On Behalf of the Paseo curators, this proposal requests $210,800 USDC to fund the operational costs of the Paseo testnet for H2 2026 (Q3 + Q4). Following the transition to stablecoin-denominated funding established in [the H1 2026 proposal](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1885), this top-up continues under the same model, funded and held directly in USDC via the multi-asset bounty pallet.

This proposal also introduces a significant restructuring of Paseo's resources and operating procedures, targeting approximately a 40% reduction in quarterly costs from ~$196k/quarter to ~$100k/quarter. The changes reflect lower demand for dedicated parachain cores, the ecosystem's shift toward product testing infrastructure, and the need to operate more efficiently given current treasury conditions.

The DOT balance previously held by the bounty was returned to the Polkadot treasury upon the H1 transition and can be verified [on-chain here](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://assethub-polkadot.subscan.io/extrinsic/17404525-2&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1783106598893614&usg=AOvVaw0kCAScYVdJarjjffWfjOMM).

Please note that this referendum calls `fundBounty` rather than topping up the existing bounty. The MultiAssetBounties pallet has no top-up extrinsic, and a direct treasury spend to the bounty account would increase its balance but not the stored value field, which is what governs how much curators can allocate. Each funding cycle is therefore a fresh fundBounty, creating a new bounty under the same curator and governance structure. This is the same approach used in the H1 2026 referendum.

For full proposal details, including restructuring scope, quarterly budget breakdown, SLOs, and curator information, [see the full proposal](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QWyE_H0Vi6WO9DAAr-34PYLZzNEAZuGr/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118088781501620518386&rtpof=true&sd=true).




The Paseo testnet needs $210,800 USDC to run for half of 2026. Costs are being cut by almost half. The old DOT money went back to the treasury. The funding method stays the same. A special system is used because there is no "top-up" button.

Paseo Testnet Operations H2 2026 - USDC Funding via Multi-Asset Bounty

Requesting 83,760 USDT to fund the Polkadot Moderation Team for six months, using the new multi-asset bounties pallet on Asset Hub.

| | |
|---|---|
| Amount | 83,760 USDT |
| Period | August 2026 to January 2027 |
| Track | Medium Spender |
| Curator | `12GkpkHocU4y1vFV2CpnA2AhkjzGGRtwucHFY77A5yyiQKp5` (2-of-3 multisig) |
| Team | 8 moderators |
| Monthly cost | $13,960 |
| Predecessor | Bounty 24 on Polkadot |

## This is a resubmission of [referendum 1928](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1928)

[Referendum 1928](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1928) requested the same amount in USDC. It passed, but failed at enactment because the treasury's USDC balance had fallen below the requested amount during the decision period. You can check the treasury balance [here](https://assethub-polkadot.subscan.io/account/13UVJyLnbVp9RBZYFwFGyDvVd1y27Tt8tkntv6Q7JVPhFsTB)

By the time [1928](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1928) enacted on 11 August, there were 26,942 USDC available [in the treasury](https://assethub-polkadot.subscan.io/account/13UVJyLnbVp9RBZYFwFGyDvVd1y27Tt8tkntv6Q7JVPhFsTB) against a request for 83,760, and the call failed with `FundingError`.

This resubmission is identical except that it is denominated in USDT.

Nothing else has changed.

## What the team does

The Moderation Team covers the official Polkadot and Kusama channels: Discord on both networks, Telegram, Reddit (r/Polkadot, r/Kusama, r/dot), the Polkadot Forum, and Element. The team started as unpaid volunteers, was funded by Bounty 14 on Kusama, and moved to Bounty 24 on Polkadot.

The daily work is removing scams and spam, answering questions and pointing people to the right resources, resolving disputes, and handling the administrative side including recruitment and channel maintenance. Coverage is spread across time zones so the channels are watched around the clock rather than during one working day.

## Why USDT rather than DOT

Bounty 24 was denominated in DOT against a dollar budget. DOT price movement since the funds were received shortened the runway by about five months, which is why the bounty is depleted in July rather than January as planned.

Denominating in a stablecoin removes that mismatch. The requested amount maps directly to the remaining monthly budget and the runway is what it says it is.

## Budget

| Role | Rate | Hours/week | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head Moderator | $20 | 23 | $2,000 |
| Community Operations Moderator | $20 | 23 | $2,000 |
| Community Moderator (x6) | $20 | 19 | $1,650 each |
| Discord server boosts | | | $60 |
| **Total** | | | **$13,960** |

$13,960 x 6 months = 83,760 USDT

Server boosts maintain Discord Level 3 for the discord.gg/polkadot vanity URL. The full per-member breakdown is in the proposal document linked below.

## Curators and payments

The curator is a 2-of-3 multisig pure proxy at `12GkpkHocU4y1vFV2CpnA2AhkjzGGRtwucHFY77A5yyiQKp5`, with tramymisa, abdulbee and gr33nhatt3r as signatories.

Monthly payments are made as child bounties from the parent. Every payment is visible on chain and attributable to the multisig.

## Accountability

Payment depends on performance, assessed monthly through blind peer review. Each moderator is reviewed by at least three peers on administrative contribution, moderation quality, conduct toward colleagues, and consistency of activity. Each criterion scores from -1 to +1.

- Total of 0 or above: full payment
- Between 0 and -2: 70%
- -2 or below: 50%

Anyone dealing with something serious outside the ecosystem can abstain from both the assessment and the payment for that month.

Reward records live in the team dashboard, monthly spend summaries go on Polkassembly, and moderation logs are posted to the bounty's Subsquare page each month.

## Verifying this proposal

**Call parameters.** Decode the call and check four things:

- `assetKind` should be V5, with `location` of `{parents: 0, interior: Here}` and `assetId` of `{parents: 0, X2(PalletInstance(50), GeneralIndex(1984))}`. General index 1984 is USDT on Asset Hub.
- `value` should read `83760000000`. USDT has 6 decimals, so that is 83,760.
- `curator` should read `12GkpkHocU4y1vFV2CpnA2AhkjzGGRtwucHFY77A5yyiQKp5`.
- `metadata` should read `0xb4cb96c5aa43cef51388ab5103510c7b405d5038b8f74879f03bddd9ecffe155`.

**Metadata.** The metadata field points to a JSON document stored on chain. Read it in Polkadot.js Apps on Asset Hub: Developer, Chain state, `preimage.preimageFor`, with the key `(0xb4cb96c5..., 1046)`. The length is part of the key.

**Full proposal.** Pinned to IPFS at `QmYPes3wSXw4DddphbJG84gf6pahYhLDBSdESzd1P77Kaf`. Resolve it through any gateway. A CID is derived from the content, so any gateway returning a document under it is returning the same file.

**Curator.** Check the multisig has the expected signatories and a 2-of-3 threshold, and that those accounts match the team members named in the proposal.

## Links

- Full proposal: [IPFS](https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmYPes3wSXw4DddphbJG84gf6pahYhLDBSdESzd1P77Kaf)
- Team dashboard: [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XCnTyWhw9mi7CSW5Fh0RfLAu9YTCOUtZYv3wq-nxBgU/edit)
- Previous attempt: [referendum 1928](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1928)
- Predecessor: Bounty 24 on Polkadot

Questions welcome here or in the Polkadot Direction channel.

- A request for 83,760 USDT to fund the Polkadot Moderation Team for six months.
- 8 moderators manage official Discord, Telegram, Reddit, and other channels.
- They remove scams, answer questions, and resolve disputes around the clock.
- The team uses USDT instead of DOT to avoid budget shortfalls from price changes.
- Monthly cost is $13,960, including moderator pay and server boosts.
- Payments are checked monthly through blind peer reviews.
- The proposal failed before due to low USDC funds, but now uses USDT.

Six-month top-up (Aug 2026 – Jan 2027) for the Polkadot Moderation Team, denominated in USDT.

Polkadot Moderation Team Bounty Top-Up

[Resubmission] Polkadot Moderation Team Bounty (August 2026 to January 2027)

This proposal requests $392,500 USDC to fund the operational costs of the Paseo testnet for H1 2026. This is the first Paseo funding proposal denominated in stablecoins, made possible by the newly deployed multi-asset bounty pallet. The remaining DOT balance in the [existing bounty](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/treasury/bounties/37) (~[38,946 DOT](https://assethub-polkadot.subscan.io/account/13UVJyLnbVp9RBZYFwHYxaB2TSL6tRWsRvYwSm2jfzBkwk7f)) will be returned to the Polkadot treasury upon transition.

For full proposal details, including scope of work, quarterly budget breakdown, SLOs, and curator information, [see the full proposal](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J8M7ppKhXAeqcMrX0cMfGzd0Td8vHUULvfsWJFKJsA4/edit?usp=sharing). 

Note: This is a resubmission of [referendum 1878](https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1878?tab=call). The original contained a technical error in the metadata field of the call data.

- Paseo testnet needs money to run in early 2026.
- Asking for $392,500 in USDC, a stablecoin.
- This is the first time using stablecoins for funding.
- Old DOT money will be sent back to the treasury.
- The proposal has a budget plan and goals.
- This is a fix of a previous proposal that had a mistake.

Multi-Asset Bounties