Argument-0007: Retention at Rank I

Report Date	2026/01/18
Submitted by	Damilare Akinlose

---

Member details

• Matrix username: @dharjeezy/:matrix.org
• Polkadot address: 12GyGD3QhT4i2JJpNzvMf96sxxBLWymz4RdGCxRH5Rj5agKW
• Current rank: 1
• Date of initial induction: 2024-04-29
• Date of last report: 2025/10/22
• Area(s) of Expertise/Interest: FRAME/Runtime & Node

---

Reporting period

• Start date: 2025/10/22
• End date: 2026/01/18

---

Argument

I am applying for Rank I retention.

During this period, my contributions have focused on strengthening runtime integrity through systematic try_state hook implementations, advancing developer tooling, and improving the efficiency and reliability of the litep2p networking stack. My work spans multiple pallets and libraries, demonstrating continued commitment to enhancing the Polkadot SDK ecosystem.

Below is a summary of my key contributions:

Reliable & Resilient

Introduce try_state Hook for Pallet Assets

I implemented a comprehensive try_state hook for pallet-assets to verify critical storage invariants. During implementation, I discovered that the do_refund function destroys account balances without decrementing asset supply, causing persistent discrepancies. I documented this finding and opened a separate issue (#10412) to track the fix. The implementation, merged in PR #10371, ensures storage consistency validation while accommodating the current refund behavior.

Introduce try_state Hook for Pallet Authority Discovery

I added a try_state hook to pallet-authority-discovery to validate key storage invariants. This implementation, merged in PR #10475, enhances runtime robustness by enabling automated verification of storage state consistency, making the authority discovery pallet more resilient and maintainable.

Introduce try_state Hook for Pallet Atomic Swap

I implemented a try_state hook for pallet-atomic-swap to verify key storage invariants. This contribution, tracked in PR #10473, continues the broader initiative to add try_state compliance across multiple pallets in the Polkadot SDK.

litep2p: Periodic Ping for Connection Liveness

I continued work on the periodic ping implementation in litep2p, refining the architecture to use SplitStream/SplitSink for clean separation of read and write operations. The implementation in PR #416 maintains distinct collections for outbound sinks and inbound streams, enforces spec compliance by allowing only one inbound substream per remote peer, and tracks ping timestamps only on successful sends.

---

Flexible & Developer-Focused

Expose Block Number Provider Name as a Constant

I continued refinement on the implementation to expose the BlockNumberProvider identifier as a runtime constant. As detailed in PR #9091, this involved extending the BlockNumberProvider trait with an IDENTIFIER constant and modifying the #[pallet::constant] macro to accept attribute parameters, enabling it to fetch values from associated constants on types. This feature is crucial for DApp developers who need to reliably distinguish between local and Relay Chain block numbers.

Introduce Inherent Handler in Pallet Revive

I started work on introducing an inherent handler mechanism in pallet-revive to process System Log messages as unsigned extrinsics. As outlined in PR #10140, this creates a pluggable architecture for message dispatching through two core traits: InherentHandler (implemented by pallets that process system messages) and InherentHandlers (providing tuple-based dispatching logic). This enables external pallets to register as handlers for specific message types.

---

Efficient & Optimized

litep2p: Optimize Propagation of Dial Failure Messages

I improved the efficiency of the TransportManager by implementing selective propagation of dial failure information. In PR #443, I introduced a DialFailureAddresses enum allowing protocols to specify whether they require address failure details. The transport manager now only forwards address information to protocols that explicitly registered with DialFailureAddresses::Required, reducing unnecessary data transmission across protocols. This PR is approved and awaiting merge.

litep2p: WebRTC Max Message Size Configuration

I finalized work on establishing a maximum message size constraint for WebRTC communications. After collaborative discussion with reviewers, the implementation in PR #442 settled on hardcoding the value at 16 KB (16,384 bytes), aligning with libp2p protocol specifications. This ensures proper bounds checking during data transmission while simplifying the API.

---

Voting record

Ranks	Activity thresholds	Agreement thresholds	Member's voting activities	Comments
I	90%	N/A	I have voted on 0 out of 0 referenda in which I was eligible to vote (i.e undefined% voting activity). Out of xx referenda in which members of higher ranks were in complete agreement, I have voted in line with the consensus x times (i.e undefined% voting agreement).
II	80%	N/A
III	70%	100%
IV	60%	90%
V	50%	80%
VI	40%	70%

---

Misc

• Question(s):
• Concern(s):
• Comment(s):