Toncoin

Time factors

	Protocol time	Human readable time
Protocol time 1	Block	5 seconds
Protocol time 2	Staking state	36 hours
First reward delay	36 hours	36 hours
Reward frequency	Every 36 hours	36 hours
Unbonding period	N/A	-

Lifecycle

Single staking state

• The protocol progresses to the next phase (learn more about phases) of the staking state after the allotted time elapses.

• Stake and staking rewards can be withdrawn and changed every election phase.

Network wide staking states

• The protocol has two staking states that run simultaneously.

• The staking states are set up so that validation phases alternate without any pause.

Must know before staking

Minimum stake amount	⚠️	Depends on a nominator pool’s terms and conditions.
Partial stake changes	❌
Partial reward withdrawal	❌
Compounding	✅
Penalty	✅	Lower than expected blocks proposed - 101 TON
Slashing	✅	Equivocation - 101 TON

• No delegations. The protocol does not support delegations. Stakers must run a validator or use nominator pools that let them stake with existing validators.

• Rewards are distributed after the stake held period ends and when the election period begins. Stake will also become unlocked then.

Advanced topics

General

• Staking state. The staking state consists of four phases.

  • Election: This is the phase when stake must be committed. Any staking rewards from the previous staking state will be distributed at the beginning of this phase.

  • Buffer: Validators are selected based on the staking amounts committed during the election phase. Validators that are not selected can withdraw their stake. Any excess stake from elected validators can also be withdrawn (please see the Validators section).

  • Validation: Elected validators will participate in proposing and voting new blocks.

  • Stake hold: Staked tokens are locked for an additional period in case any slashable offenses are detected from the validation phase.

Rewards

• Rewards come from newly issued tokens.

  • Inflation rate applied to total token supply.

• Factors that impact realized rewards.

  • Validator performance. A failure or delay to submit consensus votes will decrease the reward amount for a validator.

  • Commissions. Nominator pools charge commissions.

Risks

• Slashing and penalties are set at 101 TON. Eventually these will be increased to deduct a validator’s entire stake for severe offenses.

• Since the protocol does not natively support delegations, stakers need to rely on nominator pools or other third party apps, which have their own sets of terms and conditions.

Validators

Total validator cap	⚠️
Validator requirements	✅	10,000 TON

• Total validator cap constantly changes over time.

• A validator can define how much stake they wish to stake compared to the smallest elected validator using $\text{max factor}$. For example, let’s assume validator Alice has 500,000 TON staked with a $\text{max factor}$ of 2.5 and the smallest elected validator has 100,000 TON staked. Then, the protocol will only use 250,000 TON of Alice’s stake for the validation phase. The excess 250,000 TON can be freely withdrawn by Alice.

• A validator will need to be elected in both staking states in order to run a validator continuously.

Resources

• The Open Network whitepaper: https://ton.org/whitepaper.pdf

• The Open Network primer: https://ton.org/primer.pdf

• The Open Network documentation: https://ton.org/docs/