Bifrost is moving towards a multi-chain validator election system based on OpenGOV that better aligns with the blockchain ethos. Liquid Staking will need to become more modular and decentralized in its approach to supporting decentralization network-wide.

That’s our goal, working away from centralized monopolies. We have optimized a new scheme to retain many aspects of the original process; however, we are abandoning the council voting system.

Considering the changes, we held a town hall AMA event to discuss the new governance elements in the latest Validator Election Track (VET)/Validator Boost List (VBL) Collators update.

The recap of the engaging discussion during the AMA can be followed here.
To recap the full Town Hall meeting, please click here.

The Q&A Session

1.

❓What tools can the community use to understand the performance of validators on Bifrost? Is there are public dashboard to help the community understand validator selection - VBL?

💡 The Bifrost team does not yet produce related services to monitor the collator performance. For performance, please refer to the relevant data here. Check the scoring form provided by the Bifrost community to know about VWL-related choices.

2.

❓vBNC - Could you add a column for on-chain names of collators and enable comments in the spreadsheet? The setting is on the sharing option at the top right of the page.

💡 Great suggestion! We turned on the comment feature on a spreadsheet. We also plan to include the collator’s certified name in the next rating update.

3.

❓How will Bifrost adjust the performance and methodology of the scoring mechanism? How will validators - collators and the community receive communication on this? What is the transparency of this model?

💡 Firstly, the current scoring standards are open and transparent, and the core team of Bifrost will have a self-driving force to continuously improve the scoring model to make it more accurate and reasonable. At the same time, we welcome any discussions and suggestions from the community on the scoring system and let us work together to improve the entire system.

4.

❓Suggestion - consider batching chains with a distinct mechanism, given that the Staking mechanism differs for different chains (KSM/DOT vs. MOVR/GLMR).

💡 Good advice! That’s exactly how we planned it. We have only completed and released the first version of vBNC scoring, while other vToken scoring mechanisms are still under planning and development. Subsequent scoring mechanisms for different vTokens will be independent scoring standards most suitable for the corresponding PoS mechanism.

5.

❓Kindly provide more details on the validator-collator selection process and when the system will remove them from VBL or the whitelist.

💡 About VBL: VBL currently has a fixed term of 6 months. After six months, the node will be kicked out of the VBL, counting from the joined governance referendum. If you want to rejoin the VBL, you need a new application. For nodes that perform poorly over the period, the community can initiate a removal process, kicking out the node from the VBL. The removed node will still retain its VWL identity. Nodes in VBL are automatically granted and enforced to maintain VWL status).

💡 About VWL: We know that, except for the nodes in VBL, the scoring system selects other nodes. VWL will receive regular updates to ensure the SLP system’s healthy operation. The specific update cycle may be based on the characteristics of different vTokens within one week- between 2 months. We won’t completely refactor the entire VWL list with the latest ratings every update. Correspondingly, we will have an updated scale parameter.

For example: if the update ratio parameter is 20%, then every time we update VWL, we will kick out the last 20% of the score in VWL based on the latest score. Then we’ll select a corresponding number of nodes with the highest score from external nodes to supplement VWL. Doing so will ensure a suitable and automatically optimized rhythm and stabilize VWL. The scoring table of the next vBNC update will reflect the details.

6.

❓What about exiting? Most collators are interested in knowing what it takes to get kicked out or receive less Delegation. How would the process look like for collators-validator leaving?

💡 We introduced the exit mechanism earlier. Here is the main supplement to the staking processing mechanism for the remaining nodes after exit: When vToken receives a Redeem request, the system will choose which node to redeem how many tokens from which node in the following order:

• Collator that is no longer in VWL (unbond all of this part first)
• Collators not in the Delegation Set in VWL (unbond all of this part first)
• The Collators in the Delegation Set are listed in descending order of Total future bonds, with priority given to those with more unbonds.

One conclusion we can draw from this logic is that the remaining Staking Tokens on nodes that have withdrawn from VBL or not in VWL will be gradually redeemed with the Mint/Redeem of vToken and tend to be fully redeemed back. The Redeem amount within a period determines the processing speed. </aside>

7.

❓What events can trigger a collator-validator risk assessment?

💡Except for VBL, most other operations are automatically executed by fixed rules. At a specific moment, based on the system rules at that time, SLP will have a relatively clear conclusion on the selection of nodes and on-chain operations. The Bifrost team and the community discuss and improve the rules. It is also helpful to read the responses to the previous questions to understand the process.

8.

❓What are the clear advantages of joining the VBL if I’m already in a network’s active set?

💡As a a Collator, when you join the VBL, even if you are already in an active state, you can properly reduce your votes to improve the utilization rate of funds. The VBL will automatically host and try to maintain the active state of the collator. Simultaneously, the Collator that joined VBL will also have a clear mark on the Bifrost Dapp, which will be more obvious to Bifrost users (the relevant UI has not yet been officially launched).

💡As a Validator, voting is balanced between not falling out of active state and maximizing staking rewards. My own vote can get the highest staking rewards

Conclusion

The VET/VBL update is crucial for Validator election governance in the Bifrost ecosystem. With an improved validator selection model and a more decentralized system, Bifrost is abandoning any traces of centralization.

We’re grateful for all the Town Hall attendees and the engagement we experienced. Stay tuned for the next AMA!