Conflux

Time factors

	Protocol time	Human readable time
Protocol time 1	Block	0.5 seconds
Protocol time 2	Round (PoS Block)	1 minute
Protocol time 3	PoS Epoch (= 60 rounds)	60 minutes
First reward delay	1 epoch	60 minutes
Reward frequency	At the end of every epoch	60 minutes
Unbonding period	7 days	7 days

• Block times are not fixed.

• The main PoW chain has its own epoch definition that runs differently from PoS epochs. PoW epochs do not have a defined duration.

Lifecycle

Must know before staking

Minimum stake amount	❌
Partial stake changes	✅
Partial reward withdrawal	❌
Compounding	❌
Penalty	❌
Slashing	✅	Equivocation - 100%

• Unstaking condition. Only CFX that have been staked longer than 14 days can be unstaked.

Advanced topics

General

• The protocol has two chains running simultaneously.

  • PoW chain handles transaction and contract execution. Miners execute transactions and propose blocks.

  • PoS chain handles finalization of the PoW chain and helps deter 51% attacks. Validators propose blocks.

Rewards

• The protocol issues separate rewards for miners and validators.

• Rewards come from newly issued tokens.

  • Target reward rate applied to staked tokens. New tokens are issued each epoch using the target reward rate. The target reward rate adjusts according to circulating supply and staked tokens.

    $targetRewardRate = sqrt(circulating/stake) * 0.04$
• Factors that impact realized rewards.

  • Commissions.

Risks

• Slashing. Any validator that signs two different blocks at the same height will have their staked tokens locked permanently.

Validators

Total validator cap	❌
Validator requirements	✅	1,000 CFX

• 1,000 CFX is considered one single consensus vote. For example, if a validator has a stake of 100,000 CFX, the protocol will consider the validator to have 100 consensus votes.

• Every PoS epoch, the protocol selects only 300 consensus votes to participate in securing the protocol. 50 consensus votes are rotated every epoch.

• Delegation happens on a smart contract. Each validator has its own dedicated staking pool smart contract that helps pool stake.

Resources

• Conflux economic paper: https://confluxnetwork.org/files/Conflux_Economic_Paper_20201230.pdf

• Conflux protocol specification: https://confluxnetwork.org/files/Conflux_Protocol_Specification.pdf

• Conflux documentation: https://developer.confluxnetwork.org/

• Conflux explorer: https://www.confluxscan.io/