TL;DR

Proposal to wind down the Acala network in an orderly way. The chain will stop producing block as coretime expires after Feb 10, 2027. Users are encouraged to withdraw their external assets (e.g. DOT, USDC etc). As a last resort, we will do our best to return any external assets still on Acala at that point to their owners' Polkadot Asset Hub accounts, though not every asset can be returned. ACA will be locked in the final chain state which will be preserved.

What you are voting on

By voting Aye, you agree to:

1. The sunset schedule: The exit window runs until Feb 10, 2027, and Acala then stops producing blocks. This means unbounding LDOT before Jan 12, 2027, and those who locked their LDOT for specific validators must unbound before Dec 16, 2026
2. Returning remaining external assets: we will do our best to return remaining external assets still on Acala at the deadline to their owners' accounts on Polkadot Asset Hub, though not every asset can be returned.
3. Donating the treasury: the Acala treasury's external assets will be donated to the Polkadot Treasury after the deadline.

This is a signalling referendum. It gives the mandate for the plan; the on-chain actions to carry it out will follow through Acala governance.

Motivation

Acala was built to be the DeFi hub of Polkadot. Over seven years, it delivered EVM+, built-in liquid staking, a stablecoin and a DEX, and open-source tools used across the ecosystem. But DeFi depends on deep liquidity, and the liquidity Acala needed never arrived. Polkadot's multi-chain structure split liquidity, users and attention across many parachains, and wallet infrastructure never made moving between them seamless. Usage no longer covers the cost of running a dedicated chain.

Winding down now, while withdrawal and XCM routes still work, gives every user time to leave safely.

We also want to avoid leaving assets behind on a stopped chain. A stopped chain's code and final state remain public, and anyone could bring it back to life. With no one maintaining or watching it, a flaw in governance could be found and exploited to take whatever was left, and better tools, including AI, make that easier every year. That is why, as a last resort, we will do our best to return remaining external assets to their owners on Polkadot Asset Hub, and donate the Acala treasury's external assets to the Polkadot Treasury.

Description

The sunset runs in two stages after this referendum is enacted:.

1. Exit window. Withdrawals and XCM transfers stay open until Feb 10, 2027, so users can move DOT and any assets bridged from other chains off Acala. This means LDOT holders shall unbond before Jan 12, 2027 as DOT unbonding takes 28 days, those who locked their LDOT for specific validators shall unbound before Dec 16, 2026 as they need additional 28 days to unlock.
2. Asset return and chain stop. On Feb 10, 2027, we will do our best to return any external assets still on Acala to the same account on Polkadot Asset Hub. Not every asset can be returned. Acala will then stop producing blocks. This is a last resort: a stopped chain can be restarted by anyone, and with no one maintaining or watching it, a governance flaw could be exploited to take whatever was left behind. We strongly encourage everyone to withdraw well before the deadline.

ACA cannot be withdrawn. As the native token, it stays on Acala.

External assets held by the Acala treasury will be donated to the Polkadot Treasury before the chain stops.

Until 10 February 2027, we will keep collators and RPC nodes running and make sure Acala holds valid coretime, so the chain keeps producing blocks and every exit route stays open.