Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the Users of CSPR.Live
What is delegation?
Delegation allocates your CSPR tokens to a chosen validator on the network who is participating in the Casper Network’s Consensus Protocol. As a proof of stake network, node operators ‘stake’ their tokens to earn the eligibility to propose new blocks for the network and approve blocks proposed by other validators, but require constant uptime and monitoring of a server connected the Casper Network, instead of ‘mining’ like other tokens.
Instead of having to operate and maintain a Casper node (server that stores a copy of the blockchain), you can instead delegate your tokens to someone on the network who has indicated they intend to operate a server on the network. These server operators are called Validators, and they keep a certain percentage of rewards generated from your staked tokens, similar to a commission. Validators set their own fee, as well as earn rewards for their own staked tokens. By participating in the protocol this way, you help to improve decentralization and security of the network, and earn rewards in return.
How frequently the staking rewards are paid?
Staking rewards are paid to your account on a per-Era basis. One Era is currently set to 2 hours, and each block is set for 16 seconds. For the first reward to appear after delegation/staking, it may take up to 2 Eras (~4 hours).
I’ve delegated my tokens but the rewards don’t arrive at my wallet?
The rewards are automatically added to your current stake on the corresponding validator. You may observe them under the Rewards tab on your account details page on cspr.live. For the first reward to appear after delegation/staking, it may take up to 2 Eras (~4 hours).
Is there a cool-down/lock period after delegation?
While there is a delay before you can access your previously delegated tokens, there is no cool-down or lock period after you delegate tokens. You can undelegate any amount of tokens at any time. Upon undelegating tokens from a validator, the network puts funds on hold for 7 Eras, approximately 14 hours and then automatically returns the CSPR tokens to your account.
Is there slashing? Can I lose my delegated tokens?
Currently, slashing is not enabled on the Casper Mainnet, and there are no plans to enable it in the near future. If a validator behaves poorly on the network, they may be evicted from the auction, and you will not earn rewards during the period that the validator is evicted. If slashing is ever enabled in the future—which would require approval through a governance vote—tokens could be removed as a penalty for poor or malicious behavior on the network. In that case, you could lose tokens delegated to that validator.
What is the cost of delegation and undelegation?
Both the delegation and the undelegation processes have a cost of 2.5 CSPR. So make sure you have extra CSPR in your account apart from the amount you are delegating. For example, if you are going to delegate 1000 CSPR, you should have at least 1005 CSPR in your wallet, 2.5 CSPR for the delegation and another 2.5 CSPR to cover the undelegation later. In other words, you should keep at least 2.5 CSPR in your wallet after delegation to be able to undelegate.
What is the yearly reward rate for the delegated tokens?
The base annual reward rate is 8% of the total supply, resulting in a current APY of approximately 15% on the Mainnet (because only a portion of the total supply is currently staked and participating in the reward distribution). The APY might decrease over time as more tokens get staked on the network.
I see some validators with big stake producing blocks, and some smaller ones not. Does that mean only the bigger ones are getting rewards?
No. On Casper Mainnet, everyone gets seigniorage according to their stake, regardless of whether you’ve produced blocks or not. The only thing a block proposer gets, is to keep the transaction fees associated with transfers and deploys in the block they proposed. As you may know, transfers cost only 100000000 motes (0.1 CSPR), so these fees are not substantial on a transfer-by-transfer basis.
The block proposer is chosen also based on odds relative to stake, so if you have 0.1% of stake on the network, the odds that you’ll get chosen as the block proposer are very small. This has nothing to do with seigniorage.
As per the new design of validator rewards on Casper 2.0, some volatility in rewards is expected in the short run. However, all validator rewards should average to an amount proportional to their total stake in the long run.
Some top validators have a commission rate of 100%. What does that mean?
Validators with Delegation rate of 100 are ones that either don’t want to or are restricted from acting as a staking service. You will earn nothing from them.
How can I delegate my tokens?
An easy, web-based staking UI is available on CSPR.Live. You may follow these steps to delegate your tokens:
- Install Casper Wallet
- Transfer funds to your wallet on the Casper Wallet app
- Delegate your CSPR stake