Parachains Collator Bounty, which received approval for its next six-month budget cycle. The department is responsible for collator operations on the system chains of Polkadot: AssetHub, BridgeHub, Collectives, Coretime, and People Chain. These chains form the backbone of protocol, and their reliability is essential to Polkadot’s broader functionality.
PAL Budget Approved
The latest proposal from the Polkadot Assurance Legion has been approved, securing a quite significant 500k DOT for the department’s operational budget for the next 12 to 18 months. PAL co-funds security audits for teams building on Polkadot and helping to raise the overall quality and reliability of ecosystem projects.
Talent Lead Rejected
Our recent proposal to hire a talent lead for OpenGov jobs aimed at stabilizing and consolidating the job market across the ecosystem has unfortunately been rejected. We want to thank everyone who supported the initiative, especially the HR & Talent teams at Parity and the Web3 Foundation for their help in preparing and presenting the proposal.
At this point, we have no plans to resubmit the proposal. The conversation around talent coordination and contributor support remains important, but for now, this particular path forward seems to be closed. We strongly believe that the DAO needs good talent and will continue to champion awareness for a better talent-focused culture, more professionalism, and calling out harassment and tribalism
Notable Mentions
Retro funding on big tickets: SubWallet’s latest treasury proposal, requesting $1 million in retroactive funding, is facing strong opposition. With just under two weeks left in the decision period, the vote is currently at 37% approval. Retroactive funding has come under increased scrutiny lately, especially for high-cost proposals like this one.
PCF to remove Centrifuge assets: the Polkadot Community Foundation has been instructed to withdraw the treasury assets it deployed to Centrifuge back in September 2024. The decision follows Centrifuge’s recent decision to deprecate its Polkadot parachain in favor of building an independent EVM-based Layer 2, raising clear concerns about long-term alignment with the ecosystem.
No croissants in Argentina: A new proposal merging Sub0 and Polkadot Decoded into a single flagship event is currently being voted on, with near-unanimous support and 100% approval at the time of writing. The event is planned for Buenos Aires in November with a $700K budget.
W3F launching Agents Program: A Wish for Change proposal requesting the Web3 Foundation to initiate an Agents Program has been approved. This initiative may offer an alternative to the ambassador program, which the community has struggled to properly establish for over a year.
BD Hub rejected: The BD Hub proposal, which aimed to create an enterprise go-to-market toolkit with playbooks, pitch decks, and a dedicated landing page with helpdesks, has unfortunately been rejected. Despite its relatively modest price tag and clear relevance, the initiative failed to pass through OpenGov. It’s a disappointing result for one of the ecosystem’s most needed efforts and leaves the future of business development coordination still unresolved.
Cloud website: Despite an earlier failed proposal, the new Polkadot Cloud website has recently launched with a clean and well-crafted experience. While some have voiced concerns about fracturing ecosystem messaging across too many venues, we still see value in efforts like this. They reflect the spirit of a permissionless and open internet, and introduce healthy competition to existing solutions.
Next DV: The application window for the next Decentralized Voices cohort is closing very soon. If you’re planning to apply, now’s the time. This round reintroduces individual seats, each carrying one-tenth the voting power of a group delegation. However, the overall influence of the DV cohort is expected to be minimal compared to ChaosDAO, which currently holds 14 million DOT in voting power. Even if all DV seats vote together, they’re unlikely to meaningfully shift the outcome of major referenda.
With this announcement, we also want to share that Jeeper of OpenGov.Watch will no longer be voting or seeking delegations. Under current conditions, it’s nearly impossible to impact referenda outcomes with small delegations. As governance experts, we still believe we can help steer the network in the right direction, but after more than a year of trying to build a voter base without success, the decision has been made to step away. Sometimes the most logical move is simply knowing when to let go.