Cardano Opens SPO Vote on k=1000

Cardano has moved the k=1000 debate on chain through an Info Action submitted on September 17 during epoch 656. The proposal carries a deposit of 100,000 ADA.

The vote cannot change the protocol parameter. It is intended to measure whether sufficient SPO support exists for a later Parameter Change Governance Action.

SPOs Decide Whether k=1000 Should Advance

The proposal asks whether stakePoolTargetNum, commonly known as k or nOpt, should increase from 500 to 1000.

Under the declared voting method, Yes must exceed 50% of the applicable active stake controlled by registered SPOs. Explicit Abstain votes are excluded, while registered stake that does not vote remains in the calculation and therefore works against the Yes threshold.

DReps may participate and publish voting rationales, but their votes do not count toward the SPO result.

Because this is an Info Action, the 50% threshold is not enforced by the protocol. It is the proposer’s stated method for interpreting whether the poll provides enough support to prepare a separate parameter change proposal.

The action expires in epoch 663 on October 21, 2026.

What Raising k Would Change

The k parameter does not determine the exact number of operating stake pools. It defines the network’s target number of fully saturated pools and influences how stake and rewards are distributed.

At k=500, the indicative saturation point is around 0.2% of the delegated supply, or approximately 75 million ADA under current conditions. Raising k to 1000 would reduce that level to around 0.1%, or roughly 37.5 million ADA.

Stake above the saturation point can still contribute to block production, but it does not generate additional maximum rewards. Delegators may therefore have a stronger incentive to move funds from saturated pools to smaller alternatives.

The change would not increase the total reward pool. It would alter how rewards are distributed across stake pools.

Supporters argue that a lower saturation point could spread delegation across a wider pool base. Critics note that large operators, exchanges and institutions can create additional pool identities, meaning k=1000 would not automatically produce more independent operators. Existing delegators could also be forced to reconsider their choices if their pools become saturated under the new limit.

Voting Rules Trigger a Procedural Dispute

The submitted action builds on an earlier community draft associated with Cerkoryn, Ryan Wiley and other contributors. The on chain version retains parts of that work but changes the voting methodology and governance framing.

The earlier approach focused on votes actively cast and excluded stake that did not participate. The submitted version follows standard CIP-1694 voting semantics, under which silence makes it harder for Yes to cross the stated threshold.

Chris from the STR8 stake pool, who submitted the action, argues that the vote should use the established governance rules instead of a custom calculation.

Contributors associated with the earlier draft have disputed both the revised methodology and the process used to move the proposal on chain.

The disagreement is therefore broader than the value of k. It also concerns whether nonparticipation should influence the result of a nonbinding poll and how shared governance drafts should be revised before submission.

Cardano previously considered k=1000 in a 2023 SPO poll that also included changes to the minimum pool cost. Options supporting k=1000 received 69.64% by pool count but only 41.1% by delegated stake. Options keeping k=500 received 21.08% by pool count and 44.2% by stake.

Because that vote combined two parameters and produced different results depending on the measurement used, it did not establish a clear standalone position on k.

The new action separates the question and records the result through Cardano governance. Its outcome will not alter staking conditions directly, but it will determine whether the proposer can claim sufficient SPO support to bring a formal k=1000 parameter change forward.