Lido on Terra wave 3 validators onboarding

Throughout March 2022, the Lido Node Operator Sub-governance Group (LNOSG) evaluated 65 onboarding applications for inclusion into the Lido on Terra Node Operator set. As a result of community feedback and the evaluations conducted on the 28th of March, the LNOSG is presenting two possible sets of validators for the DAO’s consideration, and a third choice of “none of the above” in which case the entire onboarding process would be started over.

In short, Shortlist A is the product of the original LNSOG evaluation, and Shortlist B is the result of an added emphasis to ecosystem-participation and alignment as a result of strong Terra community and DAO member feedback.

Shortlist A: 21 shortlisted applicants, original LNOSG evaluation result.

Ratings were submitted by LNOSG evaluators, averaged per applicant, and large variances or outliers were specifically discussed during the evaluation call. The criteria we examined include:

• General validating experience both cross-chain and on the specific chain in question.
• Overall historic performance and recent performance on the specific chain.
• Level of detail and effort put into application so that the LNOSG may be able to assess various questions/factors around infra setup, security, reliability, overall anti-fragility of the validator, decentralization, and geographic distribution.
• Ecosystem participation & alignment.

| Shortlist A | |---| | 0Base | | Allnodes Inc | | AUDIT.one (Persistence Staking Pte. Ltd) | | Blockdaemon | | BlockNgine | | BridgeTower Capital | | BTC.Secure | | Chainlayer | | Coinhall | | Cosmic Validator | | Delight Labs | | MissionControl | | moonshot | | Orbital Command | | PFC | | RBF Staking | | RockX | | SkillZ | | Solva Blockchain Solutions (CryptoCrew Validators) | | Stakely | | Terran one |

NB: Two validators were removed from the shortlist following downtime that brought their performance below the baseline criteria. SkillZ will only be added to the validators registry and delegated to if they join the active set.

Shortlist B: 21 shortlisted applicants, 2 waitlisted applicants, composite score.

Shortlist B was offered as a possible alternative to Shortlist A following Terra community and DAO feedback expressing the desire for an onboarding wave of more ecosystem-aligned applicants.

For the purpose of this shortlist, a scoring methodology was adopted to “boost” the weighting of ecosystem participation criteria in the overall applicant score. This “Ecosystem Alignment Score” focused on governance participation rates, seniority, public services (open-source development, public LCD/RPC hosting...), content creation and community building.

The LNOSG Scores and the Ecosystem Alignment Scores were given equal weightings and averaged to produce a more community-representative shortlist that still takes performance and setup into consideration.

| Shortlist B | |---| | 0Base | | Allnodes Inc | | AUDIT.one (Persistence Staking Pte. Ltd) | | BlockNgine | | BTC.Secure | | Chainlayer | | Coinhall | | Delight Labs | | Fresh luna | | Kytzu | | larry stakehouse 🥩 | | MissionControl | | moonshot | | Orbital Command | | PFC | | RockX | | Setten | | Solva Blockchain Solutions (CryptoCrew Validators) | | Stakely | | SynergyNodes | | Terran one | | Stakebin (waitlisted) | | MANTRA DAO (waitlisted) |

NB: shortlisting is contingent on an affirmative response from the identified applicant that they wish to continue with onboarding. If the validator doesn't approve its participation it will be replaced with the waitlisted one.

More information about the onboarding application windows and evaluations performed can be found here: https://research.lido.fi/t/announcement-onboarding-for-terra-wave-3/1677/4.

This vote will run for 5 days and seeks LDO holder approval of the onboarding of the aforementioned node operators for the respective protocols.

Our goal with onboarding new node operators is to improve the decentralization and resilience of Lido on Terra, as well as bringing on new organizations with strong skill sets and alignment with Lido’s values to help grow liquid staking on the Terra network.