On 13 November, my engagement as Head of Governance at House of Stake will come to its planned end. Before I leave, I’d like to reflect on what we set out to build, what we achieved together, and what remains ahead.
When I applied for this role in October 2025, I wrote:
“The role of the HoG is to build clarity, trust, and capability in how the ecosystem makes decisions.”
These three words capture much of the past year.
When I started with the mission to establish HoS’s independence within one year, I was skeptical. I had watched other ecosystems spend many years working toward decentralized, purposeful governance. It was an ambitious timeline, and I knew how much we would need to build and earn along the way.
Clarity: A Shared Foundation
In January, I shared the key principles for our constitutional documents and 2026 roadmap. The starting point was straightforward: people need to understand how House of Stake works, who is responsible for what, and how decisions become action.
Today, HoS has a Constitution and supporting governance documents ratified by tokenholders, defined proposal and voting procedures, and clear responsibilities for execution and accountability.
Getting there took detailed work, difficult questions, and extensive discussion. We now have a shared foundation that participants can rely on, challenge, and improve through governance.
Trust: How We Work Together
We started from a challenging place, with deep disagreements about House of Stake’s purpose and direction. Throughout Season #1, I’ve seen our discussions become more constructive, focused, and productive.
Trust grows through consistent actions: explaining decisions, answering uncomfortable questions, following agreed procedures, and being transparent about limitations.
In my application, I described HoS as a place to transform individual perspectives into collective intelligence. That requires people willing to question assumptions and work through disagreements in the best interest of NEAR. I’m grateful to everyone who brought that commitment.
Capability: From Decisions to Delivery
My application described a simple cycle: understand what is needed, propose solutions, decide, and execute.
Season #1 has given that cycle substance: 11 proposals processed, the MPC Node Infrastructure Financing Program running, the TLA Registrar framework, and the Token Issuance Reduction to 1.6% moving into implementation.
Behind these milestones sits essential operational work: payment processes, legal and compliance coordination, treasury safeguards, reporting, and proposal support. Building the capacity to fulfill our commitments has been central to my work.
There is still work to be done. Established processes need consistent application, programs need ongoing oversight, and governance must keep earning participation and trust. The foundations are stronger; their lasting value will depend on the decisions and outcomes they enable for NEAR.
What Continues
My ambition was to help House of Stake develop the structures and trust needed to stand on its own feet. I’m proud of our progress: a functioning governance framework, established operations, assets secured in the treasury, and programs supported through implementation and reporting.
These foundations remain after my departure. As confirmed in the accompanying organizational update, HoS’s mandate, ratified constitutional documents, and proposal and voting processes remain unchanged. The operational team will continue to support ratified programs, reporting, and proposal authors.
A handover is underway. For ongoing HoS matters, please use the usual channels or contact the team at ops@houseofstake.org.
Thank You 
A special thank you to my team, particularly HoS Ops, to our friends at NEAR Legion and to the NF Legal and NF Finance team. Huge thank you to those who opened doors across the NEAR ecosystem—and had every confidence we would deliver, sometimes before we did.
Thank you to the Builder Ops crew for relaunching the voting system with us and making governance more transparent and accountable. You are amazing!
Thank you to the proposal authors who invested time and energy in developing ideas, discussing them, and responding to feedback. You brought real decisions to House of Stake and gave its processes purpose.
Thank you also to the House of Stake Foundation Directors, Screening Committee, Security Council, delegates, builders, validators, and all NEAR Foundation colleagues who helped turn decisions into action.
And thank you to all tokenholders who voted, and to all community members who challenged us. Your questions and different perspectives made our work better.
Governance takes patience, judgment, and a willingness to work toward shared goals. I’m proud of what we’ve built together and will remain part of this community. You’ll always have an ally in me as we push NEAR forward—you can find me on X.
To everyone building NEAR: we are stronger than ever. Let’s keep pushing!
Angela