💡 This page provides an overview of about Staking on Cere Network in general. Read the Staking Dashboard Guide to get started staking today!
Staking in blockchain is a method used in some blockchain networks for securing the network, attaining consensus, and motivating participants to hold and validate cryptocurrency tokens. It's a vital part of Cere Networks' Nominated Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithms, which are different from the more known Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithms, like those in Bitcoin. The core concepts involved are as follows:
Nominated Proof-of-Stake (nPoS): Stakeholders vote on which nodes validate new blocks. Only these nominated nodes can validate and earn rewards.
Staking Tokens: To become validators, users commit tokens to the network.
Block Validation: Validators suggest and validate blocks. More staked tokens increase the chances of creating a block.
Rewards: Validators get block rewards and transaction fees based on the number of tokens staked and how long they are staked.
Security and Decentralization: Staking is energy-saving, encourages holding tokens long-term, improves network security, and lessens centralization risk.
Penalties: Validators that misbehave could lose their staked tokens as punishment.
Unstaking: Validators can pull their staked tokens after a certain time, with a delay period to assure their commitment to the network.
These concepts and more will be discussed in more detail below.
🚀 Read this page to learn how to use the the Cere Staking Dashboard to get started staking today!
Nominators are participants in Cere Network's staking system who delegate their stake to validators. They help choose the active validators and share in the rewards.
Validators are the active participants who produce blocks, while nominators play a more passive role. Being a nominator doesn't require running your own node. However, it's essential for nominators to research and choose reliable validators. They should consider the reward percentage and potential slashing risk if their chosen validator doesn't perform as expected.
On Cere you can also earn CERE by nominating one or more validators. Doing so makes you a nominator for the validator(s) you chose. Pick your validators carefully - if they do not behave properly, they will get slashed, and you will lose CERE. However, if they follow the network rules, you can share the staking rewards they generate.
While your CERE are staked for nominations, they are 'locked' (bonded). You can stop nominating at any time, but the action is effective in the next era and does not automatically unbond your funds. Unbonding is a separate action, and it takes effect after the unbonding period, which is 28-day long on Cere. This is calculated by taking the bonding duration (in eras), multiplying it by the length of a single era (in hours), and dividing by the hours in a day (24). Example: (28 × 24 ÷ 24 = 28 days). A staking lock will be visible on the Cere Explorer during the unbonding period, and after it, the staking lock can be unlocked, and the bonded funds become free balance you can transfer.
The Cere Staking Dashboard provides a user-friendly way to stake your $CERE Token.
Read the guide here to learn how to start staking in under 5 minutes.
The first thing you need to do before becoming a nominator is to make sure you have a stash account where you can transfer funds you want to use for staking. For these accounts, it is recommended to use a "cold wallet" solution, when available.
After setting up the stash account, it is recommended to have a staking proxy. Although you can be a nominator with just a stash account, having a staking proxy is good practice for security reasons.
A staking proxy of the stash will be able to sign for all staking-related transactions as well. The stash will be fully isolated (except if the user decides to change the staking proxy of the stash or to attach different proxies to the stash).
As a nominator, you will be asked to choose an account where rewards will be paid. You can select one of the following options:
Being a nominator is made simpler by using the Cere Staking Dashboard that will guide you step by step through specifying rewards destination and bonded amount, and nominating validators (more on this below). Note that staking proxies are not currently supported on the dashboard.
On Cere Network, users (nominators) can boost the chances of their preferred validators being chosen for block production by staking their tokens. The network operates in eras, each lasting 24 hours, during which specific validators produce blocks. The validators change between eras. Each era is divided into six sessions, and validators get certain time slots for block production, but they don't know all their slots in an era, adding a layer of security.