# Argument-0004: Retention at Rank 1

|                 |                                 |
| --------------- |---------------------------------|
| **Report Date** | Date of submission (2025/05/16) |
| **Submitted by**| Branislav Kontur                |


## Member details

- Matrix username: @branislav_kontur:parity.io
- Polkadot address: 1HFq3DbX4tqanTLAx2CAToWnHXg6LRLMzSD4JzYCzCQpw5E
- Current rank: 1
- Date of initial induction: 2024/05/03
- Date of last report: 2025/02/22
- Area(s) of Expertise/Interest: `Bridges, XCM, System Parachains, governance, benchmarking, testing, integration`


## Reporting period

- Start date: 2025/02/22
- End date: 2025/05/16


## Argument

This summary outlines my activities, contributions, and collaborations during the reporting period.

I took ownership of the D-Day governance initiative as part of the AHM (AssetHub migration). D-Day governance refers to the migration of governance responsibilities from the Relay Chain to AssetHub, while ensuring the ability to restart or rescue a stalled parachain from another parachain—for example, enabling Collectives to rescue AssetHub and vice versa. I prepared an [initial design document](https://hackmd.io/@bkontur/SJ07ySIlgx) outlining several alternatives and open issues. This document was presented at the AHM retreat (12–16 May) and served as the foundation for discussions that led to key conclusions. Based on that design, I also developed a [working proof of concept (PoC)](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/8141) for D-Day governance, implementing crucial features such as "voting by proofs from a stalled parachain." As a next step, I will revise the document to reflect the conclusions from the AHM retreat and updates to the PoC. In addition, I identified and fixed a related issue involving the `force_set_current_code` function ([PR #7592](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/7592)), which will be needed for the implementation.
As part of the AHM governance migration, I am guiding and assisting Karol with XCM-related changes for governance: [polkadot-fellows/runtimes#626](https://github.com/polkadot-fellows/runtimes/pull/626), which includes [paritytech/polkadot-sdk#8210](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/8210).
 
My regular work on Bridges is focused on delivering two main features: (1) permissionless lanes, allowing any parachain or location to open a bridge; and (2) deploying message bridging directly on AssetHub, avoiding the extra hop through BridgeHubs. However, this work was deprioritized in favor of other AHM-related tasks. Despite that, we are now feature-complete and currently undergoing internal review. Relevant pull requests include: [#6231](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/6231), [#6675](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/6675), [#8324 (to be reused for D-Day)](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/8324), [#8326](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/8326), and [#8368](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/pull/8368).

I am also helping, guiding, and mentoring another Parity colleague on a new bridge that will support the Proof of Personhood feature mentioned in George's [argument](https://collectives.subsquare.io/fellowship/referenda/335).

For the `polkadot-fellows` repository, I prepared a [patch bump](https://github.com/polkadot-fellows/runtimes/issues/654) for `stable2409-6`, which included some cleanup, and [assisted in pushing](https://github.com/polkadot-fellows/runtimes/issues/654#issuecomment-2776913328) a partial release for Snowbridge with Electra support. I also contributed to the `stable2412` bump by helping identify and fix issues across several pull requests: [#1](https://github.com/sandreim/runtimes/pull/1), [#2 (issue identified)](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/issues/8334), [#3](https://github.com/pandres95/runtimes/pull/19), [#4](https://github.com/pandres95/runtimes/pull/20), and [#5](https://github.com/pandres95/runtimes/pull/25). Additionally, I helped with the `stable2503` bump through [#6](https://github.com/athei/runtimes/pull/6) and [#7](https://github.com/athei/runtimes/pull/7).
Beyond that, I’m continuously working to improve and optimize CI, including contributions to the command bot (which is becoming usable but still has some issues) and zombienet smoke tests.

I actively participate in PR reviews for both `polkadot-fellows` and `polkadot-sdk`, aiming to be a valuable contributor by providing feedback and assistance to Parity colleagues, external `polkadot-sdk` contributors ([#1](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk/issues/8496), [#2](https://github.com/polkadot-fellows/runtimes/issues/653)), and Fellowship members.

For anyone interested in my current focus and top priorities, please refer to my GitHub board: [GitHub Board](https://github.com/orgs/paritytech/projects/188/views/1).

Looking ahead, I aspire to progress to Rank 2 within the Fellowship, with the goal of contributing more actively to technical decision-making and supporting the ecosystem through deeper involvement in governance and protocol evolution.

## Voting record
*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   | I have voted on 0 out of 0 referenda in which I was eligible to vote (i.e 0 % voting activity).  | - |
|II |80%   |N/A   |   |  |
|III|70%   |100%  |   |  |
|IV |60%   |90%   |   |  |
|V  |50%   |80%   |   |  |
|VI |40%   |70%   |   |  |