[DRC] Appoint Designated Proposer Set

Proposals
1

Simple Summary

This proposal seeks the on-chain appointment of a subset of validators as Designated Proposers, responsible for proposing blocks on the dYdX Chain. This follows the release of dYdX Chain v9.0 and aligns with the governance-controlled model to optimize block production reliability and network latency.

Abstract

As detailed in the blog post by dYdX Labs, the current CometBFT proposer selection, though stake-weighted and fair, does not account for real-world liveness and infrastructure distribution.

To address this, the dYdX Grants Program announced an RFP and invited validators to apply for consideration in the initial Designated Proposer set, subject to approval through dYdX governance. After a review of the applicants’ performance metrics, the dYdX Grants Program recommended 8 validators to be appointed as the initial Designated Proposer Set.

The Designated Proposer feature in the v9.0 software upgrade enabled dYdX governance to select a subset of validators responsible for proposing blocks on dYdX Chain.

Motivation/Rationale

This proposal aims to ensure that the dYdX Chain continues to meet the demands of a high-performance trading platform. Validators differ in their responsiveness, uptime, and infrastructure quality, and missed blocks can create latency and degrade the dYdX user experience.

By appointing a smaller set of validators as designated proposers, chosen specifically for their proven reliability and operational maturity, the dYdX community can improve overall performance.

Importantly, proposers can be appointed, removed, or replaced through governance votes, ensuring decentralization and flexibility over time.

Specification

The MEV Committee and the dYdX Grants Program recommended the following validators for appointment as the initial Designated Proposer Set:

  • RHINO :rhinoceros:

  • Kiln

  • Kingnodes :crown:

  • Informal Systems

  • PRO Delegators

  • Crosnest

  • TTT VN

  • CryptoCrew × DeFi Dojo

These validators were recommended because they had the best performance metrics (more on this below) over the time period analyzed:

  1. reliability, demonstrated by consistently high uptime and minimal missed blocks;

  2. operational maturity, measured by responsiveness to upgrades, monitoring practices, and infrastructure coordination; and

  3. network performance, including the ability to maintain low-latency peering and fast propagation.

If this proposal passes, dYdX governance will appoint the above validators as the initial designated proposers on-chain and all blocks will be proposed by one of these respective validators going forward. Future changes to the proposer set, whether additions or removals, will also be decided through governance, preserving transparency and accountability.

Next Steps

We invite the community to provide feedback on this proposal. If there is no objection, we will submit the on-chain proposal by September 5, 2025.

8 Likes
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We thank the authors and the dYdX Grants Program for putting forward this proposal and for the transparent evaluation process that led to the selection of the initial Designated Proposer Set.

From our perspective at PRO Delegators, this model represents a pragmatic step toward ensuring the dYdX Chain continues to meet the performance requirements of a high-throughput trading platform. By combining governance oversight with a curated set of validators chosen for their reliability and operational maturity, the network gains efficiency without sacrificing decentralization.

We are honored to be included in the proposed set and reaffirm our commitment to maintaining high operational standards, transparency, and close coordination with peers to deliver a smooth and reliable experience for dYdX users.
pro-delegators-sign

3 Likes
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was a bit worried we’d be presented with a selective set, but I’m really happy to see such a neutral and balanced group. We have teams that have supported dYdX from day one, others with strong reputations, and some very active community members who’ve contributed a lot to the protocol over the years. We can indeed say we’re decentralized. Well done! Let’s do this!

5 Likes
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Thank you to the dYdX Grants Program and MEV Committee for the thorough evaluation and selection process. We’re honored to be part of the proposed initial Designated Proposer Set.

As a validator, Crosnest remains committed to delivering exceptional uptime, fast block propagation, and responsive infrastructure support. We strongly believe this governance-driven approach enhances both the performance and resilience of the dYdX Chain, while preserving decentralization.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with fellow proposers and the community to ensure smooth, efficient, and reliable block production for all users.

We welcome feedback and we will be supporting the on-chain vote moving forward.

2 Likes
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We’re honored to be included in the initial Designated Proposer Set and grateful to the dYdX Grants Program and MEV Committee for this recognition. While we’re proud of maintaining the highest signing performance on-chain, we view this selection as both a privilege and a responsibility to help optimize dYdX’s block production reliability.

Our infrastructure consistently delivers leading uptime through global clusters and MPC signing architecture, but we know that past performance is just the foundation. We’re committed to working collaboratively with fellow designated proposers to meet the demanding reliability and latency requirements that dYdX’s institutional trading environment requires.

We look forward to contributing to dYdX’s continued success and proving worthy of the community’s trust in this important role.

1 Like
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The proposal was just submitted on-chain: Mintscan

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Thank you to the dYdX Grants Program and the MEV Committee for the thorough evaluation and selection process. We are truly honored to be part of the proposed initial Designated Proposer Set.

As a validator, TTT VN is committed to continuing to deliver stable uptime, fast block propagation, and responsive infrastructure support. We strongly believe that this governance-driven approach will enhance both the performance and resilience of the dYdX Chain while preserving decentralization. TTT will collaborate with the other seven teams to fulfill this responsibility under the oversight of the dYdX community and the MEV Committee.

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We at Kingnodes are honored to be included in the initial Designated Proposer set recommended by the dYdX Grants Program and MEV Committee.

From our perspective as a long-term infrastructure provider, the introduction of governance-controlled designated proposers is an important step forward for the dYdX Chain. While the existing CometBFT rotation is fair at the protocol level, it does not always reflect the operational realities of running a high-performance global trading platform. Missed blocks and uneven latency can have a real impact on user experience, so aligning proposer selection with proven uptime, network connectivity, and operational maturity makes sense.

We see several key benefits of this approach:

  • Performance and reliability: By concentrating block proposal responsibilities among validators with demonstrated liveness and low-latency infrastructure, the chain can maintain a smoother trading experience.

  • Flexibility through governance: Importantly, this is not a static or closed set. The proposer set remains accountable to governance and can evolve over time—validators can be added, removed, or rotated as the community sees fit.

  • Incentive alignment: This model encourages validators to continue investing in their infrastructure, monitoring, and responsiveness, since inclusion as a proposer directly reflects operational excellence.

Kingnodes has always placed an emphasis on resilient, well-monitored infrastructure, with fast incident response and proven experience across many networks. We look forward to bringing that same reliability to the dYdX Chain as part of this initial proposer set.

We encourage all community members to review the rationale and share feedback before this proposal moves on-chain. The flexibility of this system ensures that governance remains the final arbiter, and we are committed to transparency and accountability in fulfilling this role.

— Kingnodes :crown:

1 Like
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How will the governance process handle potential underperformance of a designated proposer in the future?

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The designated proposer set can be updated with another governance proposal of the same type. The MEV Committee and the dYdX Grants Program will monitor performance and propose updates to the designated proposer set in case of any SLA breaches.

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Hello dYdX Community,

Earlier today, the proposal to set Designated Proposers on dYdX Chain passed. Unfortunately, this change has introduced downstream issues affecting withdrawals on dYdX Chain. To address this, we are submitting an expedited proposal to reverse the change and restore the ability for all validators to propose blocks on dYdX Chain.

Root Cause

The issue stems from a new field in the Proposer struct within Comet, called ProposerDisabled. This field is now included in proposer set selection, making the struct representation different from other chains running a different version of Comet.

Because this struct is hashed for all validators when constructing an IBC message header, the inconsistency between the actual message and what the light client on other chains derives results in a mismatch.

This problem did not appear after the v9.0 upgrade because the ProposerDisabled field was still set to False for all validators, meaning the hashes matched across chains despite the different struct. The issue was only triggered after the Designated Proposers proposal took effect, when the field was set to True.

Next Steps

:page_facing_up: The expedited proposal is available here: Mintscan

2 Likes
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Hello dYdX Community,

The issues that were introduced with the initial Designated Proposer Set proposal will be fixed with the chain’s upcoming v9.1 upgrade.

We intent to re-propose the Designated Proposers later today, If passed the proposal is set to activate after the chain has been upgraded.

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The proposal to reappoint the initial Designated Proposer Set after the v9.1 Upgrade has been submitted on-chain: Mintscan

1 Like