Let me answer this since I’m coordinate everything related to Agile Core Time in the foundation.
Background & Context
To provide full transparency on the allocation and outcome of the 950 DOT budget for Coretime:
Earlier this year, a market manipulation affected Region X Coretime on Polkadot, resulting in Astar being locked into one of the most expensive slot renewals. While most chains secured cores at favorable rates, Astar’s Core 50 was renewed at ~540 DOT, ten times above our 55 DOT budget estimate.
This error in budgeting caused the auto-renewal system to fail in August 2025. The immediate priority was maintaining network uptime; long-term, the goal was to move to a sustainable Coretime rate (target: ~10 DOT), especially as market conditions began making low-cost cores available more frequently.
Actions and Timeline
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Emergency Renewal (September 2025 – 544 DOT)
- Core 50 was manually renewed, ensuring uninterrupted network operation despite the high cost.
-
Testing & Migration (Sept–Oct 2025 – 70 DOT)
- 50 DOT was spent on test cores (Cores 54 and 62), which could not be assigned to the parachain but supported migration trials.
- Core 54 purchase (40 DOT, not assigned).
- Core 62 purchase (10 DOT, not assigned).
- 20 DOT was used to purchase Cores 56 and 57 for further migration steps.
- Core 56 transferredto Astar’s sovereign account but required a governance referendum to be assigned to the parachain.
- Core 57 acquired and assigned—now actively supporting the upcoming migration from Core 50. This was done via our engineering team and is successfully functioning. Astar will migrate from core 50 to core 57 at the end of the current period.
- 50 DOT was spent on test cores (Cores 54 and 62), which could not be assigned to the parachain but supported migration trials.
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Planned Manual Renewal (November 2025 – 10.3 DOT)
- Following migration, renewals will be handled manually at a sustainable rate.
- Auto-renewal will be re-enabled via governance after this upcoming renewal.
- The remaining balance (approx. 24 DOT) in the engineering wallet is scheduled to be returned to the AFC wallet.
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Long-Term Reserve (300 DOT)
- Reserved in the sovereign account to fund automated renewals for over two years at targeted rates.
- Note: Coretime prices may increase by ~3% monthly per market trends.
Results & Takeaways
- Coretime costs slashed from ~550 DOT to ~10 DOT per month, a 50× cost reduction.
- Astar is now well-positioned on an affordable, sustainable core.
- The 300 DOT reserve secures runway for years of renewals at the new price point, supporting reliable operation.
Financial Summary
| Item | Amount (DOT) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| September Renewal | 544 | Emergency manual renewal (Core 50) |
| October Testing | 70 | Migration trials (Cores 54–57) |
| November Renewal | 10.3 | Planned low-cost renewal |
| Returned to AFC Wallet | ≈24 | Remaining balance post-renewal |
| Sovereign Reserve | 300 | Future renewals (Dec onward) |
To answer your questions:
- What does 950 DOT represent in terms of BC operation (Core time) duration?
With the 300 DOT currently in the sovereign account, Astar can renew its core time for approximately two years at the current rate of about 10 DOT per month.
- How many DOT should AFC produce per month for Astar to become self-sufficient?
Astar needs to generate at least 10 DOT per month in core time revenue to remain self-sufficient.
- What is the minimum DOT balance needed in the auto-renewal wallet?
The sovereign account should maintain a sufficient DOT balance to cover several months of core time renewals. Currently, this threshold is set at 50 DOT in coordination with AFC. With the existing 300 DOT reserve, Astar is covered for several years of renewals before needing to replenish the balance.
Note: Core time prices are market-dependent and generally increase by approximately 3% monthly, according to Polkadot documentation. We’re using 10 DOT as a baseline for future renewals, as this is the current rate of our core time; however, if core time market prices rise to 50 DOT due to increased demand, all relevant estimates would need to be adjusted.
Gaius_sama
Astar Main Council 