Summary: Cardano Parameter Committee Meeting – January 15, 2026
This meeting focused on the practical execution of memory limit increases, the technical requirements for the upcoming Protocol Version 11, and a data-driven overhaul of the network’s incentive structure.
1. Memory Unit and Cost Model Updates
The committee is moving forward with phased increases to network capacity while preparing for new Plutus capabilities.
- Memory Unit Increase: A governance action was submitted to increase the Plutus memory unit limit by approximately 17%. This conservative figure (below the 25% guardrail) allows for safe monitoring before further adjustments.
- Protocol Version 11: Technical lead Ziyang Liu confirmed that 14 new primitives will be introduced. This requires adding new parameters to the cost models for Plutus V1, V2, and V3.
- Unified Primitives: A major change involves making primitives previously exclusive to V2/V3 available across all versions, ensuring cross-era compatibility.
2. Reducing Committee Minimum Size (PCP5)
The committee reaffirmed the recommendation to reduce the minimum size of the Constitutional Committee (CC) from 7 to 5.
- Submission Strategy: To avoid community confusion, this proposal will be submitted only after the current memory unit governance actions are finalized.
3. Overhauling Incentives: $k$ and MinPoolCost
Ryan (Cerkoryn) presented a comprehensive strategy to address “operator disillusionment” and declining rewards for small pools.
| Parameter | Current | Proposed | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| k (Target Pool No.) | 500 | 1,000 | Increases decentralization; lowers the “full pledge bonus” requirement from 76M to 37.5M ADA. |
| MinPoolCost | 170 ADA | 75 ADA | Reduces the reward penalty for delegators of small pools (1 block/epoch) which currently exceeds 50%. |
- The “Sticky Stake” Problem: Data shows a significant amount of stake has not moved in 10 years, potentially blunting the impact of a $k$ increase. To combat this, CIP 163 is proposed to redirect forfeited rewards from oversaturated pools to active, non-saturated pools rather than the treasury.
- Race to the Bottom: The committee noted that when MinPoolCost was previously lowered to 170 ADA, most pools maintained a 340 ADA fee, suggesting a reduction to 75 ADA will not trigger a destructive fee war.
4. Long-Term Roadmap
- Dijkstra Era: The long-term goal remains replacing the fixed minimum fee with a minimum margin system, though the reduction to 75 ADA serves as a necessary interim fix.
- Reward Smoothing: There is ongoing discussion regarding smoothing rewards across multiple epochs to help small SPOs manage the volatility of block production.