The Fantom Foundation recently proclaimed a substantial reduction in its layer-1 blockchain validator staking requirement by 90%. The decision, initiated after a June 2023 governance vote, aims to fortify the network’s security and accessibility without impeding its speed. It lowered the Fantom (FTM) staking prerequisite from 500,000 FTM to 50,000 FTM, approximating to a present $19,500 worth.

Elucidating the decision, the foundation stated that having a larger pool of validators makes any cybernetic assault on the network increasingly difficult. New validators can curate transactions more rapidly as the increase in choices facilitates quicker validations. Addressing potential concerns, the foundation clarified that the rise in the validator count will in no way slacken the roaming speed of the Fantom network.

The foundation also allayed fears about security risks associated with lower staking norms. A validator’s power to confirm transactions relates primarily to the amount staked, rather than the count of validators engaged. Therefore, a validator with a large amount of FTM staking would possess similar influence as numerous smaller validators.

Fantom highlights that even if numerous smaller validators crowd into the network, their performance will be unimpeded. The proposal of lowering the FTM amount to run a node was under trail since February 2022. Currently, Fantom operates 58 validators, whereas Ethereum, the prominent layer 1 smart contract platform has over 1.1 million validators. Cardano, Solana and Avalanche hosted 2,589, 1,876 and 1,119 validators respectively in a report from June 2023.

This significant decision was taken three months post the hacking of Fantom Foundation’s official hot wallet, leading to a financial setback of $550,000. This amounted to less than 1% of the foundation’s funds and was promptly rectified by awarding a $1.7 million prize to the security researcher who identified and reported the risk, avoiding potential losses worth $170 million.