Overview

This referendum proposes to reactivate automatic Coretime renewals for Astar Network’s parachain slot on Polkadot, using Astar’s sovereign account and the XCM interface with the Coretime system chain.

Once enacted, Astar’s next active core (Core 38) will be automatically renewed every 28 days, ensuring uninterrupted network operation and eliminating the need for manual or governance-driven renewals.

Background & Context

In August 2025, Astar Network migrated to Agile Coretime, the new Polkadot model replacing crowdloan auctions with flexible, market-based core allocations.

To fund this transition, 100 DOT were allocated by AFC to secure and maintain Coretime renewals through the new system.

However, during the first renewal attempt in August 2025, a market manipulation incident in the design of the Coretime pricing system from Q2 2025 caused extreme price volatility. As a result, Astar’s Core 50 was renewable at an inflated rate of ~540 DOT, nearly 10× above the planned 55 DOT budget.

This abnormal renewal attempt failed due to insufficient funds and caused the auto-renewal system to stop.

The immediate priority became maintaining continuous network uptime, while the longer-term goal shifted toward stabilizing renewal costs and moving to a sustainable Coretime rate (~10 DOT per period).

Actions Taken (August – November 2025)

To restore efficiency and transparency, the following steps were executed:

• Emergency Renewal (544 DOT)
  • Core 50 was manually renewed to ensure continuous operation despite inflated prices (540 DOT).
• Testing & Migration (September – October)
  • Temporary cores (54, 56, 57, 62) were purchased to validate migration, XCM message flow, and assignment procedures.
• Active Core 57
  • Following testing, Astar successfully migrated to Core 57, which currently supports network operations for the ongoing period.
• Next Core Assignment: Core 38
  • For the upcoming renewal period (November 2025 onward), Astar will transition from Core 57 to Core 38 at a manual renewal cost of 10 DOT, confirming stable and affordable market conditions.
    - Reserve Funding
  • Approximately 300 DOT remains in the Astar sovereign account, providing a two-year runway for renewals at the current price level (estimated +3% monthly variance).
• Manual Renewals
  • Renewals have been handled manually since the incident to ensure stability; conditions are now safe to resume automation.

Purpose of This Referendum

This referendum will re-enable automatic Coretime renewals through an XCM call to the Coretime chain.

Execution Details:

• Send an XCM message to activate the auto-renewal setting for Parachain 2006.
• The sovereign account will then automatically renew the core every 28 days, using existing DOT funds.
• This referendum strictly reactivates auto-renewal.

Why This Matters

✅ Guarantees uninterrupted network operation without manual governance actions
✅ Restores cost-efficient automation at a sustainable rate (~10 DOT / period)
✅ Optimizes use of the remaining 300 DOT reserve, providing up to two years of coverage
✅ Strengthens operational reliability and reduces governance overhead
✅ Ensures long-term stability on Polkadot under the Agile Coretime model

Conclusion

With the migration completed, Core 57 currently sustaining operations, and Core 38 ready for the next renewal cycle at a stable 10 DOT rate, Astar Network is now ready to safely reactivate Coretime auto-renewals.

This referendum finalizes Astar’s transition to a sustainable Agile Coretime model, ensuring long-term operational continuity, predictable costs, and autonomous lease management on Polkadot.