WITHDRAWN: HSP-XXX: Establish House of Stake Operational & Proposal Co-Funding Budget for 2026

House of Stake Proposals
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Thank you @Lacy @peitalin @fiatisabubble @Saxemberg @vinibarbosa for feedback and your questions, happy to provide answers!

I’ll first provide more context on where we are and how this proposal emerged, and then follow up separately with detailed responses on individual budget items.

Part 1: Context on the Proposal, Process, and Pace

1. Transition from NEAR Foundation Funding to Independence

Up until now, House of Stake has been fully funded by NEAR Foundation (NF).

  • All 2025 costs, infrastructure, team, and service providers, etc. were covered by NF
  • In January, following Lane’s departure, costs were reviewed and significantly reduced
  • The team was restructured and relaunched (see March 19 blog post):
    https://houseofstake.org/blog/House-of-Stake-2.0

Today, House of Stake is operating on a bare-minimum setup required to function.

With the Citizens House vote passed in March, House of Stake has now its own treasury, and with that comes responsibility.

This proposal is not asking for “new” or “extra” funding.
It is transitioning existing, ongoing operational costs from NF to House of Stake, starting April 2026.

2. A Controlled and Gradual Transition

To avoid disruption, we aligned with NEAR Foundation on a phased approach:

  • NF continues to cover personnel costs (e.g. Agora, core development work) during Season #1
  • House of Stake takes over operational costs (infrastructure, legal, compliance, execution), as outlined in this proposal
  • A co-funding (“skin in the game”) mechanism is introduced to align incentives
  • A buffer is included to handle uncertainty during this transition

This is intentionally a measured and conservative step toward independence, not an expansion.

3. On “Gradual Growth” vs. Budget Size

It’s ok to aim for slow, organic, gradual growth (which would probably mean a lower budget)

This proposal is exactly that.

  • We are not scaling headcount
  • We are not expanding scope aggressively
  • We are not introducing large new programs

We are simply:

Taking over the cost of running what already exists.
From NF’s perspective, they have already been patiently continuing to fund HoS month after month since early 2025.
This proposal ensures House of Stake can stand on its own feet.

4. On Timing and Perceived “Rush”

Recent high-budget approvals seem rushed

This proposal is not a sudden move, it’s the result of a multi-month transition.

Here is the timeline for context:

This has been a progressive, public process, and we will take the necessary time to address open questions and incorporate any needed updates.

5. On Operational Urgency

One important clarification:

House of Stake is already expected to execute proposals that have passed.

To make this possible:

  • We have hired an Ops Manager last week
  • NEAR Foundation agreed to temporarily bridging these costs until a budget has been voted on to ensure continued operations

With its own active treasury as of March 2026, this bridging arrangement was agreed with the expectation that House of Stake transitions to funding its own operations starting in April 2026.

6. Summary

  • This is not a growth budget, it is a transition to independence
  • Costs already exist, we are simply taking ownership of them
  • The process has been gradual and publicly communicated
  • We need to respond to operational realities, without rushing decision-making

I’ll follow up with a second post addressing the detailed budget items and numbers.

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