The Hyper Foundation is proposing a validator vote to formally recognize the Assistance Fund HYPE as burned, removing the tokens permanently from the circulating and total supply. For context, the Assistance Fund converts trading fees to HYPE in a fully automated manner as part of the L1 execution. The Assistance Fund uses the system address 0xfefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefe. Similar to the zero address, the Assistance Fund system address has never had a private key with control over its funds. Funds are mathematically irretrievable without a hard fork. By voting “Yes,” validators agree to treat the Assistance Fund HYPE as burned. No onchain action is required, as the tokens are already in a system address with no private key. This vote is binding social consensus to never authorize a protocol upgrade to access this address. Voting process: + Validators should signal their intent in the governance forum by December 21 at 04:00 UTC (i.e., reply with Yes or No) + Users can stake to a validator who matches their view by December 24 at 04:00 UTC + The result will be based on stake-weighted consensus as of December 24 at 04:00 UTC