Polkadot Digest 8 May 2023

Polkadot News

Council Motion 398, proposing to create a Referendum to gradually increase the number of active validators from 297 to 400, has passed. https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/motion/398

Note that this Referendum will now have to be passed by DOT holders, with a negative turnout bias (i.e., the more DOT vote, the higher the approval rate needs to be to pass) since it came from a Council motion. See https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-governance#adaptive-quorum-biasing

Referendum 114, proposing to onboard a Bridge Hub system parachain to Polkadot, is currently passing with 99% in favor and 2 days left to vote. https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/referendum/114

Referendum 115, proposing to open three new HRMP channels between Statemint and Bitgreen/Subsocial/Manta, is passing with 99% in favor and 8 days left to vote. https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/referendum/115

Referendum 117, seeking a force_transfer back to the Treasury from a previous Treasury Proposal, is currently failing with 73% in favor. https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/referendum/117

For details on the back story of Referendum 117, see the comments on Treasury Proposal 96. https://polkadot.subsquare.io/treasury/proposal/96

Note that Referendum 117 is a public proposal, so it has a positive turnout bias (the more DOT that vote, the lower the approval rate needed to pass). See https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-governance#adaptive-quorum-biasing

The staking rate on Polkadot has decreased to 40.8%. https://staking.polkadot.network/#/overview

Kusama News

Basilisk has won the most recent parachain lease auction. https://parachains.info/auctions/kusama

The staking rate on Kusama has increased slightly over the last few eras to 52.3%. https://staking.polkadot.network/#/overview