Polkadot Community Foundation
The Polkadot Community Foundation (PCF) carries out what DOT holders decide on-chain through OpenGov.
What the PCF does
The PCF was initially created as the optional off-chain vehicle for OpenGov, after DOT holders approved Referendum 730 in June 2024. Some decisions need a legal person to carry them out. On OpenGov’s instruction, the PCF signs commercial contracts, makes payments in fiat currency, enforces intellectual property and engages service providers such as consultants.
In June 2026, DOT holders approved the PCF 2.0 mandate in Referendum 1900. It turns the PCF from a body that waits for instructions into one that operates in the ecosystem and brings Polkadot’s products to people. It also opens the PCF to units: teams that bring their own funding and work for the PCF.
The PCF has no shareholders, members, trustees or beneficiaries, so no one holds an interest that could conflict with the interests of DOT holders.
Units
Teams with their own funding can propose a unit. If a proposal fits the PCF’s Bylaws and objectives, its directors approve it and the unit starts straight away as a pilot operator. What units learn will shape the PCF 2.0 framework.
- Human Web Initiative
An independently funded unit working towards the Human Web.
What guides the PCF
- Code of Conduct
Rules and good practice for taking part in the Polkadot ecosystem and in the PCF’s work.
- Bylaws
The legal document that sets out the PCF’s structure, powers and operating rules.
- Funding proposals
The criteria, and the steps, for putting a project to the PCF’s review and the community’s vote.
Proposals
The PCF puts some proposals to DOT holders itself. The rest come from the community and ask DOT holders to instruct or fund the PCF. 12 of 14 have passed.
Each referendum runs on an OpenGov track, which sets what it may do and how much it may spend. The date is the day the vote closed. A proposer’s name is the on-chain identity of the account that submitted the proposal.
Put forward by the PCF
| Ref. | Proposal | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | dotUSD: A Native Stablecoin for Polkadot · Root trackCreates dotUSD, a dollar stablecoin owned by the Polkadot protocol, and a DOT and dotUSD pool on Asset Hub, with treasury funds as its first liquidity. The PCF put the proposal forward in an administrative role and does not run dotUSD. | Passed |
| 1900 | PCF 2.0: Strategic Website and Tooling Renewal - Small Spender · Small Spender trackTurns the PCF into an operator that brings Polkadot’s products to people, opens it to units that bring their own funding, and pays USD 1,500 for a new PCF website and deployment tooling. | Passed |
| 1573 | Polkadot Community Foundation - Polkadot App - Treasury Funding #01 · Big Spender trackSix months of work on the Polkadot App: development, marketing, tooling and legal costs. | Passed |
Put forward by the community
| Ref. | Proposal | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1874 | Polkadot-API: Additional Feature Development through Polkadot Community FoundationProposed by Victor Oliva (Polkadot-API team) · · Small Spender trackFunds further work on Polkadot-API through the PCF: Extrinsic v5 support, the Statement Store SDK, the PAPI Console and the JSON-RPC specification. | Passed |
| 1856 | Polkadot-API maintenance funding March 2026 - February 2027 through Polkadot Community FoundationProposed by Victor Oliva (Polkadot-API team) · · Medium Spender trackFunds a year of maintenance and development of Polkadot-API through the PCF. | Passed |
| 1836 | Polkadot-API 2026 Development Funding through Polkadot Community FoundationProposed by Victor Oliva (Polkadot-API team) · · Medium Spender trackAsked for a year of Polkadot-API development through the PCF. | Rejected |
| 1681 | Instruct the PCF to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Hong Kong’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES)Proposed by PolkaPort East · · Small Spender trackThe PCF also sets up a wholly owned subsidiary in Hong Kong as its regional legal entity for an initial two years. | Passed |
| 1634 | Polkadot Community Foundation - Politecnico di Milano, Blockchain & Web3 Observatory 2025 PartnershipProposed by Polkadot Italia DAO · · Medium Spender trackA 2025 partnership with the university’s Blockchain & Web3 Observatory for research, education and visibility in Europe. | Passed |
| 1462 | Polkadot-API 2025 Development Funding through Polkadot Community FoundationProposed by Victor Oliva (Polkadot-API team) · · Medium Spender trackThe PCF signs the contract with the Polkadot-API team and pays for its 2025 development. | Passed |
| 1416 | Polkadot Community Foundation: Allow the Marketing Bounty to Execute Formal Contracts through the Polkadot Community FoundationProposed by Alice und Bob · · Wish For Change trackThe PCF becomes the legal counterparty for the Marketing Bounty’s standard contracts with service providers. | Passed |
| 1173 | Polkadot Community Foundation <> Ledger - Giveaway to Increase 𝕏 FollowersProposed by an account with no on-chain identity · · Medium Spender trackThe PCF and Ledger give away 50 Ledger Flex devices on social media. | Passed |
| 1122 | Proposal for the Polkadot Community to Earn RWA Yield on Idle Stablecoins via CentrifugeProposed by Centrifuge · · Big Spender trackThe PCF invests treasury funds in real-world assets on behalf of the DAO, through Centrifuge, for a stable yield. | Passed |
| 1082 | Polkadot App - PCF IP Rights & Funding for publishing the appProposed by Birdo · · Medium Spender trackThe PCF owns the Polkadot App’s intellectual property and source code and runs its store accounts, with USD 50,000 for legal and administrative fees. | Passed |
| 1078 | [Polkadot Community Foundation] Polkadot at Slush 2024Proposed by DOTomi · · Medium Spender trackNetworking, a panel and a sauna event for founders and investors at Slush. | Rejected |