Guardians of Growth Season 2: Extending the Bridge to Organic Growth
This post is published on behalf of the Subspace Foundation, which is introducing Guardians of Growth Season 2 to support participation, resilience and progressive decentralization across the Autonomys Network.
In August 2025, the Subspace Foundation launched the Guardians of Growth Staking Bootstrap Program.
The goal was straightforward: establish strong staking participation and support a healthy operator and nominator ecosystem while activity on Auto EVM and other domains developed towards generating sustainable, organic transaction fees.
One year later, Guardians of Growth has demonstrated the strength of the Autonomys staking community.
AI3 committed to operators reached a peak of 41,270,560, while approximately 39.9 million AI3 remains committed today, around one-third of circulating supply. The staking portal currently records 445 nominator positions across four active operators.
Building on that success, we are pleased to announce Guardians of Growth Season 2.
Why Season 2?
Season 1 succeeded in its immediate objective: establishing meaningful staking participation from a standing start and building familiarity with the staking process.
It was also intended to bridge the period before organic network activity generated a greater proportion of operator and nominator rewards.
Usage and fee generation have not yet reached the level we had hoped to see one year after launching the program. The ecosystem needs more time to develop, while the community’s participation in staking remains strong.
Season 2 will provide continuity for operators and nominators while giving the wider ecosystem more time to grow.
This is not a substitute for adoption. The Foundation and ecosystem continue to pursue separate product, developer and adoption initiatives intended to increase real network usage. Guardians of Growth provides a stable base from which that work can continue.
Season 2 at a glance
The Subspace Foundation will allocate a further 5,000,000 AI3 to Guardians of Growth Season 2.
- Season 2 will begin after Season 1 concludes, targeting around the end of August 2026.
- Rewards will be distributed over approximately 12 months.
- The target completion date is around the end of August 2027.
- Actual timing may vary according to block production and live network conditions.
- The existing protocol-native reward mechanism will remain unchanged.
- The existing Guardians of Growth Auto EVM Vault will continue to be used.
- Staking remains fully non-custodial.
- The Foundation may adjust transaction cadence and tip size in response to network conditions.
Across both seasons, the Foundation will have allocated 10,000,000 AI3, exactly 1% of total token supply, to bootstrap staking participation and support the development of the operator and nominator ecosystem.
How it works
Season 2 will use the same mechanism as the original program:
- On a regular cadence, the Foundation submits a simple transaction on the Auto EVM domain.
- Each transaction includes a tip.
- Operators that execute and include these transactions in blocks receive their share of the tip.
- Nominators automatically receive their proportional share through the normal staking process.
- The protocol determines how rewards are distributed. The Foundation does not select individual recipients.
- Nominators retain control of their AI3 at all times.
The mechanism is operated using the open-source Operator Reward Distributor, which submits transactions, attaches configurable tips, tracks the program budget and confirmations, and supports RPC failover.
This keeps the program transparent, reproducible and aligned with the network’s existing fee mechanics.
Supporting the return of Game of Domains
Staking participation will also be an important component of Game of Domains when the initiative restarts.
Game of Domains is designed to bring operators, nominators and builders together in an incentivized testnet environment. Its purpose is to test domain execution, staking workflows and network tooling under realistic conditions before permissionless participation is introduced more broadly.
Game of Domains has been postponed following the decision to deprioritize work on permissionless operators. Both remain on the Autonomys roadmap.
Maintaining an active and engaged staking community through Season 2 will help preserve familiarity with the staking process and provide a strong base of potential participants when Game of Domains resumes.
What remains the same
Protocol-native rewards
Rewards are distributed through the same mechanism used for ordinary transaction fees. Once a tipped transaction is submitted, the protocol handles distribution among operators and nominators.
Non-custodial staking
Nominators retain control of their tokens. Guardians of Growth does not require participants to transfer custody of their AI3 to the Foundation.
Open and verifiable
The Guardians of Growth Auto EVM Vault, operational wallets and reward transactions can be followed on-chain. The migration of the vault to Auto EVM is recorded in the Foundation’s official wallet transparency post.
Predictable but flexible
The 5,000,000 AI3 allocation is intended to be distributed over approximately 12 months. The Foundation may adjust cadence or tip size to account for block times, network conditions and operational requirements.
FAQ
When will Season 2 start?
Season 2 will begin after Season 1 concludes, targeting around the end of August 2026.
The transition is based on program balances and live block production, so this should be treated as an operational target rather than an exact date or block.
Where do the funds come from?
The additional 5,000,000 AI3 will come from the Subspace Foundation’s Near-Term Treasury, which is earmarked for ecosystem development.
The same publicly traceable Guardians of Growth Auto EVM Vault will be used for Season 2.
Why introduce a second season after describing Season 1 as entering its final phase?
Season 1 is still concluding as announced. Season 2 is a new and separately funded program.
The decision reflects two things we learned during Season 1: the community response to staking incentives has been strong, while organic network usage and fee generation have developed more slowly than originally anticipated.
The Foundation has therefore decided to build on the participation and familiarity established during Season 1 while the wider ecosystem continues to develop.
How much will I earn if I stake?
There are no yield guarantees.
Rewards depend on the cadence and size of tips distributed through the program, the amount of AI3 committed to each operator, and the number of other nominators participating. Estimated APY will continue to vary as these factors change.
For instructions on participating, see the Autonomys Staking Portal guide.
Is a Season 3 planned?
No Season 3 is currently planned.
Season 2 has its own defined allocation and approximate 12-month duration. Any future initiative would require a separate assessment and decision based on the network’s circumstances at that time.
Will Season 2 work with permissionless operators?
Yes. When permissionless operators are introduced, the program can continue to operate through the same protocol mechanics. Tips will flow to active operators and their nominators according to the network’s standard rules.
Permissionless operators remain on the roadmap, although the work has been deprioritized for the time being.
How can I follow the program?
The Guardians of Growth Vault and operational wallets are publicly traceable on-chain. The program will also continue reporting staking figures through its End of Month reports and will publish a retrospective after Season 2 concludes.
How can I participate?
You can view active operators and their current staking information through the Autonomys Staking Portal.
If you are new to staking, the staking guide explains how to connect a wallet, select an operator, nominate and manage your position.
There are no guaranteed returns. Participants should understand the staking mechanics and associated risks before nominating an operator.
Building on a strong foundation
Guardians of Growth began as a way to establish staking participation and support the operator ecosystem during its early development. The results of Season 1 show that the community is willing to take an active role in the growth of Autonomys.
Season 2 builds on that success.
With a further 5,000,000 AI3 allocated, the program will continue supporting operators and nominators while the ecosystem works towards greater organic activity and long-term sustainability.
Guardians of Growth remains transparent, protocol-native and community-aligned. Most importantly, it gives the network more time to grow from the strong foundation its participants have already created.