Algorand Foundation kills forum, council and xGov grants in revenue reset

The Algorand Foundation is tearing down its community scaffolding. A Nov. 6 update says the Forum and the company-run Ecosystem Advisory Council close effective Nov. 6, and the Foundation's sponsorship of the Algorand Technical Council is over. The xGov grants program gets an indefinite pause starting Dec. 6.

The Forum had mostly hosted xGov chatter in recent years, so the Foundation is promising a read-only archive in its place. Developers, node operators and builders are now pointed to Discord for feedback and support. Periodic Developer Council meetings will still happen for technical talk, with invites available by asking there. The shakeup dismantles a formal input channel built earlier this year — the advisory council's January launch notice had tasked it with reviewing key protocol proposals and delivering ecosystem assessments straight to the Foundation's board.

It's all part of a wider review under CEO William Herkelrath. In a Sept. 26 summary, the Foundation said every initiative and partnership was being measured against the goal of self-sustainability, and the latest notice leans hard into offering post-quantum security capabilities beyond Algorand. The org shed 25% of its workforce in March, Herkelrath took over from Staci Warden effective Aug. 31, and October brought the resignations of technology chief Bruno Martins and chief strategy and marketing officer Marc Vanlerberghe, as The Defiant reported.

Also on ice: Project King Safety, paused indefinitely as a roadmap item. Proposals to lift the ALGO supply cap, enable and capture MEV, and raise the minimum transaction fee are no longer under consideration. MEV, for the uninitiated, is the value extracted by influencing which transactions land in a block and in what order.

Staking, at least, survives the purge. "This commitment stands," the Foundation said on X of its pledge to extend rewards through January 2028 — its July announcement specified the extension covers Foundation support for bonus staking rewards. Under published terms, eligible block proposers collect 50% of transaction fees plus a supplementary bonus that starts at 10 ALGO per block and slides 1% every million blocks. Accounts need at least 30,000 ALGO to qualify, though smaller holders can join through pools or liquid-staking apps.

Not every fee idea is dead. The Foundation said usage-based fees — such as those for transactions signed with Falcon-1024 post-quantum accounts — may still be introduced or adjusted down the line.