Guardians of Growth Updates
When we launched the Guardians of Growth initiative, we committed to using it as a transparent, temporary, protocol-native mechanism to help bootstrap early staking participation on the Autonomys Network.
The program is designed to support operators and nominators during the early stages of domain activity, while remaining auditable on-chain and aligned with the normal staking and transaction fee mechanics of the protocol.
This update covers the latest program activity, including the recycling of staking proceeds from the vault’s operator bootstrap stake, the recently updated ORD tip, the Auto EVM vault migration, and a new, more accessible staking guide.
Recycling the vault’s operator bootstrap stake proceeds
As explained in a previous update, the Foundation introduced additional operators as part of the Guardians of Growth operator bootstrapping effort. For transparency, it is important to clarify that the Guardians of Growth vault itself was the account that provided the bootstrap nominations to these operators.
That bootstrap stake has now been withdrawn and unlocked from Operators 2 and 3, and the following staking proceeds were minted back to the Guardians of Growth vault account:
- Operator 2: 49,549.66 AI3
- Operator 3: 50,820.15 AI3
- Combined: 100,369.81 AI3
In line with the original Guardians of Growth commitment, those proceeds are being recycled back into the program and are included in the remaining amount to be distributed through the Operator Rewards Distributor.
This is an important part of the initiative’s transparency model: funds committed to Guardians of Growth, including proceeds generated by the vault’s own bootstrap stake, continue to support the program.
The ORD tip has recently been updated
The Operator Rewards Distributor, or ORD, submits regular Auto EVM remark transactions with attached tips. These tips are distributed through the protocol’s normal mechanics to the operator that includes the transaction in a block, with nominators receiving their proportional share according to the standard staking reward flow.
The ORD service is open source and can be viewed in the operator-reward-distributor GitHub repository.
Following the updated program accounting above, the ORD tip has recently been updated from 12,600 AI3 per day to 20,500 AI3 per day.
With the operator bootstrap stake now withdrawn and unlocked, and with the remaining Guardians of Growth funds visible across the Auto EVM vault and ORD wallet, the team has been able to calculate the updated spend rate required to continue distributing the remaining program funds while targeting the end of August for the conclusion of the initiative.
This remains a best-efforts operational target rather than a hard commitment to an exact timestamp. The ORD depends on live infrastructure, treasury operations, wallet reloading, and normal network conditions. However, the updated tip amount is intended to align the remaining program balance with the planned final phase of the initiative.
Vault migration and current program funds
In line with the Subspace Foundation’s custody plans, the Guardians of Growth vault has now been migrated from consensus to Auto EVM, as outlined in the Foundation’s official wallets update.
The remaining program funds are held across the Guardians of Growth Vault and the Operator Rewards Distributor Wallet. Community members are invited to monitor their activity using the Blockscout links below.
As of the time this post was made, the current snapshot was:
- Guardians of Growth Vault: 1,100,208 AI3
- Operator Rewards Distributor Wallet: 346,651 AI3
- Total remaining Guardians of Growth funds: 1,446,859 AI3
These values will change over time as the ORD continues to distribute tips and as the ORD wallet is periodically reloaded from the Guardians of Growth Vault. Reloading the ORD wallet is a normal operational step that allows the distributor to continue submitting tipped transactions while keeping the primary program funds visible in the vault.
Refreshed staking guide
We have also refreshed the staking documentation based on feedback from participants.
The previous guide was based on using the Substrate Portal, which is functional but could be tricky to navigate for staking operations. The updated version is now built around the much friendlier Staking Portal experience, with the aim of removing friction for anyone who wants to understand or take part in staking on the Autonomys Network.
The updated guide can be found in our official docs: Staking Portal guide
If staking is your thing, the refreshed guide should make it easier to follow the process of nominating AI3 to an operator. We’d love to hear any feedback you may have about both the guide and the portal.
Closing note
Guardians of Growth was created to support the early staking environment of the Autonomys Network in a transparent and protocol-native way.
As the initiative enters its final planned phase, the Foundation is continuing to follow the commitments made at launch:
- Distribute the program allocation through normal protocol mechanics
- Keep the relevant wallets and transactions visible
- Recycle proceeds generated by the vault’s own bootstrap stake back into the program
- Provide clear documentation for participants
- Communicate material operational changes to the community
The updated ORD tip schedule, vault migration, and recycled staking proceeds are all part of that same commitment.
We will continue to share updates as the program progresses toward its intended conclusion around the end of August.