Guardians of Growth Season 2 Is Underway

Season 2 Is Now Underway

This post is published on behalf of the Subspace Foundation, which is pleased to confirm that Guardians of Growth Season 2 is now underway.

Following the success of the original Guardians of Growth Staking Bootstrap Program, the Subspace Foundation has begun a second season using the same protocol-native mechanism.

Building on Season 1

Season 1 demonstrated strong and sustained interest in staking on Autonomys. AI3 committed to operators reached a peak of 41,270,560, establishing an active community of operators and nominators from a standing start.

That participation has continued to grow.

As of September 8, 2026, the Autonomys Staking Portal shows:

• 46,935,774 AI3 in total operator value
• 459 nominator positions

This is a new high for staking participation on Autonomys and represents a considerable proportion of circulating AI3.

Thank you to everyone who has participated, whether you have been staking since the beginning or joined more recently.

Why we are continuing the program

Guardians of Growth was created to encourage early participation while organic network activity and transaction fees developed. The staking side of that goal has been successful. Usage and fee generation, however, have not yet reached the level we hoped to see one year after launching the program.

Season 2 builds on what has worked while giving the wider ecosystem more time to grow. It provides continuity for nominators as separate product, developer and adoption initiatives continue. Guardians of Growth is not a substitute for adoption. Over the long term, the domain economy must be supported by genuine network activity and organic transaction fees. Staking participation will also be important when Game of Domains restarts. Game of Domains and permissionless operators have been temporarily deprioritized, but both remain on the Autonomys roadmap.

How Season 2 works

The mechanics remain unchanged:

• The Foundation submits simple transactions on Auto EVM using the open-source Operator Reward Distributor.
• Each transaction includes a tip and is processed according to the network’s standard fee mechanics.
• Any resulting allocation to operator pools is determined automatically by the protocol.
• The Foundation does not select individual recipients or determine individual outcomes.
• Staking remains fully non-custodial, so nominators retain control of their AI3.

Transaction timing and resulting protocol-level allocations may vary according to block production and network conditions. The Foundation may adjust operational settings during the season.

Participation does not entitle any operator or nominator to a fixed or guaranteed payment, APY or economic return. Any amounts arising through the protocol, if any, are variable.

Duration and transparency

Season 2 is funded from the Subspace Foundation Near Term Treasury and is expected to run for approximately 12 months. This is an operational target rather than a commitment to an exact date or block, as distribution depends on live network conditions.

Season 2 will continue to use the publicly traceable Guardians of Growth Auto EVM Vault. The vault, operational wallets and program transactions can all be followed on-chain. The Foundation will continue to include staking figures in its End of Month reports and plans to publish a retrospective when the program concludes.

Further information

The Autonomys Staking Portal displays active operators and current network-level staking data. The Staking Portal guide explains the staking mechanics and how positions are managed. Anyone considering using the staking functionality should understand the associated technical and economic risks and make their own assessment before proceeding.

Looking ahead

Season 1 established a strong foundation for staking participation on Autonomys. Season 2 builds on that foundation while the wider ecosystem continues to develop.

The program remains transparent, protocol-native and non-custodial. We will continue reporting on participation and progress throughout the new season.