KEY TAKEAWAYS
- dYdX is enhancing its open-source software to improve block production reliability and performance by introducing designated proposers.
- The new system will use a governance-controlled subset of validators to propose blocks, aiming to reduce latency and improve network resilience.
- This change involves a two-stage governance process, ensuring that the network can quickly adapt to proposer failures.
- Validators are encouraged to maintain high-performance infrastructure to join the designated proposer set, which will initially include eight professional validators.
dYdX, a decentralized trading platform, is exploring changes to its open-source software to improve the reliability and performance of block production. The proposed changes focus on introducing designated proposers, a governance-controlled subset of validators responsible for proposing blocks. This initiative aims to enhance network resilience, performance, and operational clarity while maintaining the full validator set and decentralized governance.
The current proposer selection model under CometBFT selects block proposers pseudo-randomly from the active validator set, weighted by voting power. While theoretically fair, this approach can lead to challenges such as liveness risks from inactive validators, block time variability, and operational uncertainty. To address these issues, dYdX plans to implement a deterministic enhancement that designates a smaller, stable set of proposers, reducing propagation latency and improving the overall responsiveness of the chain.
Designated Proposers and Governance Flow
The proposed system introduces a governance-defined designated proposer set, where only selected validators are eligible to propose blocks. These proposers will be chosen using a weighted round-robin approach, ensuring fairness and alignment with existing tokenomics. The change does not impact validator staking, voting, or block finality rules, as the full validator set will continue to sign and verify all blocks.
The transition to this new model involves two stages: a software upgrade vote to enable the feature and a runtime governance vote to set the initial proposer set. If a proposer fails, the network can quickly reconfigure the proposer set through expedited governance proposals, ensuring continued network operation.
Benefits and Implications for Validators
The introduction of designated proposers is expected to bring several benefits, including reduced latency, improved fairness, and smoother user experience during volatile periods. Transactions can be routed directly to the reduced proposer set, eliminating multi-hop gossip and minimizing latency to block inclusion.
Validators aiming to join the designated proposer set are encouraged to ensure their infrastructure is performant and engage actively in protocol discussions. Governance may initially select eight professional validators with proven track records, emphasizing reliability, operational maturity, and network optimization.
For more detailed information on the proposed changes, visit the official announcement here.
Why This Matters: Impact, Industry Trends & Expert Insights
dYdX’s proposal to introduce governance-controlled designated proposers aims to enhance the network’s reliability and performance by selecting a stable subset of validators for block production. This initiative seeks to address issues such as liveness risks and block time variability.
A recent CoinDesk report highlights the trend towards more decentralized and transparent governance mechanisms in blockchain systems. This aligns with dYdX’s approach of utilizing governance to enhance network performance while maintaining decentralization.
According to expert analysis, governance-controlled designated proposers can improve coordination and protocol upgrade efficiency. This supports dYdX’s goal of reducing latency and improving the overall responsiveness of its blockchain network.
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