Polkadot's first post-cut election lifts validator backing to 1.64M DOT

The first election after the cut

Polkadot has been running with 500 active validators instead of 600 since midday on Wednesday 11 November 2026, when era 2351 began. An era is the roughly 24-hour settlement period for staking; at each change an election decides which validators produce blocks and distribute rewards for the next period.

That first election turned out tighter than expected. To enter the active set, a validator now needs at least 1.64 million DOT of backing, against 1.38 million before the cut, according to staking data from Polkadot's Asset Hub cited by CryptoTicker.

In the same era, the amount of DOT earning rewards in the active set fell by 15.2 million. The figures on validator slots, backing per validator, the amount staked and the distribution come from Asset Hub staking data; the price reference comes from CoinGecko.

What it means for nominators

For people who nominate validators themselves, the choice of nominee now weighs more heavily on whether rewards still arrive. With fewer slots and a higher entry threshold, a nomination that lands outside the active set earns nothing for that era.

The reports do not say how long the 500-validator setting will stay in place, nor whether further changes to the active set are planned. They also do not give a figure for the total amount staked across the network beyond the change in the rewarded active set.