Kusama
Substrate
Kusama is a scalable network of specialized blockchains built using Substrate and nearly the same codebase as Polkadot. The network is an experimental development environment for teams who want to move fast and innovate on Kusama, or prepare for deployment on Polkadot.
Essentially, Kusama is a faster version of Polkadot, similar to what Litecoin is to Bitcoin.
APY | ~14% |
Total Supply | Capped to 1.25B |
Compounding | Manual |
Compounding Frequency | Every 21 days |
Reward Distribution Period (Payout Frequency) | Every 21 days |
Unbonding Period | 7 Days |
Slashing Penalty | Downtime & double signing |
Figment Validator Address | Ehj9QgHDku6gewzD87mqeZzYixwqLYEYrEjUiem1Q7sRXMY |
What is staking?
On a Proof of Stake blockchain, staking is the act of depositing tokens in order to become a validator; that is, to participate in proposing and attesting to transaction blocks. Anyone with a minimum necessary coin balance can validate transactions and earn staking rewards on these blockchains.
What is Nominated Proof Of Stake (NPoS)?
Kusama uses NPoS (Nominated Proof-of-Stake) as its mechanism for selecting the validator set. The system encourages DOT holders to participate as nominators that elect which validators may participate. Nominators may select up to 16 validators as trusted validator candidates to stake with.
Validators assume the role of producing new blocks, validating parachain blocks, and guaranteeing finality. Nominators may select validator candidates, enabling the protocol to potentially select and back some of these validators with their nominators' stake. The protocol pays out rewards equally to each active validator. However, distribution of the rewards are pro-rata to all nominators (less validator commission fees). In this way, the network incentivizes the nomination of lower-staked validators to create an equally-staked validator set. You can find more information here.
What is the name of the asset being staked?
Kusama’s native token, KSM is used to stake and participate in on-chanin governance
How long does it take to stake and unstake?
After unstaking, there is a seven (7) day unbonding period before you’re able to transfer your tokens. During this unbonding period, your KSM tokens do not earn rewards and are illiquid. They are bonded for seven days to be held responsible (ie. slashed) for any protocol violations their backed validators may have committed, since detecting these violations can take hours or days to detect and prove.
When are staking rewards and transfers enabled? How is staking income disbursed?
You must manually claim your rewards via the Polkadot Explorer. Staking rewards are kept available available for 21 days. If you do not claim your staking rewards by this time, then you will not be able to claim them and some of your staking rewards will be lost. You can learn more about how to claim your rewards here.
What are the risks of staking KSM?
Nominated KSM are subject to Kusama slashing conditions. Figment provides a 100% missed reward guarantee for any missed rewards due to liveness (downtime). Your tokens are subject to a potential slashing if a validator double-signs.
Can I lose potential staking rewards?
Can my staked KSM be slashed (seized or destroyed)? Yes. In Kusama, validators that have poor performance or violate protocol rules may have a percentage of staked tokens slashed.
Slashing occurs when a validator signs two blocks at the same height, which is called equivocation. This is most likely to occur when a validator mistakenly activates a backup validator when their primary validator is still online.
Slashing can also occur for being offline, but it only occurs when at least 10% of the network goes offline simultaneously, and it's a much smaller penalty.
Figment has prioritized avoiding equivocation over liveness (uptime). Be cautious of validators that have only cloud-based infrastructure or complicated software based redundancy systems aimed at minimizing liveness. Complicated redundant backup systems that optimize for uptime can result in double signing and up to 100% slashing. Figment insures our clients from slashing and has never had a slashing event.
What is the rate of new issuance (aka "annual inflation") for KSM? How does the token supply change? What affects future yields?
Yield on Kusama is determined based on the idealized staking rate against the total number of tokens staked on the network at any given time. If the total amount of tokens is above this idealized rate, the rewards rate falls. If the total amount of tokens is below this idealized rate, the rewards rate rises.
Do I maintain custody of my KSM tokens? Who or what controls my staked KSM token?
Yes, your KSM tokens stay in your stash account, which you control at all times. Figment’s service is non-custodial and allows nominators to use any custody method that they choose.
Can I use a custodian with Figment?
You maintain custody of your KSM at all times in your stash account and can nominate while your KSM tokens are in cold storage, allowing holders to easily work with any custodian.
All KSM token transfers, including rewards, are processed within the Kusama protocol. Figment never has custody of your tokens or rewards.
After unstaking, there is a seven (7) day unbonding period before being able to transfer your tokens. During this unbonding period, your KSM do not earn rewards and are illiquid. They are kept bonded for seven days in order to be held responsible (ie. slashed) for any protocol violations their backed validators may have committed, since detecting these violations can take hours or days to detect and prove.
How are decisions about Kusama made and executed?
Through on-chain governance, often discussed in various social media channels on the Kusama discord and then put to a vote on chain.
Last modified 5mo ago