Python Libraries Maintenance Continued Funding

Governance
1

Topic: OpenGov Treasury Discussion & Soft Commitment for Monthly Retroactive Reimbursements for Completed Work for Python Libraries Maintenance & Development
Proposer: JAMdot Technologies
Start Date: January 2026
Funding Request: Retroactive Reimbursement capped to 12.000 EUR per month for completed work
Full Proposal: GitHub Link

This proposal discusses a continuation of the multi-year efforts of Polkascan (active in the ecosystem since 2017, recipient of multiple Web3 Foundation Grants and sustained Treasury support from 2020 to 2024. Over this period, the team designed, implemented and maintained the Python Substrate Interface (now Python Polkadot SDK), SCALE codec library and associated cryptographic FFI libraries. Or summarized: if you use Python in the Polkadot ecosystem, you are using our open-source libraries.

Polkascan Foundation (the legal entity) was unwound at the end of 2024 and thus discontinued seeking OpenGov Treasury reimbursements. In June 2024 Polkascan’s founders (Emiel & Arjan) started JAMdot Technologies to create a Python Implementation of JAM Protocol. In March 2025 JAMdot Technologies took over stewardship of Polkascan’s Python Libraries to ensure its continuation.

This proposal seeks an OpenGov Treasury soft commitment that, starting January 2026, JAMdot Technologies can submit monthly retroactive reimbursement requests for completed work of the continued maintenance and development of Python libraries used throughout the Polkadot ecosystem.

The intent of this proposal is not to request funds now, but to:

  • Confirm that the Treasury recognizes ongoing Python maintenance as a legitimate, ecosystem-critical activity;

  • Establish a predictable framework for monthly, retroactive reimbursement;

  • Ensure continuity of the long-standing work previously carried out by Polkascan; and

  • Signal that JAMdot Technologies can operate on a monthly retroactive basis for completed work without needing a full governance process for each minor maintenance reimbursement.

This structure is aligned with the newly published Web3 Foundation OpenGov Guidelines: it aims to minimize proposal overhead for recurring essential work, while keeping the community fully in control of funding decisions and able to halt or adjust reimbursements if expectations are not met. Full details on this alignment can be found in appendix 2 of our proposal: GitHub Link

Metrics of our Libraries (per 10 December 2025)

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We look forward to the community feedback.
Emiel Sebastiaan on behalf of JAMdot Technologies

4 Likes
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Speaking personally, I use Polkascan’s Python libraries frequently and find them very useful.

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Speaking purely from a developer experience perspective these Python libraries were my actual entry point into interacting with the Polkadot ecosystem. For many developers, especially those working primarily on backend or data infrastructure, Python is the bridge between concept and execution and having a well maintained SDK is critical infrastructure for onboarding but also tinkering.

Regardless of the financial specifics, ensuring the continuity of these libraries is essential for the ecosystem’s health. I’m glad to see stewardship continuing under JAMdot so these tools aren’t left to decay.

Having had great interactions with both Emiel and Arjan in the past, I am confident in their ability to manage this stewardship. I actually see significant potential to not just maintain but to evolve these libraries specifically by shifting to a light-client first architecture (happy to help with this). That evolution would be a massive value-add for the ecosystem, and I look forward to seeing where the team takes this.

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I can also attest to the usefulness of the Python Polkadot bindings. Most of my public scripts, private cron jobs and official scripts for migration and similar depend on it.

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I’ve used the Python libs earlier for data crunching and analysis, they were quite helpful.

I would love to see them continuously maintained, as I observe the last commits were done while ago!

1 Like