Track: MediumSpender
Requested: 3,200 KSM ($13,500 USD at current 7-day EMA)
Period: April – December 2026 (9 months)
Cost: ~$1,500/month

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1. Summary

Encointer is Kusama's second system chain, registered via Referendum 158. It provides Proof of Personhood, Sybil resistance, community currencies, and democratic governance tooling. It is the only system chain unique to Kusama – it does not exist on Polkadot.

This MediumSpender proposal requests funding for basic infrastructure operations of the Encointer system chain for 9 months (April–December 2026). The scope is strictly limited to keeping the chain running reliably: collators, RPC nodes, indexing, explorer, and accounting frontend. This is not a development or community growth proposal.

Why this is justified

Encointer had comparable monthly active accounts to Kusama Asset Hub before the AHM migration. The data below shows that for recent months, both chains served a similar-sized user base – yet Encointer's operational costs are a fraction of what other system chains receive:

Source: Encointer litescan indexer. Subscan has refused to index Encointer as a system chain.

Before the Asset Hub Migration (Oct 2025), Encointer consistently matched or exceeded KAH in monthly active accounts. The Collator Bounty Ref #643 allocates only 2 community invulnerables for Encointer at $250/month each, and these do not cover the team's own collators. Encointer one of the most actively used and still very cost-efficient system chain in the Kusama ecosystem.

What does Encointer do for Kusama?

Kusama benefits directly from Encointer and should continue to fund it as a common good system chain. Its proof-of-personhood protocol and community currencies are not just theoretical — they are live experiments with active communities of meaningful size in the hundreds, enabling real experimentation with one-person-one-vote democracy that could complement Kusama's existing stake-weighted governance. Encointer also delivers tangible real-world impact: its Nyota pilot in Tanzania multiplied the economic impact of cash transfer subsidies by 240%, while the community in Nigeria are running solar-powered collator nodes that improve Kusama's own geographic decentralization. Encointer makes Kusama more democratic and more relevant.

2. Infrastructure Scope

This proposal covers five infrastructure components required to operate the Encointer system chain:

What is NOT included

• Runtime development and new features (funded separately or by Encointer Association)
• Community growth operations (Nyota, PayNuq, new community bootstrapping)
• Mobile app / wallet development
• Marketing or outreach
• Team salaries beyond basic infrastructure operations.

Fundraising efforts from external sources are ongoing and we see progress. Nevertheless, we may need to approach the Kusama Treasury for additional well-scoped packages on top of this one if we want to do more than mere basic maintenance.

The team commits to keeping the system running and performing minimal maintenance for the stated period even in case no further funding can be secured.

Why these costs are excluded from other bounties

The system chain collator bounty (Ref #643) funds community invulnerable collators only. It explicitly allocates 2 slots for Encointer at $250/month each, paid to external community operators. The Encointer team's own 2 invulnerable collators are not eligible for this bounty. The RPC nodes, indexer, explorer, and accounting frontend are entirely unfunded by any other mechanism.

The Polkadot fellowship does not cover any work or infrastructure which is specific to Encointer although Encointer's runtime is maintained within the fellowship repositories.

Other system chain maintenance budgets are not transparently reported for public scrutiny.

3. Key Achievements

Despite operating on one of the leanest budgets in the ecosystem, Encointer has delivered real-world impact:

• Nyota (Tanzania): 100+ active participants, 15 new businesses created via Kusama Mchezo lending circles, 240% economic multiplier effect on development aid. Published in NextBillion / Association of African Entrepreneurs.
• PayNuq (Nigeria): New and growing community bootstrapped in Zaria, operating a solar-powered collator for the Encointer network.
• LEU (Zurich): First personhood-based democratic decision about community matters.
• Democratic community treasuries: All communities now vote on treasury spending decisions on-chain with approx. one-person-one-vote.
• Blockchain Switzerland InnoBooster Award – third-party recognition of innovation.
• Runtime 2.1.0 upgrade (Ref #637), demonstrating active chain development as part of fellowship repository.

Previous treasury proposals

older proposals linked in all proposal documents