Staking Guide
Staking is how you participate in Mersennet consensus and earn rewards. This guide covers how staking works, delegation, rewards, unbonding, and slashing conditions.
How Staking Works
In Mersennet's Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) model:
- Validators stake PRIM to join the validator set and produce blocks.
- Delegators stake PRIM with validators to share in rewards without running a node.
- Voting power is proportional to total stake (validator + delegations).
- Block rewards are distributed to all validators proportionally to their stake.
Minimum Stake
The minimum stake to register as a validator is set by governance. As of the current testnet, any non-zero amount may be accepted. Check the latest network parameters for production mainnet.
Delegation
Token holders can delegate PRIM to validators they trust:
- Delegated stake counts toward the validator's voting power.
- Delegators earn a share of block rewards (minus validator commission, if any).
- Delegators are subject to the same slashing risk as the validator they delegate to.
To delegate, send a delegation transaction specifying the validator address and amount. The exact interface (RPC, CLI, or staking UI) depends on the tooling available.
Rewards
Block rewards are distributed proportionally to stake:
validator_reward = (block_reward × validator_stake) / total_stake
- Initial block reward: 10 PRIM per block
- Halving: Every 35,000,000 blocks (~2.22 years)
- Crediting: Rewards are applied directly to validator/delegator balances—no claiming step required
Example with 4 validators each staking 1M PRIM:
- Total stake = 4M PRIM
- Block reward = 10 PRIM
- Each validator receives 10 × (1M / 4M) = 2.5 PRIM per block
Unbonding Period
When you unbond (withdraw) staked PRIM:
- Your stake is immediately removed from voting power.
- Tokens enter an unbonding queue for a fixed number of blocks.
- After the unbonding period, tokens are returned to your balance.
| Network | Unbonding Period |
|---|---|
| Testnet | 2 blocks |
| Mainnet | Governance-configurable (typically longer) |
During unbonding, your tokens can still be slashed if the validator commits an offense. Only after the unbonding period completes are tokens safely returned.
Slashing Conditions
Validators (and their delegators) can lose stake through slashing:
Double-Signing
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| What | Signing two different blocks at the same height |
| Base penalty | 5% of stake |
| Consequence | Tombstoned — permanently banned from the validator set |
| Cause | Running the same validator key on multiple nodes |
Double-signing is permanent. A tombstoned validator cannot rejoin. Never duplicate your validator key across nodes.
Downtime (Precommit Timeout)
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| What | Failing to send a precommit vote in a consensus round |
| Base penalty | 1% of stake |
| Consequence | Jailed — temporarily excluded; can unjail after jail period |
| Cause | Node offline, network issues, slow hardware |
Penalties escalate with repeated offenses (e.g. +0.25% per offense, capped at 10%). Maintain high uptime and monitoring to avoid downtime slashing.
Summary
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| Minimum stake | Set by governance; check network params |
| Delegation | Stake with validators to earn rewards without running a node |
| Rewards | Proportional to stake; credited automatically |
| Unbonding | 2 blocks on testnet; tokens locked until period ends |
| Slashing | Double-sign → tombstoned; downtime → jailed + penalty |
For operational details, see Validator Overview and Monitoring & Alerts.