Woofun AI reports that StarkWare has proposed a major restructuring of the STRK staking program, reducing the validator count from over 130 to a maximum of 31. The strategy shifts from expanding coverage to deep collaboration, with new rules taking effect in five weeks following a two-week feedback period.

The third-round allocation splits into two channels. Channel A offers up to 26 spots, granting validators between 15 million and 20 million STRK. Eligibility requires a 99% mainnet online rate over three months, plus being a top-8 staker, a leading cross-chain provider (up to 8 spots), or an app developer paying at least $2,000 monthly in fees (up to 10 spots). Channel B provides 5 spots of 5 million STRK each for active community members maintaining 99% uptime on both mainnet and testnet.