Network Security and Minimum Gas Price Recalibration

Original Proposal Text

## **Simple Summary** \n This proposal initiates a coordinated validator configuration update to restore the `minimum-gas-prices` to their original baseline. This recalibration transitions Hippo Protocol out of its temporary IBC bootstrapping phase, strengthening network security and prioritizing enterprise-grade reliability. \n * Validator Configuration: Validators must manually update the `minimum-gas-prices` entry in their `app.toml` file to reflect a 10x increase (restoring the original parameter prior to the IBC subsidy reduction). Specifically, Increase `minimum-gas-prices` from `500000000000ahp` to `5000000000000ahp`. \n * No Binary Upgrade Required: This is a local configuration change. No new binary download, chain halt, or cosmovisor intervention is required. \n \n ## **Abstract** \n This proposal recalibrates the network's economic parameters to current market conditions. By restoring the original minimum gas price, Hippo Protocol will exponentially increase the cost of executing malicious network-level Denial of Service (DoS) attacks and transaction spam. This ensures high availability for critical healthcare data and cross-chain transactions while providing sustainable yields for the validator set. \n ## **Motivation** \n As Hippo Protocol continues to mature as a cornerstone for the global healthcare economy, ensuring enterprise-grade network security and sustainable infrastructure is our highest priority. \n Following the successful integration of IBC last year, the network enacted a temporary 1/10 reduction in the minimum gas price. This successfully acted as a bootstrapping mechanism to encourage early cross-chain liquidity and ecosystem exploration. With robust IBC channels now established, we must shift our focus toward long-term network resilience. \n Currently, the heavily discounted gas parameter, combined with broader market dynamics, has lowered the economic barrier to executing spam or DoS attacks. To guarantee high availability and protect the network from artificial state bloat, it is necessary to: \n 1. **End the temporary IBC bootstrapping subsidy:** Transition from ecosystem bootstrapping to long-term economic stability. \n 2. **Restore the original economic barrier to transaction spam:** Prevent automated bot traffic and dust transactions from degrading performance. \n 3. **Ensure validators are sustainably compensated:** Adequately reward node operators to prevent validator centralization during market fluctuations. \n \n ## **Documentation** \n * Cosmos SDK: Gas and Fees \n \n ## **Specification** \n * Upon the passing of this proposal, validators are expected to update the `minimum-gas-prices` parameter in their `app.toml` configuration files to the newly agreed-upon threshold. \n * To maintain consensus and prevent peer rejection, validators should coordinate the restart of their nodes with the updated `app.toml` within a designated 48-hour window following the proposal's success. \n \n ## **Rationale** \n This parameter recalibration serves three vital purposes without introducing new consensus logic or requiring a software upgrade: \n 1. **Spam & DoS Mitigation:** By increasing the financial cost of transactions, the network exponentially raises the capital requirement for malicious actors attempting to bloat the chain state or halt block production via automated spam. \n 2. **Quality of Service (QoS):** Hippo's mission requires a reliable, un-congested network. Normalizing fees ensures that block space is organically prioritized for legitimate, high-value ecosystem activity rather than dust transactions. \n 3. **Validator Sustainability:** Strengthening the fee market provides a more sustainable yield environment for our validator set, ensuring they can maintain robust infrastructure and high uptime regardless of macroeconomic volatility. \n \n ## **Drawbacks** \n * Marginal increase in transaction costs for organic users. However, in fiat terms, the transaction fee remains highly competitive and negligible for standard healthcare and DeFi operations. \n \n ## **Unresolved Questions** \n * None \n \n ## **Security Considerations** \n * This proposal is inherently a security enhancement. By raising the cost of gas, it acts as a direct mitigation tactic against Sybil attacks, botnets, and transaction-based network halting vectors. \n * Because this relies on local `app.toml` changes, nodes with outdated configurations may process transactions with lower fees, but those transactions will be rejected by the mempools of updated validators. Coordinated communication with the validator set via official governance channels is essential. \n \n ## **Prior Art** \n * Cosmos Hub, Osmosis, and other prominent Cosmos chains regularly execute coordinated minimum gas price calibrations in response to token velocity and macroeconomic conditions to preserve network security. \n \n ## **Backwards Compatibility** \n * Fully backwards compatible. No new software release, state migration, or chain halt is required. \n \n ## **Test Cases** \n * Spam transaction simulation on testnet using the new `minimum-gas-prices` threshold to verify the increased economic barrier and DoS mitigation. \n * Verification of continued successful IBC packet relaying under the restored fee structure. \n