PARANODE_Q3-06

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.

#13·PARANODE_Q3-06