We're announcing the new Substrate staking dashboard.

Addressing the need for better insights

Unlike other proof of stake networks, Polkadot and Kusama require users to actively manage their assets. That’s because they use nominated proof of stake (NPoS) for consensus.

In an NPoS system, inclusion in the active set is determined by a user’s total self‐bonded and delegated stake. A known and limited number of validators can be in the active set; the minimum required stake varies daily, depending on how many validators are vying to be included and the amount of stake each holds. Once included in the active set, each validator has equal voting powers and gets equal rewards. 

Validators are required to consistently confirm that their stake is sufficient for them to remain in the active set. They also need to monitor how their stake is being distributed, to ensure they do not fall below the stipulated minimum. Because rewards are distributed evenly to all validators in the active set, DOT/KSM holders often distribute their stakes and run multiple validators. However, the rules for remaining active on Polkadot and Kusama necessitate more active management than other proof of stake networks.

Until recently, users had two choices: to manage the process manually or trust the Polkadot and Kusama infrastructure providers. Coinbase Cloud’s Substrate staking dashboard gives users the essential insights required to drive optimal participation with minimum fuss.

Smarter visualizations to enable real-time insights without waiting for technical assistance

The dashboard provides a snapshot of how your validators are running, and how effectively your bond is being used. Its easy‐to‐digest information helps you take the right steps to gain more delegation and ensure your validators make it to the active set — positioning you to earn more participatory rewards.

View of active sets and validator capacity

Active management from Coinbase Cloud experts

You can design your own preferred workflows and manage permissions across your team. Based on your predefined preferences, Coinbase Cloud will automatically scale your position by spinning up a new validator based on real-time network economics. Our team will distribute your bond based on the NPoS reward distribution, so you can increase your presence in the active validator set and optimize your participatory rewards. Active management of your validators is simply executed via our managed controller feature.

Managed controller service

Even users who prefer not to run their own validators still need active management to stake with Polkadot and Kusama. Coinbase Cloud offers a non‐custodial managed controller service that enhances security by keeping your stash account offline. Supply us with your list of preferred public validators, or choose Coinbase Cloud public validators, and we’ll take care of the rest. You’ll be able to log on to the platform to monitor the performance of the validators you are staked to and see which validators are nominated under the managed controller section.

View of controller sets and the nominated validators

Review your active set history for the previous 15 eras

Our transparent reporting enables you to view how effectively your bond has been used over time. You can look back at previous eras to check your waiting and active validators are being scaled properly, and that your bond is being used as effectively as possible.

The next generation of Coinbase Cloud participation

Our Substrate staking dashboard is now the default tool for all Polkadot and Kusama participation on Coinbase Cloud. If you’re interested in learning more, request a demo at https://www.coinbase.com/cloud/cloud-interest