We have now reached halfway through the first season of the Polygon Delegate Incentive Program and this report represents the second program update for the community. Within this report, you’ll find a breakdown of Q2 incentive tracking outcomes, as well as key program adjustments.
With the evolving roadmap for Polygon governance, Q2 brought a few notable changes to the DIP. Most significantly, due to the absence of governance proposals during the quarter, the governance participation incentive bucket was removed, and the associated funds have been reallocated for disbursement in Q3. You’ll note that this reallocation is also reflected in a decrease in the total amount of funds allocated for Q2. Delegates were instead tracked across the remaining categories: awareness creation, delegated voting power, and the three special incentives buckets (more details below).
Following a strong Q1 for awareness efforts where DIP members generated over 110,000 views on X, Q2 saw more delegates begin to engage their networks and create buzz/conversation around Polygon topics. Reflecting this, two more delegates were active on their platforms and received awareness creation rewards compared to the previous period. A standout example from this quarter was Dimitri’s summary of major upcoming PIPs, along with several other contributions. Looking ahead, we hope to see broader participation from delegates to further grow awareness of Polygon governance and related topics.
Finally, as noted in the Q1 reporting summary, two new delegates—Tané and Yanshu—joined the DIP in Q2, replacing those removed at the end of Q1.
Incentives Distribution
In total, $48,750 USD (in POL) in incentives were distributed among 14 active delegates. A full breakdown of incentive distribution based on their performance across the following reward categories is included below:
I. Awareness Creation: The top 10 delegates in a given period are recognized for their role in driving visibility and engagement around Polygon and Polygon governance. The foremost channel considered here is X, although broader research/content pieces from delegates are still encouraged.
II. [Not Considered in Q2] Governance Activity
III. Voting Power: Encouraging greater community delegation, the top 10 delegates based on delegated POL voting power are rewarded.
Here are the incentive outcomes for Q2:
| Delegate | Reward (USD) |
|---|---|
| Gosha (Prom) | $624.00 |
| Carlos (Aragon) | $931.00 |
| Deniz (Lumia) | $7,074.00 |
| Michael (OpenZeppelin) | $2,740.00 |
| John (Node Infra) | $7,740.00 |
| Masha (Everstake) | $1,809.00 |
| Kimberly (FranklinDAO) | $624.00 |
| CupoJoseph (Nifty Chess) | $8,277.00 |
| Akshaan (Blockchain Berkeley) | $307.00 |
| Diminiko (BountyBlok) | $10,519.00 |
| Krzysztof (L2 Beat) | $1,861.00 |
| Daniel (Balancer) | $2,653.00 |
| Takeshi (Tané) | $2,653.00 |
| Yanshu | $939.00 |
*Rewards were paid out to delegates in POL, based on the average daily price as of the end of the quarter (June 30th).
The above totals additionally reflect the rewards from three special incentive buckets, each of which is allocated quarterly to one delegate. These rewards are intended to recognize outstanding efforts and contributions from a select few DIP delegates across the following categories:
- Amplifier - Awareness Champion: For the highest awareness creation score in the quarter.
- Beacon - Forum Leader: For the most significant forum contributions in the quarter.
- Trailblazer - Community Contributor: For exceptional community contributions in the quarter.
For this quarter, the special rewards were distributed to the following delegates:
| Award | Delegate | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Amplifier - Awareness Champion | Diminiko (BountyBlok) | Shared 10+ tweets, generated ~40k views, and amplified 50+ Polygon-related posts |
| Beacon - Forum Leader | John (NodeInfra) | Was the top DIP delegate for forum contributions, incl. sharing rationales on Medium |
| Trailblazer - Community Contributor | CupoJoseph (Nifty Chess) | Ranked highly in terms of both forum contributions and awareness creation |
As part of our commitment to maintaining a baseline standard for participation, the following delegates have been removed from the program due to consistently low engagement with the expectations set for incentivized delegates:
- Alexandru (Alchemy)
- Nick (Factory Labs)
- Benjamin (CAP Labs / QiDAO)
The vacant positions will be filled over the coming days, with eligible delegates in the pipeline being considered based on strong prior evaluation scores as well as demonstrated contributions to the Polygon community.
As a reminder, if you’d like to be considered as an incentivized delegate in the future, please take a moment to complete this quick interest form (~2 min).
Looking to Q3
Looking ahead, the DIP will undergo a minor restructuring to better align the role of incentivized delegates with the broader strategic goals of Polygon governance. While the details of these changes are still being defined, the intent is to create more meaningful opportunities for delegates to engage deeply and take on greater leadership within the community.
We’re excited to support the continued growth of this role and look forward to what the second half of the year will bring to the program.
If you’re interested in reading the Q1 summary (incl. feedback from delegates and the Polygon Foundation on the DIP), please see our report from last quarter here.