The ASE Token

How to Delegate

Coming in a future update · Estimated read time: 3 minutes

Delegation is not live on testnet

Delegation is coming in a future update. On the testnet today there is no delegate or undelegate transaction, no Stake / Delegate tab in the wallets and no delegation command in the CLI. Validators can only bond their own ASE (self-bond). This page explains the idea so you know what to expect; it is not a set of instructions you can follow yet.

TL;DR

Once delegation ships, you will be able to back a validator with your ASE and share in its rewards without running a node. You will share rewards with the validator, and you will share its risk. The exact parameters (minimums, commission rules, unbonding for delegators) will be published when the feature ships. For the concept see Delegation.

What you can do today

The only way to stake ASE on the testnet today is to run a validator and bond your own ASE: a minimum of 500 ASE and a maximum of 50,000,000 ASE. See Run a Validator.

Unbonding a self-bond takes 1,296,000 blocks (about 30 days at 2-second blocks; longer when blocks are slower).

Picking a validator (later)

When delegation arrives, the validator list on the explorer is where to start. Things worth weighing:

Uptime. Missed-block history is a good predictor of how reliably a validator earns. Anything non-zero over a long window is a yellow flag.
Stake concentration. Backing an already-huge validator reinforces centralization. Spreading stake across smaller validators is better for the chain.
Operator identity. Self-identified operators with a track record are safer than anonymous ones. If something breaks, you have someone accountable.

The risk you will take on

Validator misbehaviour. Today, a proven equivocation (double-signing) removes the validator from the active set; no stake is burned. Stake burning is planned, and how it would apply to delegated stake will be defined when delegation ships.
Opportunity cost during unbonding. Stake that is unbonding earns nothing until it returns.

For the full slashing story see Slashing.