# Polkadot Proposal Would Cut Active Validator Set to 320 by Year-End

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/49054
Published: 2026-11-05T05:18:31.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-05T05:18:31.000Z
Section: Technology

> The plan calls for three votes one week apart. A separate rewards discussion targets an average of 57.7 DOT per active slot each day and warns payouts could dip briefly.

A Polkadot community proposal would cut the active validator set to 320 by year-end. A separate rewards plan would reduce the validator incentive share of the Dynamic Allocation Pool while targeting an average budget of 57.7 Polkadot (DOT) per active slot each day.

The plan lays out three reductions, from 600 active validators to 500, then 400 and 320. It calls for a week between each step and sets a target of completing the changes before the end of 2026. The first onchain referendum, Ref. 1966, has been submitted. Each step requires Fellowship whitelisting and approval by token holders.

A separate rewards proposal targets an average budget of about 57.7 DOT per active validator slot per day during the transition. The validator incentive share of the Dynamic Allocation Pool would decline from 22.6% to about 12.1%, with the remaining amount held in the pool as a buffer. The average is not a guaranteed individual payout: actual rewards depend on self-stake. A short gap between the budget adjustment and the validator-set reduction could also result in slightly lower rewards.

The proposals describe validators taking on broader duties as Metanodes. They would act as collators and handle RPC and light-client requests across the relay chain, Asset Hub and People Chain.

The rewards discussion also proposes raising validator budgets after Metanodes launch. One component would cover operating costs at $2,000 per node each month. Another would be tied to a validator’s self-staked DOT, using 30,000 DOT as a reference stake and a 30% annual rate. Both components would initially be paid in DOT. The rewards plan remains under discussion and would need governance approval.