| Report Date | 2025-09-01 |
| Submitted by | Clara van Staden |
Over the past year in the Polkadot Fellowship, I have consistently contributed to the Polkadot core ecosystem. I would therefore like to apply for promotion to Rank II. Weighing the requirements of Rank II responsibility against my contributions this last year, I believe have completed all the requirements.
I have been working on Polkadot full-time since 2021, authored an article on the Ethereum client of Snowbridge, and contributed extensively to Snowbridge V2, where I am the primary author of the new Inbound Queue V2 pallet.
My primary contribution this year has been Snowbridge V2, which is part of the Polkadot SDK. I authored the Inbound Queue V2, enabling users on Ethereum to send arbitrary XCM messages for execution on Polkadot. I also completed the off-chain components required for Snowbridge V2 in the Ethereum -> Polkadot direction, including the relayers and SDK.
I also implemented a mechanism allowing unprofitable messages to be topped up with a tip, ensuring they can still be relayed. Together, these features make Snowbridge V2 more flexible, cost-efficient, and open to a broader set of use cases.
I independently managed the Ethereum Electra upgrade, which spanned on-chain changes, off-chain relayers, infrastructure, and the referenda required to upgrade Bridge Hub.
This effort also included liaising directly with Ethereum core developers to coordinate upgrade timing across Electra testnets and mainnet, ensuring sufficient time to pass the relevant Polkadot referendum before the hard fork. In addition, I have actively advocated for Ethereum improvements that directly benefit Snowbridge.
I completed the XCM v4 → v5 runtime upgrade across Polkadot and Kusama Asset Hub and Bridge Hub. This work will enable the ecosystem to adopt new XCM v5 capabilities.
I delivered support for bridging ERC-20 tokens between Polkadot and Kusama. This included creating the referendum to register assets on Kusama Asset Hub, writing integration tests, building the UI for token transfers, and enhancing the Snowbridge indexer service to track these transactions. This feature is live in the Snowbridge UI.
I have been recently working with NeuroWeb to support bridging of their TRAC token from Ethereum through Polkadot Asset Hub to their parachain.
Beyond engineering, I have also contributed to community visibility by managing the Snowbridge account on X, sharing updates, and engaging with the wider ecosystem.
My work over the past year demonstrates both breadth and depth of technical expertise across the ecosystem. I have consistently taken ownership of critical tasks, maintained a high level of visibility and reliability, and contributed to the success of Polkadot’s cross-chain infrastructure.
I believe these contributions align strongly with the responsibilities of Rank II, and I respectfully request your consideration for promotion.
Provide your voting record in relation to required thresholds for your rank.
| Ranks | Activity thresholds | Agreement thresholds | Member's voting activities | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 90% | N/A | There were no valid referenda I was eligible to vote on. | |
| II | 80% | N/A | ||
| III | 70% | 100% | ||
| IV | 60% | 90% | ||
| V | 50% | 80% | ||
| VI | 40% | 70% |
No referendum was created