Cardano Foundation’s communiqué on the promotion of Ambassador-operated stake pools
The Cardano Foundation wishes to clarify that the Ambassador Program is in no way related to status or participation as a stake pool operator, and there is no relationship between operating a stake pool and Ambassadorship.
The Cardano Foundation will not promote, advertise, or officially endorse any stake pool regardless of who may operate it, in any way, shape, or form.
Ambassadorship is open to anyone, anywhere, from any background, and the Cardano Foundation welcomes and encourages community members to become Ambassadors.
However, a condition of Ambassadorship is that Ambassadors will not use their status for promoting their personal organizations and interests, including stake pools and seek endorsement from the Cardano ecosystem entities.
Instead, Ambassadors must conduct themselves altruistically to promote the Cardano blockchain and its wider missions through the current four Ambassador roles – Content Creator, Meetup Organiser, Moderator and Translator.
Becoming a stake pool operator is permissionless and is equally open to anyone. However, we understand that it is difficult to completely separate the role of Ambassadorship while also operating a stake pool—particularly as most communications take place through social media and are in the public sphere.
Some Ambassadors may use their badges for identification purposes within the community, for example on Telegram or the Cardano Forum, but they may also display their pool ticker.
This is perfectly acceptable and it is a personal decision by each individual Ambassador—but it should in no way be misconstrued as an official endorsement by the Cardano Foundation for that particular stake pool.
The dual status of an individual as both an Ambassador and a stake pool operator is not related, and the Cardano Foundation does not show preference between pools. Ambassadors are recognized for their contribution to the Cardano community as a whole, not as stake pool operators—though they are perfectly entitled to fill both roles simultaneously.
How can operators advertise their stake pool?
Some level of stake pool promotion in official Cardano channels by Ambassadors is accepted, however, it is in keeping with the same level of accepted promotion by any non-Ambassador stake pool operator.
Acceptable stake pool promotion is deemed as one post on the dedicated area of the Cardano Forum, and one post on the dedicated area of the Cardano Reddit. The Cardano Foundation will be actively monitoring those who over-advertise their stake pool or act disingenuously, regardless of their status as an Ambassador and reserves the right to remove any advertisement at any time with no prior warning.
To edify a healthy ecosystem while respecting equalitarian opportunities for anyone in the world to become a successful stake pool operator, the Cardano Foundation would like to reiterate that it will not promote or advertise Ambassador-operated stake pools.
This would ultimately result in a potential over-allocation of funds to Ambassador-operated pools, which could lead to the creation of factions of personality within the staking and delegation process, encouraging centralization under a theoretical indirect influence from the Cardano Foundation.
Rest assured, that the Cardano Foundation recognizes that stake pool promotion or the preferential treatment of Ambassadors in regards to staking would be detrimental to both our community and the protocol, and we will be actively discouraging this and monitoring this situation going forward.
The Cardano Foundation would like to thank everyone who has participated in the staking and delegation process so far, especially our dedicated stake pool operators, who are crucial in keeping the Cardano blockchain stable and decentralized. With your help, we can make Cardano better for the many, as well as the few.