This proposal is submitted following our Validator Boost Proposal - Amforc discussion post.
This proposal is to propose Amforc be added into the VBL of vDOT.
Name of node provider: Amforc
Brief Description on node provider:
Amforc is an independent infrastructure and staking provider focusing on the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems and experienced since NPoS was enabled with zero offline or slashing events. Since mid-2024, the new infrastructure is live, in which Amforc owns the whole pipeline: from the public IPs down to various ISP contracts and hardware, providing redundancy and resiliency. This also means the setup is independent from any regulatory changes that could negatively impact the use of blue chip cloud providers.
Amforc consistently ranks in the top 1% of Polkadot validators by number of missed blocks and did not have a single offline or slashing event. Amforc charges a 3% commission on its validators.
Number of nodes that want to join the Validator Boost List: 1 DOT validator
The address of the node that wants to join the Validator Boost List and which network: 12Ftq9EM1qc3persmD9NFrzFZqF5CALsP7oKDUsGTBe7FBDm (Amforc/3 on Polkadot)
Marketing - Informational support/contribution by VBL Applicant:
Twitter: @amforcag / @tugytur / @1percentup
Website: https://amforc.com
Amforc is highly active in the Polkadot community and also well connected in the Crypto Valley in Zug. Amforc is also fulfilling a leading role in the Infrastructure Builders’ Program (IBP), launched to support parachains with highest quality RPC services and supported by DOT holders through the Polkadot treasury. Amforc also advised various Polkadot parachain projects. Amforc’s experience with Bifrost has been excellent and Bifrost provides a reliable liquid staking product, which Amforc is happy to use and tell others about both on- and offline. Concretely, this includes spreading the message about protocol upgrades or new offerings on social media networks such as X (formerly Twitter) online. For the efforts offline, Amforc not only attends all major Polkadot events in Europe, but is also active in more local meetups and networking events (e.g. the Polkadot Updates hosted in Zug). Amforc is also engaging with local regulators and working groups about the implications and sensible regulatory approaches to staking, liquid staking and accompanying challenges.
Amforc is a company that helps with Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. They are very good at what they do and have not had any problems. They want to be added to the VBL of vDOT. They are very active in the Polkadot community and attend many events. They also offer 24/7 coverage and are very fast to react to problems.
Threshold
As the proposal needs to a validator commission cut from 3 to 1%, I’m NAYing it so far.
thanks for your application @Amforc
I will vote in favour of this proposal with an Aye if the commission is reduced to 1%.
Edited