I greatly appreciate your comment. The 86 node runners is the major issue with this proposal and one it should be flushed out. Thanks for laying it all out.
I agree that this should only be a measure of last resort, which is why I’m posting it now. There are very few options to address today’s economic situation.
The most notable that has gained attentions is GOOD VIBES which seeks to put economic control of Pocket behind centralized levers that primarily focuses on locking the majority of POKT into validation. While I appreciate the goals it’s trying to achieve, it makes POKT a validator focused economy and sacrifices Pocket’s decentralized economics to a centralized committee, who decides which nodes are more profitable when. I don’t believe that is a good idea.
The lite client is still a ways away as it needs to be finished and QAed.
Weighted stake also needs development and testing, so it is likely not a short term fix either.
So when it come to short term options, it looks like we have two options:
- Raise min stake (The Phase Plan)
- Relinquish economic control to a centralized committee (GOOD VIBES)
I’m open to ideas that would not effect single POKT node runners but they haven’t been presented yet. There is a natural evolution that has been a part of all major blockchains, where growth requires changes that require folks to upgrade. Bitcoin mining is a good example where miner do need to keep upgrading their hash power as more folks join Bitcoin mining. Pocket may need to be similar in that way.
Fortunately tipping of one’s POKT is very reachable right now with today’s market condition. Most of the single node runners staked their node before May, which means POKT is magnitudes cheaper than their initial purchase.
If upping the minimum stake can significantly reduce sell pressure, add a buy pressure incentive, and set POKT up for a scalable future, it may be in the best interest of those node runners to be behind this initiative. Open to feedback.
If there are other ideas, I’m all ears, but from what I’ve seen, this has the least amount of risk with the most quantifiable upsides.
P.S. There have been some that have suggest a good faith loan program for small node runner to ensure they can still keep generating rewards. There could be options to help the independent node runners, which I am ALL FOR. Open to more idea as well here 