Espresso Delegation Program

Goals

1
Diverse & Performant Validators

Onboard a diverse and performant validator set for the Espresso network

2
Testnet Participation

Incentivize active participation on testnet to strengthen the network

3
Bootstrap Decentralization

Bootstrap the network in the early stages of decentralization

Overview

The Espresso Foundation delegates ESP tokens to validators that consistently perform well on the network. The program has two tiers: the Main Delegation Program (up to 20 nodes with larger ESP delegations) and the Bootstrap Program (up to 40 nodes with 1-5M ESP delegations). The top-performing validators from the Bootstrap Program may be selected to join the Main Delegation Program in the future.

Scoring — max 100 points

Missed Slots

80 pts
≤ 1% miss rate80
≤ 2% miss rate40
< network avg15
< network avg + 2.5%10
≥ network avg + 2.5%0

Voting

10 pts
≥ 90% vote rate10
> 0% vote rate7
At least 1 vote in epoch5
No votes0

Version

10 pts
No update needed10
≤ 48 hours10
≤ 7 days5
> 7 days or unknown0

If your version shows up as unknown, you can submit your node information via this Google Form.

Bootstrap Delegation Management

The Espresso Foundation will occasionally increase or decrease the amount delegated to individual validators in the bootstrap based on their performance. The delegation changes will be based on the following scoring criteria and happen in increments of 1M ESP, between a minimum of 1M and a maximum of 5M.

INCREASEScore ≥ 80
MAINTAINScore ≥ 80 but already at max (5M ESP)
DECREASEScore 25–79 and delegation above minimum (1M ESP)
REMEDIATEScore < 25 (first occurrence)
REMOVEScore < 25 (more than once)
The foundation reserves the right to stop delegating to a validator at any time, and will phase out the delegation program over time as decentralization improves.