February 13 – February 27, 2026
Your fortnightly dispatch from the Rootstock Collective governance trenches: where Bitcoin meets bureaucracy and somehow it all works.
The Big Discussion: “What Should Delegates Do Next?”
The delegate compensation thread, which has been humming along since October, exploded this fortnight into a full-blown strategy conversation. Axia dropped a post drawing on Messari’s Q4 Rootstock Report, arguing that delegates should do more than just review grants , they should actively drive ecosystem growth in areas like liquidity introductions, conference strategy, and stakeholder activation.
The responses were thoughtful and varied. Curia pointed out that the Collective Rewards program only captures ~2.3% of total RIF supply (about 23M of 1B staked), and asked whether onboarding more RIF holders should be a top priority. DAOstar pushed for delegate-driven initiatives rather than waiting for Rootstock Labs to hand out assignments. Raphael from Anode brought up the Aave Chan Initiative as a model: prove value first, then get funded. And DAOplomats (via jengajojo) wondered whether Labs could be more actively suggesting priorities.
The thread is still simmering, Axia has asked the community to keep the comments coming before synthesizing insights. This one could reshape how the DAO operates in 2026.
Forum Summaries
Idea/Sentiment Check: Rootstock Participation in TABConf Conference, Feb 23, 2026
Axia floated the idea of Rootstock participating in TABConf, a technical Bitcoin conference in Atlanta this October, through speaking slots, builder workshops, or targeted side events. Delegates agreed the audience is a strong fit but quickly shifted the conversation to first principles: what’s the strategy, who funds it, and how do we measure ROI? DAOstar offered to help spin up a short-term working group to research event opportunities and coordinate with Rootstock Labs.
Sentiment: Strong interest in the concept, but the community wants a broader events strategy before committing to any single conference. Strategy first, checkbook second.
StableLab Becomes Anode 
, Feb 17, 2026
The governance facilitation team behind StableLab has spun off into a new independent entity: Anode (Anode.GG , “GG” stands for Good Governance). Raphael Spannocchi, Kenechukwu Eze, and Kaf Alles continue the same work with sharper focus. StableLab’s founder Doo Wan Nam stays on as advisor. The transition is effective immediately, and delegates responded warmly , ChronoTrigger noted Raph and Kaf have been role models since he joined in 2024.
Sentiment: Supportive and optimistic. Same trusted people, new brand, tighter mission. The community sees continuity, not disruption.
Introducing Recognized Delegate Compensation, January 2026 Results, Feb 2, 2026
January’s delegate compensation results were posted: Gold Tier (1,500 USDRIF each) went to Axia Network, DAOstar, and Tané. Silver Tier (1,000 USDRIF each) went to Curia, DAOplomats, and Ignas DeFi. The payment proposal was posted on-chain via the Rootstock Collective dApp in the first week of February. The bigger story this fortnight, though, was the strategy conversation that erupted further down the thread (see the Big Discussion above).
Sentiment: Compensation program running smoothly; the real energy is in the debate about what else delegates should be doing.
Re: Building Rootstock Community of Users and Developers in Ghana, Feb 13, 2026
Rootstock Community Ghana filed a report on two January meetups , one at Ghana Open Labs and one at Garden City University. Topics ranged from Web3 fundamentals to Rootstock’s Bitcoin security model to Ghana’s new Virtual Asset Bill. Axia followed up asking for more detail on how the outcomes align with the original grant proposal’s Milestone 1 targets. Delegates are paying attention to accountability on community-building grants.
Sentiment: Positive on the grassroots effort; delegates are pushing for clearer outcome alignment with grant milestones.
[2602 Grant] TYKORA , Prize Vaults for DoC & USDRIF, Ongoing
The TYKORA discussion continued to generate substantial delegate engagement. DAOstar suggested time-weighted ticketing to prevent last-minute deposit gaming, measurable draw liveness commitments (≥95% execution within 24 hours), and qualitative user feedback for Milestone 3. Axia pressed on sandbox metrics and user research validation , the team transparently shared that sandbox TVL is ~100 DoC/USDRIF across 6 internal testers, with the public launch planned only after audit completion. The security discussion matured, with the team confirming plans for a multisig with external ecosystem guardians before production launch.
Sentiment: Cautiously optimistic. The team is responsive and transparent, but the cold-start challenge remains the elephant in the room. Delegates want to see real behavioral data, not just theoretical modeling.
[2601 Grant] SwaptoX Aggregator – Milestone 1, Ongoing
The SwaptoX discussion remained active with continued delegate scrutiny. Earlier questions from Axia about differentiation and target tokens were addressed (initial scope: ~30 tokens across WoodSwap and Sushi). Kaf (then at StableLab) asked the tough question: how does SwaptoX position against existing aggregation like OpenOcean on Rootstock? The team committed to one year of free usage for Rootstock users including swap, SDK, and API access. The discussion continues to focus on whether this fills a genuine infrastructure gap or duplicates existing services.
Sentiment: Mixed. The free usage commitment is generous, but delegates want clearer evidence of differentiation from existing solutions before greenlighting.
Rootstock ATM: Cash to rBTC Integration, Ongoing
The exploratory ATM project continued its dialogue. The proposer clarified they independently own and operate the first K1 ATM shipped outside El Salvador and the US , not an employee of K1 but in contact with the team. Key open questions remain around rBTC liquidity provisioning, lightweight node requirements for ATM hardware, and the diminishing relevance of cash in many target markets. This remains an early-stage exploration rather than a funded proposal.
Sentiment: Genuinely curious. An interesting real-world infrastructure concept, but very much in the “cool idea, lots of open questions” phase.
Rootstock Collective Governance-at-a-Glance 26-02-13, Feb 13, 2026
Raphael (now under the Anode banner) published the previous fortnight’s governance summary, covering the TYKORA deep-dive, the ATM exploration, and delegate activity. This is the companion piece to what you’re reading now , and it’s great to see the governance team maintaining this rhythm of transparency.
Sentiment: Appreciated. Regular governance digests keep the community informed and engaged.
Forum stats
Very strong two weeks, with DAU/MAU being up 32% vs the reference last month. More daily engaged users and even a couple of signups lately! Rootstock Governance is heating up, the data says it all.
Top Posts this month:
The most referred topics, meaning the topics most viewed when coming from external sources were:
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[2512 Grant 1] RootStock Global Wallet by Blockscout - 32(!) referrals
-
Introducing Recognized Delegate Compensation
- 16 referrals -
[2508 Grant] Infrastructure VenturesPath to Ecosystem Growth - 8 referrals
Stats Snapshot:
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15+ active grant proposals under review or in execution -
10+ active delegate threads with regular participation -
100+ substantive delegate comments across proposals this period -
Multiple on-chain votes executed with clear rationales -
27% increase in forum traffic post-holidays (per StableLab report) -
MORA Trace Ledger: 24 replies and counting - most debated new proposal
