Economic Malfunction in the Renewal Price of Polkadot Cores
There is a clear economic imbalance in the renewal pricing of Polkadot cores. Currently, during the interlude period, renewal prices are highly variable. We’ve seen extreme cases: some parachains have paid 1.76 DOTs, while others have paid 543.87 DOTs for a core in the same auction (see attached image).
This makes absolutely no sense — how can there be such a difference in price for renewing the exact same service?
Core renewals should have a fair and standardized price for everyone.
In the current system, projects that acquired cores at absurdly low prices —such as 1 DOT when the system was still unregulated— now have a disproportionate advantage over new projects facing much higher costs.
This goes against the spirit of decentralization, which should promote equal conditions, transparency, and should not favor those who joined early under unclear rules.
Proposal for a Fair Core Renewal Pricing System
I propose two alternative mechanisms to set a fair core renewal price:
1. Renewal at a Discount Based on the Last Sale Price
Projects renewing their core would pay 10% of the last core sale price.
This acknowledges that they are existing projects, granting them a discount compared to new acquisitions.
Example: If the last core was sold for 500 DOTs, then the renewal price would be 50 DOTs.
This value would also serve as the minimum bid for the next auction, encouraging competition and helping stabilize the market.
2. Renewal at the Average Price of the Last 10 Sold Cores
Another option is to set the renewal price as the average of the last 10 core sale prices.
This would smooth out price spikes, both high and low, and establish a more standardized and fair market price.
Both proposals aim to introduce a more equitable and transparent model for core renewals, better reflecting the real value of the service and avoiding harmful imbalances in the ecosystem.