Validators

Validators are responsible for maintaining consensus within the (NEAR) protocol. They need to maintain their server uptime 100% and keep their systems continually updated.

There are a few points to learn about network validators:

  • Every new epoch, NEAR will make choices about whom to become validators, electing them based on their stake.
  • The already elected validators are re-enrolled by automatically re-staking their tokens plus accrued rewards.
  • Potential validators have to have their stake above a dynamically determined level.
  • Validators can strengthen their stake via buying more of the token or borrow the token via stake delegation.
  • The reward received is directly proportional to stake. More stake, more rewards.
  • Validators that misbehaves (e.g. less than 100% uptime, etc) will get warnings before kicked out. In extreme cases, kicking out in the next epoch will occur.

Participants staking with validators

Participants (holder of the tokens) can stake their tokens with validators to earn some passive income by staking their tokens with validators. After every epoch, their tokens and the rewards are re-staked until the participants want to release their tokens.

Note that during staking, their tokens are locked. Unless otherwise specified, tokens still remain inside your wallet (if staking from NEAR wallet) but they aren't visible anymore. You can proof this is true by exploring the staking function that is called by checking NEAR Explorer for your wallet. There are no transfer of tokens from one wallet to another being visible.

Note that, like other investment methods, there are risks of staking. If the validator misbehaves, you may have part of your rewards slashed. Part of your token that are staked are gone, as a punishment to support the misbehavior. Hence, it's a good idea to unstake your token from time to time when you think the reward is large enough that you feel heart hurt if losing it. And it's also very important to do research about the validator on their past behaviors, and only stake with trustworthy validators.

If the validators stop participating (pauses) for the next (several) epoch(s), your earnings will also get pauses. This might be the validator requires maintenance of their server or whatever reasons. Certainly they will come back online, and your rewards will resume earnings. During pausing, you can choose to unstake and your tokens and rewards will get to you.

Validators can charge their participants a fixed percentage of their rewards to stake at their nodes. This is fair share, since participants don't need to run servers to get money, while validators do. Hence, to encourage validators to continue participate, they are allowed to charge fees from their participants, up to a total of 100%. Though, you wouldn't want to stake with a validator that charges 100% fee since you earn nothing.

Epoch

The rewards are given out every epoch. On NEAR, one epoch is about 12 hours, mentioned by sites. However, as of writing, this is not true.

Note participants unstaking their rewards requires waiting for 4 epochs before they can withdraw. During these waiting periods, no earnings from staking are earned. Your locked tokens and their rewards remains remnant waiting for unlocking.

If you run the unlocking twice, the clock will get reset and you'll have to wait for 4 epochs since last unlocking. This unlocking twice means your tokens that are unlocking, perhaps there is a button to unlock that unlocking tokens and you accidentally clicked on it.

If you are staking on separate validators, unlocking are calculated separately based on each tokens being unlocked.

Previously, we mentioned 12 hours per epoch is not true anymore. This is because, 4 full epochs is \( 12 \times 4 = 48 \) hours. However, as of writing, you requires to wait 52 - 65 hours before unstaking.

Actually, one is thinking you might have to wait 4-5 epochs now, and each epoch are 13 hours. One isn't sure about this.

References

  • https://learnnear.club/what-is-near-protocol/