dYdX Trading Inc. recently authored a blog post exploring a governance-controlled Designated Proposer system on the dYdX Chain - an architectural enhancement intended to improve the reliability and liveness of block production.
Note that implementation of designated proposers is subject to a successful dYdX Chain software upgrade governance proposal.
This upgrade would mark a significant evolution in how blocks are proposed on the network. While CometBFT’s existing proposer selection algorithm is deterministic and fair, it does not account for real-world infrastructure dynamics such as latency, uptime, or geographic distribution.
The designated proposer model aims to address these limitations by enabling governance to elect a subset of high-performing validators to exclusively propose blocks, while preserving censorship resistance, stake-based voting, and decentralisation across the broader validator set.
📰 Read the full post: Introducing Designated Proposers
Apply to Join the Initial Set
Following dYdX Trading’s blog post, the MEV Committee has published a forum post inviting applications from validators currently in the active set to be considered for the initial cohort of designated proposers.
Applicants will be evaluated based on infrastructure reliability, operational maturity, and historical uptime. Upon a successful governance proposal, selected validators will be the only validators eligible to propose blocks, directly contributing to protocol performance, network responsiveness and trading user experience.
Apply by: August 1, 2025 (UTC)
🔗 Full RFP
Program Overview and Timeline
- Target size: 8 designated proposers
- Selection criteria: Governance-elected based on validator uptime, reliability, and maturity
- Key dates:
- Applications due: August 1, 2025
- Evaluation by the MEV Committee and recommendation to follow
- Governance proposal to implement the feature via software upgrade
- Final proposer set to be confirmed through on-chain vote
- Applications due: August 1, 2025
Technical implementation details, including proposer logic and runtime parameters, will be finalized through governance and communicated in future proposals.
If the Designated Proposers software upgrade governance proposal passes, the subset of validators appointed as Designated Proposers will remain a parameter controlled through dYdX Chain governance and therefore subject to change.
A Community-Governed Path Forward
The designated proposer system reflects the broader vision of dYdX: building institutional-grade infrastructure that prioritizes performance, resilience, and neutrality at scale. Community members are encouraged to review the proposal and contribute to the ongoing discussion on the forum.
About the dYdX Foundation
Legitimacy and Disclaimer
Crypto-assets can be highly volatile and trading crypto-assets involves risk of loss, particularly when using leverage. Investment into crypto-assets may not be regulated and may not be adequate for retail investors. Do your own research and due diligence before engaging in any activity involving crypto-assets.
dYdX is a decentralised, disintermediated and permissionless protocol, and is not available in the U.S. or to U.S. persons as well as in other restricted jurisdictions. The dYdX Foundation does not operate or participate in the operation of any component of the dYdX Chain's infrastructure.
The dYdX Foundation’s purpose is to support the current implementation and any future implementations of the dYdX protocol and to foster community-driven growth in the dYdX ecosystem.
The dYdX Chain software (including dYdX Unlimited) is open-source software to be used or implemented by any party in accordance with the applicable license. At no time should the dYdX Chain and/or its software or related components (including dYdX Unlimited) be deemed to be a product or service provided or made available in any way by the dYdX Foundation. Interactions with the dYdX Chain software (including dYdX Unlimited) or any implementation thereof are permissionless and disintermediated, subject to the terms of the applicable licenses and code. Users who interact with the dYdX Chain software, i ncluding dYdX Unlimited (or any implementations thereof) will not be interacting with the dYdX Foundation in any way whatsoever. The dYdX Foundation does not make any representations, warranties or covenants in connection with the dYdX Chain software (or any implementations and/or components thereof, including dYdX Unlimited), including (without limitation) with regard to their technical properties or performance, as well as their actual or potential usefulness or suitability for any particular purpose, and users agree to rely on the dYdX Chain software (or any implementations and/or components thereof, including dYdX Unlimited) “AS IS, WHERE IS”.
Nothing in this post should be used or considered as legal, financial, tax, or any other advice, nor as an instruction or invitation to act by anyone. Users should conduct their own research and due diligence before making any decisions. The dYdX Foundation may alter or update any information in this post in the future at its sole discretion and assumes no obligation to publicly disclose any such change. This post is solely based on the information available to the dYdX Foundation at the time it was published and should only be read and taken into consideration at the time it was published and on the basis of the circumstances that surrounded it. The dYdX Foundation makes no guarantees of future performance and is under no obligation to undertake any of the activities contemplated herein.
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