Web3 Foundation (W3F) researchers have introduced a new Request for Comments (RFC-0092) proposal to reduce the unbonding periods for staked tokens on Polkadot.
The new mechanism proposes reducing the unstaking process from 28 days to as little as two days — geared toward improving user convenience and competitiveness without compromising security.
“The new mechanism leads to a signficantly [sic] reduced unbonding time on average, by queuing up new unbonding requests and scaling their unbonding duration relative to the size of the queue.”
Related: Gavin Wood introduces JAM as Polkadot’s new hybrid transactionless blockchain model
Proposed unstaking overhaul
The W3F-proposed mechanism involves the unbonding system that queues unbonding requests and scales the duration based on the queue size.
If the proposal passes to the voting phase and is approved, the new system will allow the minimum duration to be reduced to just two days when the queue is empty.
The system would prevent unbonding time from exceeding the current fixed period of 28 days and provide users with a faster, more efficient unstaking process.
Related: Japanese blockchain Astar proposes $38M token burn
Driving factors
The driving factor behind the introduction of RFC-0092 is that Polkadot has one of the longest unbonding periods among proof-of-stake protocols.
Despite the high annual percentage yield offered by staking on Polkadot, the long unstaking process can potentially deter participation from users who may opt for faster alternatives.
“The current length of the unbonding period imposes significant costs for any entity that even wants to perform basic tasks such as a reorganization / consolidation of their stashes, or updating their private key infrastructure. It also limits participation of users that have a large preference for liquidity.”
Related: Polkadot active addresses hit record 600K
Simulation analysis
The proposed unbonding queue mechanism was accompanied by an empirical analysis to simulate the new system’s potential.
The simulation indicated that the average unbonding time would drop to approximately 2.67 days, while the system would remain sensitive to large unbonding events without exceeding the 28-day upper limit.
Magazine: Polkadot’s Indy 500 driver Conor Daly: ‘My dad holds DOT, how mad is that?’